Mali

The Niger River makes a great northward loop through Mali as if reluctant to leave the Sahel, and in that loop it built something extraordinary: Djenne, Mopti, Timbuktu - cities that were centres of Islamic scholarship and trans-Saharan trade when Europe was reorganising itself after Rome. The Great Mosque of Djenne is the largest mud-brick structure on earth and is replastered by the community every year, a collective act of maintenance that is also an act of faith. Mali's north currently remains difficult to access safely, but its river towns and the culture of the Niger bend are among the most distinctive on the continent.

Travel advisory Northern regions including Timbuktu carry significant security risks. Check current conditions before planning travel.

Our guide is being written from the ground up, with the time this place deserves.

We are still gathering the notes that make a guide worth keeping: pirogue routes on the Niger, Djenne's Monday market, Dogon country trails and the tea rituals that structure every conversation worth having.