Discover Mali

Mali is, first, a country the British and Canadian governments advise against all travel to: terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and fuel shortages across the whole territory, blockades on the roads into Bamako, curfews, and attacks in April 2026 near the capital's airport. Anyone reading this page as a travel plan should read the Security Warnings first and the advisories themselves second. What follows is written so that the country can be understood, not so that it can be booked.

It is worth understanding. Mali is the eighth-largest country in Africa, 1,240,192 square kilometres running from the Sahara through the Sahel to the savanna, with about 25 million people, nearly half of them under fifteen, most of them in the south along the Niger and Senegal rivers. It was the heart of three empires that controlled the trans-Saharan trade -- Ghana, Mali and Songhai -- and at its peak around 1300 the Mali Empire was the wealthiest state in Africa. Timbuktu, with its three mosques and its manuscripts, Djenné with its mud-built mosque, the Dogon villages under the Bandiagara escarpment and the Tomb of Askia at Gao are its four World Heritage Sites, two of them on the list of sites in danger since 2012.

Since 2012 the north has been in rebellion and the whole country at war with jihadist groups; French forces left in 2022, the UN mission in December 2023, and military governments have ruled since coups in 2020 and 2021. Tourism, which brought 200,000 people in 2011, brought 10,000 the next year and has not returned. The Tombouctou region on this site is a record of what was there, kept for when it can be visited again.

Can I visit Mali?

The British and Canadian governments both advise against all travel to the whole country, for terrorism, kidnapping, banditry and fuel shortages. This page describes the country and records the advice; it does not recommend a trip.

Is Timbuktu open?

Timbuktu has been on the World Heritage in Danger list since 2012, when it was occupied and its mausoleums destroyed, and the region is one of those most affected by the conflict. It is not reachable for a visitor under the current advice.

What do I need to enter, if I must?

A visa obtained before arrival, now applied and paid for online through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; a passport valid for the stay; and proof of yellow fever vaccination, required from all countries.

What are the emergency numbers?

Police 17, medical 15, fire 18.

What currency does Mali use?

The West African CFA franc, issued by the Central Bank of West African States. Card and ATM fraud occurs; use ATMs inside banks.

When was the best time to visit?

The cool dry months from November to February, when the Festival au Désert ran until 2013. The rains fall in the south from late April to early October and the heat peaks before them.