We invite you to Carbon Offset your international airfare:

 

Mali: River Sailing, Desert MusicBook now!

January 2-12, 2009 (11 day option): $4500
January 2-17, 2009 (16 day option): $5500

Beneficiary: Fabric of Life

This perfectly unusual journey welcomes travelers to Timbuktu via private pirogue, sailing up the Niger River. Discover the varied birdlife along the shore, hippos in the river and rural villages with beautiful mosques.

Travelers will then attend Mali's Festival in the Desert, a world music and Tuareg culture festival. The festival is one-of-a-kind, modeled on traditional gatherings and celebrations of the Tuareg people, the "Blue Men of the Desert." It features musicians from Mali, Mauritania, Niger and many other countries worldwide. It is also an opportunity to interact with the Tuareg people, as it is their event, and the festivities will include traditional singing, dancing, swordplay, camel races and artisans' exhibits.

The 16 day extended tour travels back through Dogon country, a final addition to your full immersion in Malian’s varied topography and culture. You will have time to visit and acquaint yourself with many local social initiatives and projects during this part of the tour.