Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
159 HEAr THE MuSIC of THE
dESErT, MAlI
Few journeys to a music festival can build up
the sense of excitement like driving in a 4WD
for days through the red dust of the Sahara. And
unless you ride a camel like the local Tuaregs,
that's the only way to get to the “Festival of the
Desert”, a showcase for Malian music that takes
place so far into the sands of West Africa that
when you reach Timbuktu you've still got 65km
to go. Taking place each January in the oasis
town of Essakane, the three-day festival attracts
thousands of musicians and music lovers from
around the world, who join the throngs of camels
and their riders crossing the dunes, all lured
by the flutes, guitars and drums that mark the
Malian sound.
On the festival's website you can find many
locally run 4WD tours that take you there,
some starting in Timbuktu, others in Bamako
or Mopti. Alternatively, overland specialist
Dragoman Adventures will take you to the
festival as part of its 21-night “Sounds of the
Sahara” trip, which includes a three-day trek
between villages inhabited by the Dogon, an
animist people whose harsh lives are patterned
with masked dances and rituals. Your group
will also spend a few days in Timbuktu itself, a
town built mostly of mud that was once a seat
of great learning and whose buildings are said
to have inspired the Spanish architect Gaudí.
By the end of this three-week musical tour, after
you've taken in nightclubs, drumming workshops
and countless impromptu performances around
the campfire each night, your memories of these
lonely sands will be filled with sounds.
Need to know
The festival's website (
W
www.
festival-au-desert.org) contains clips from former
years, along with details on how to get there. The
Dragoman trip starts and ends in Bamako, with
tents, food and transport included. For further
details see
W
www.dragoman.com;
T
+44 (0) 1728
861 133.
The Tuareg band Igbayen at the Festival in the Desert, Mali; Sankore Mosque, Timbuktu, Mali
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