A poet, overwhelmed by the city’s beauty, wrote:
“Brusquement au détour d’un méandre, Mopti apparaît dans sa splendeur de cité orientale”
[Suddenly, at a bend in the way, Mopti appears, in all its splendour as an oriental city.]
640 km from Bamako, accessible by road, boat (from Koulikoro), and air.
Mopti, the “Venice of Mali,” is constructed on three islands connected by dikes at the confluence of the Bani and Niger rivers.
Mopti is primarily a village of fishermen, who are dubbed Bozos (masters of the waters).
During high-water season, large boats ply the route to Koulikoro (60 km from Bamako), Timbuktu, Gao.
Mopti is a river and commercial crossroads but above all the jumping-off point for people exploring the back country (North) and the renowned Dogon Sikasso areas.

Tourist attractions to visit:

• The villages of the Bozos;
• The Thursday market;
• The craft market;
• Lake Débo;
• The river port;
• The historic city of Hamdallaye.

(567 km from Bamako), accessible by road or by boat (from Koulikoro).
“Genie of the waters” in Bozo.
A city several hundred years old, it was the commercial centre of the Niger Bend.
Djenné, a chef-d’œuvre of earthen architecture, was founded at the end of the 9th century by the Soninkés.
It is a religious city where one of the oldest African civilizations emerged.
A bustling city on Thursdays, the market day, when all the country’s ethnic groups come together.

Tourist attractions to visit:

• The great mosque, the largest earthen mosque in the world (designated a UNESCO world heritage site), constructed at the end of the 13th century;

• The tomb of Tapama Djenepo, a young virgin who was buried alive to save her village;

• Djenné - Djeno, old city of Djenné;

• The former Moroccan palace, built in the 16th century;

• The marketplace.