Mali was once part of three famed West African empires which controlled trans-Saharan trade in gold, salt, slaves, and other precious commodities. These Sahelian kingdoms had neither rigid geopolitical boundaries nor rigid ethnic identities. The earliest of these empires was the Ghana Empire which expanded throughout West Africa from the 8th century until 1078.

The Mali Empire later formed on the upper Niger, and reached the height of power in the 14th century. Under the Mali Empire, the ancient cities of Djenné and Timbuktu were centres of both trade and Islamic learning. Mansa Musa, who ruled in the early 14th century, is regarded as the wealthiest person in history (est. $400 billion adjusted for inflation!) owing to the Malian Empire's production of gold & salt. He used this wealth to build some of the impressive mosques still to be found around the country. The empire later declined, and was being supplanted by the Songhai Empire. The Songhai people originated in current northwestern Nigeria. In the late 14th century, the Songhai gradually gained independence from the Mali Empire and expanded until eventual collapse largely due to a Moroccan invasion in 1591. The fall of the Songhai Empire marked the end of the region's role as a trading crossroads. Following the establishment of sea routes by European powers, the trans-Saharan trade routes lost significance.

In the colonial era, Mali fell under the control of the French beginning in the late 19th century. By 1905, most of the area was under firm French control as a part of French Sudan. In early 1959, Mali (then the Sudanese Republic) and Senegal united to become the Mali Federation and gained independence from France on June 20, 1960. Senegal withdrew from the federation in August 1960, which allowed the Sudanese Republic to form the independent nation of Mali on September 22, 1960.

The country's climate ranges from tropical savannah (trees and grass, with tree density increasing as one travels south) in the south to arid desert in the north, with the Sahel in between. Much of the country receives negligible rainfall; droughts are frequent. Late May or early June (depending on how north one is) to mid or late October or early November is the rainy season. During this time, flooding of the Niger River is common, creating the Inner Niger Delta. After the rainy season is a cooler period when many plants are still green; this is from early November to around early February. From mid February until the rains start in May or June is the hot, dry, period, with daytime temperatures reaching maximum in March and April. This time of year is hot and extremely parched.

Mali consists of diverse Sub-Saharan ethnic groups sharing similar, historic, cultural and religious traditions. Various Mandé ethnicities (e.g., Bambara, Khassonké, Mandinka and Soninké) constitute more than half of Mali's population. Other significant ethnic groups include the Fula, Tuaregs and Moors, known as Azawagh Arabs.

• New Year's Day (January 1)
• Army Day (January 20)
• Martyrs Day (March 26)
• Easter Monday
• Eid al Fitr (Islamic religious observance)
• Independence Day (September 22)
• Christmas Day (December 25)

Mali is not a country you can just waltz into. There are few visa-free arrangements in place, and thus, almost everyone requires a visa to visit the country.

Visas are not required for citizens of Algeria, Andorra, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Macau, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo and Tunisia.

If you require a visa to visit the country, you must possess a valid passport and you must submit the following: visa application forms, passport photos, a travel itinerary, flight tickets, and an invitation letter from a Malian organisation or individual (a hotel reservation will normally suffice for a tourist visa).

Visa fees tend to be expensive. For US citizens, it costs $131 to get a Malian visa (regardless of the type). Other citizens of other countries may have to pay even more money to get a Malian visa, so keep an eye out. As a general rule of thumb, the longer you intend to stay, the more expensive the visa will be.

At the Malian Embassy in Dakar, Senegal, a 30-day visa costs CFA25,000 (2018).

Air France flies daily non-stop from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Bamako (and return). Royal Air Maroc is a little cheaper than Air France and has daily flights from Europe and New York via Casablanca in Morocco. There are also smaller companies, such as Point Afrique, who fly cheaply to & from Mali in the busy tourist season. Air France and RAM arrive and depart in the middle of the night - so even if you are planning a budget trip it may be worth splurging for a nice hotel the first night where you can make real reservations and maybe even get picked up at the airport. TAP Portugal also flies daily from Lisbon.

Many African and pan-African airlines fly into Mali, for example: Ethiopian Airlines, Air Mauritania, Tunisair, Afriqiyah Airways and numerous others. Some of these airlines also have feature connections to Mopti.

The airport is about 20 minutes drive from the centre of Bamako. There are fixed rates for taxis to different parts of town: to find them, cross the roadway in front of the airport and go the right-hand end of the block of kiosks. You will see a group of taxi drivers and a board with prices. In Aug 2007, the price was CFA7,500.

However, if you know the local language enough, you might be able to bargain the official price down to CFA4,000 or even CFA3,000, especially if you arrive during the day. Make sure you board an official taxi though (see the Stay Safe section below). There is even well-hidden restaurant: follow the exit road past the barrier, and it is on the right, surrounded by trees, about 50 m from the terminal building. They're very friendly and serve basic but filling and tasty snacks. For getting back to the airport from Bamako, try negotiating hard and you may get a rate significantly cheaper than the set rates for the airport to Bamako.

