Mali: Road to Timbuktu: Jan 18—26, 2009

Imagine…Timbuktu! Arabian Bustard, Quail Plover, Golden Nightjar, Little Gray Woodpecker, Kordofan Lark, Black Scrub-Robin, Cricket Warbler, Brown-necked Raven, Sudan Golden Sparrow, Sahel Paradise-Whydah, and the endemic Mali Firefinch—if little-known Sahel specialties such as these plus tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of waterbirds excite you as much as they do us, then this is the trip for you!

Our Rivers of West Africa pre-trip to Mali and Timbuktu will afford us a rare opportunity to bird the Sahel in comfort. The Sahel is a semiarid transition zone between the arid Sahara to the north and the lush, tropical green forest that borders the maritime coast to the south. The countries of the Sahel today include Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. To our knowledge this will be the first ever bird tour to the country of Mali.

In addition to seeing a host of wonderful birds, mammals, and reptiles, we will visit Timbuktu—a destination most people only dream of visiting; Djenne and the incomparable Great Mosque—the world's largest mud-brick building; and explore the strange Dogon country and witness the fabulous Dogon Mask Dance.

There will be time to absorb the essence of this truly fascinating part of the world, with its eons of history painted on a canvas of pastel colors, illuminated by a fascinating kaleidoscope of African peoples and their vibrant lifestyles. The exotic Fulani women alone, with their extraordinary hair creations garnished with equally exotic jewelry, remind us just how different this part of the world actually is. We will wander through cool, mud-walled towns surrounded by the sands of the Sahara and listen, entranced, to the chant of prayers in these most ancient of worlds.

We are very excited at the prospect of leading you to such an intriguing and little-visited part of the African continent.