Visiting

Chestnut-bellied Starling Lamprotornis pulcher

gathering nesting material from a grass bundle intended for hut roofing.

Sokolo area, Segou region, Mali

Photo: Mary Crickmore

Birding tours

Birding Africa and Naturetrek operate tours to Mali.

Guides

There are many official tourist guides who know something about birds, but that is not to say they can help in bird identification. One highly recommended guide who speaks English and is trying to learn bird ID is Yaya Keita at Tam Tam Tours, BPE 2495 Bamako. His email is bf07ykyaya@yahoo.fr

The following are French-speaking contact persons for some of the birding hotspots noted above.

Bamako/Torokorobougou: Mahamane Cissé, known as "Bengué" or "Sosso," Rue 351, Porte 15 Torokorobougou. He knows how to find birds on the islands in the Niger river.

Segou: three biology teachers at the Cabral Lycée have training in bird identification: Ibrahim Diabaté, Famahan Nomoko, and Adama Samogo. They know Konodimini and Soninkora farm and other sites.

Konna: Alhousseyni Sarro, Veterinarian at Konna. Tel : 246 10 01 or 246 10 02 ask for "Sarro le Veto"

Yanfolila: Souleymane Sidibé, at the camp.

Trip reports

For Mali trip reports covering some of the sites on the hotspots page, visit Surfbirds in English and Mali Ornithology in French. For site species lists, contact Mary Crickmore - see contacts section.

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Logistics

Foreign nationals from countries outside of West Africa need a visa to enter Mali. You get it in advance from any Malian embassy, but it is complicated if you live in the UK which has no embassy.

Mali is a difficult country to navigate if you do not speak French or Bambara. Hardly anyone knows English. A non-french speaker really needs a bilingual companion or else should hire an English-speaking guide - see under guides for more details.

There are daily flight from Paris to Bamako with Air France and a couple of other minor airlines. There are Air Maroc flights that connect Bamako to the US and Europe via Casablanca. Good tourist class hotels and restaurants are available in Bamako, Segou, and Mopti. Most supplies that you would need can be purchased in one of several supermarkets in Bamako. Some form of caravansary or cheap hotel is available in most large towns and cities on the main roads. The visitor should be tolerant of third-world standards at these, including the latrines. Street food is available everywhere, but amoeba, giardia, and shigella are commonly spread through food and water. In general it is safe to eat food that is served steaming hot. Meningitis, typhoid, and yellow fever vaccines are needed for travelers to Mali, and malaria prophylaxis is a must.

Vehicle rental is available, including drivers, although if you get a four-wheel drive it is expensive. Taxis can be rented by the hour. Public transport (buses and vans) are uncomfortable because the vehicles are packed to overflowing. Another disadvantage is that public transport can get you (slowly) to cities and towns along the main paved road, but service is not regular to outlying areas.

The IBAs in the Niger delta cannot be reached by vehicle during the flood season July - January. There is a system of public transport by boat in the delta around Mopti. Essentially, travelling in Mali can work for you if you have little time but lots of money, or little money with lots of time and patience. It's the people who try to do Mali on a tight schedule and $10 a day that can have a difficult time.

Many visitors want to get to Timbuktu (spelled Tombouctou in French). The expensive but very pleasant option is to charter a plane with Sahel Aviation Service (Bamako phone number is 222-98-26). The pilots and mechanics are from Mission Aviation Fellowship and follow its strict standards. There are other commercial flights available to Timbuktu as well. A large riverboat travels from Mopti to Timbuktu and is for the adventuresome without time constraints. Travel overland by vehicle to Timbuktu is also possible, and many people do that regularly, although there has been an occasional carjacking and there are rolled vehicle accidents because of the washboard effect on gravel roads.

The ideal month to visit Mali is November. It is not too hot, migrants have arrived, and Euplectes and Vidua species are in breeding plumage. The major tourist season happens from December to February because the weather is usually very pleasant. April is uncomfortably hot and May is miserable. In June in a normal year the rainy season is beginning and there is periodic relief from the heat. In July and August many breeding birds are displaying, but the disadvantage is that it is difficult to drive off-road without getting stuck in mud. There are also severe thunderstorms with monsoon-like rain. In September-October the heat returns but the whole country is beautifully green.

Safety

Mali has minimal violent crime and the people are reputed to be the most polite and friendly in West Africa. There has been a stable democratic government since 1992. During the early 1990s there was a rebellion of the Tuareg people who live in the Sahara regions from Gao and Timbuktu northward, against the Malian government which represents predominantly black ethnic groups south of the Sahara. Although most of the rebels were integrated into the armed forces upon signing of peace accords, some small arms remained in the hands of bandits who still do periodic carjackings and armed robbery of vehicles in the north. Travel by vehicle in the north, other than on the main paved road to Gao, carries some risk. To get to the regional capital of Kidal in the Sahara there is no safe and reliable transportation except by chartered plane.

You should refuse to travel on the main roads in the countryside at night. There have been many tragic accidents that have happened at night because outside of towns the roads are neither marked nor lit. There are plenty of vehicles without any working lights as well as donkey carts and animals on the roads; they are invisible in the dark until it is too late. At low speeds on the dirt roads it is safe to travel at night; although it is also easy to get lost.

See the following 2 websites or your own embassy website for the latest safety and travel information: US Travel and UK FCO.

Last page update 1st May 2008

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