Republic of Mali is a landlocked country in West Africa. Its capital is *Bamako. Mali has four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the well known city of *Timbuktu (map). The other three include *Bandiagara Escarpment (map), *Djenné (map) and the *Tomb of Askia (map).

*Adrar des Ifoghas (map) — a sandstone plateau in the Sahara home to rock paintings, salt mines operated for centuries, and a surprising array of wildlife. *Dogon Country (map) — a trek through this landscape of scattered cliff-side villages is not to be missed by any Mali visitor. The famous Bandiagara Escarpment is a World Heritage Site.

The main cities along the paved road into the north are connected via bus (Bamako, Segou, San, Mopti, Gao). A separate paved loop runs through the south (Bamako, Bougouni, Sikasso, Koutiala, Segou) There are many different companies with different schedules but they all have more or less the same prices.

Western governments recommend against all travel to the northern regions, and against all but essential travel to the rest of Mali, including Bamako.