If you are an experienced tourist and you have made quite a few trips to Africa then you may think that you have seen it all, all of its major safari parks with exotic wildlife, its major city centers with their unique lifestyle and its famous and stunning landscapes. But the vastness and the diversity of Africa makes sure that there is always something left to be explored. Dogon country of Mali is one place that you will surely love to explore, and what is so great about this place, its unique. Its unique because you will not find the lifestyle, architecture, customs and faith of the Dogon Country in any other place of the continent, not even in Mali itself.
The Dogon people migrated and settled in these mountains about 1000 years ago because of the advancing Muslim armies that threatened their lifestyle, and while most of the rest of Mali converted to Islam the Dogon people are strictly following the faith and customs of their ancestors.
Located close to Mopti the Dogon Country is fast becoming a tourist attraction and UNESCO has given it the status of the world heritage site. You can decide to take a flight to Mopti and then head to the villages of Dogon Country on a 4wd but if you are traveling abroad then it may be a little difficult to find a direct flight to Mopti, instead you can take a cheap flight to Bamako and then get a connecting flight to Mopti. It’s always good to plan your visit to such a place in advance and as the price of supplies is quite high in the Dogon Country so try to provision yourself with as much supplies as you will need during your stay while you are in Mopti.
Most tourists prefer taking a 3 day tour to the villages of Dogon which provides them with ample opportunities to explore the area. But if you are on a short tour to Mali then a single day tour can also be arranged for you by the tour operators while if you are more of an adventurous kind and ready to spend a few nights out in the wild then you can take a complete one week tour and explore Dogon Country completely.
The biggest attraction of Dogon is its villages which are different to anything you have seen or will see anywhere in Africa. There are thousands of these unique villages and each one of them has something new to show to the tourists. Try to take some Kola Nuts from Mopti and present it to village elders as it has a huge cultural and spiritual significance to them and you will be treated like a royal guest if you do so. The most famous of these villages is Nombori which has a stunning setting as it is located on a high cliff. Banani, Teli and Tereli are a few of the other lowland villages of the Dogon country and are the ones that receives the most of the tourist traffic.
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