If you fly Royal Air Maroc, beware that Casablanca Airport is notorious for opening checked-in bags and removing valuables. Also luggage can arrive late.

As is common with many other airports, there will be people trying to push you into unauthorised taxis and to change money, and some are even allowed into the airport terminal itself. Avoid them.

The only rail line, between Bamako and Dakar, has not operated since the summer of 2009. For more info.

There are several ways to get to Mali by car.

The most popular routes are from Senegal (especially since the Dakar-Bamako trains stopped) and Burkina Faso. The road from Gao to Niamey has been paved and a bridge is being built in Gao so the entire journey from Niamey to Bamako can be completed on paved (if not remote) roads.

There are also decent land crossings from Mauritania (paved) & Guinea. The Ivorian crossing leads into a region of northern Cote d'Ivoire controlled by rebels and, while fairly safe, will lead you through countless roadblocks and "officials" demanding bribes; if travelling to southern Cote d'Ivoire, you're better off travelling through Burkina Faso & Ghana.

There is a remote desert crossing with Algeria near Tessalit, but it is dangerous (prone to banditry and used for smuggling) and remote. It may be closed to tourists; even if not, the Algerian side is dangerous (banditry and al Qaeda extremists!) and requires a military escort.

It is possible to reach Mali by bus directly from a variety of African cities. These include, but are not limited to, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Abidjan, Niamey & Accra.

There is public transport almost all the way from Europe to Mali be it buses or bush-taxis. The only exception is from Dakhla, Western Sahara, to Noudhibou, Mauritania where you can easily get a ride with a Mauritanian trader.

Mali has two large rivers that are navigable at least part of the year, both of which cross into neighbouring countries, although only the Niger has much in the way of pirogues.

• The Senegal River crosses into Mali from Guinea in the south and follows a northwest course into Senegal.
• The Niger crosses into, appropriately enough, Niger. Large boats are only active August-November and do not continue far past the border, but small pirogues regularly ply between Gao and Niamey with many stops along the way.

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. Normally a ride to Mopti (600km, half the way up), endures approximately nine hours; a ride to Gao at least 12. All times are very rough, however, and few bus companies will even give you an estimated arrival time as different drivers drive different speeds and it is not improbable that the bus breaks down and needs a repair or stops to help another bus. It is usually possible to make a reservation several days before, recommended during the tourist season, though one rarely has a problem just showing up 30-60 minutes before the bus leaves. More reliable companies include Bittar, Bani and Banimonotie (Sikasso region) among others.

Bus companies:

• Bittar Transportation

To get around one can take the "Taxi - Brousse", the bush taxis. They are the main connection between towns which aren't connected via bus. They are very slow and they sometimes break down or stop to help other broken down taxis. So sometimes the ride takes longer than expected. Unlike the buses, these rarely run on a set schedule, so you generally just need to show up at the station (in a larger town) or sit by the roadside (in smaller villages) and wait for the next to come along - locals may be able to give you some idea what to expect.

In any larger city, taxis will be plentiful and are usually an easy way for the tourist to get where they are going without trying to figure out the local public transport system (if one even exists). Be prepared to bargain, as they will generally try to overcharge you - in Bamako CFA1,000 should get you anywhere in the city during the day (or up to CFA1,500 at night), while crossing the river will be CFA1,500-2,000. Also, tell the driver clearly if you do not know the location of the place you want to go, as they are rarely forthcoming about admitting that they don't know it and will often expect you to give directions, especially if it is not a popular or common destination.

A good option for a larger group or travellers who value comfort over economy is to rent a private car. A 4x4 is strongly recommended if you will be leaving the main highways (this includes the trip to Timbuktu). There are very few asphalt roads, and they are all single-carriageway outside towns, though most are in good condition. One leads into the North of the country (Bamako, Segou, San, Mopti, Gao), another branches off after Segou to cross the Niger at the Markala dam and goes as far as Niono, while another goes from Bamako to Sikasso and on into Ivory Coast. There are private people who rent out their 4x4 cars for a ride (in which case make sure you've got insurance and a carnet de passage, and plenty of petrol), but generally renting a car means renting a car and driver. This is strongly recommended as Malian roads and drivers can be unpredictable and the vehicles unreliable (better to have the driver figure out what that loud rattle is or why the engine started smoking!).

Travel within Bamako can be difficult for the business traveller and leisure tourist alike. One of the best options is to rent a car with a chauffeur. This can be done on a by-day basis and is an enormous help for someone that is new to the city. When trying to visit numerous places in one day, it becomes difficult to rely on the local taxi system. The chauffeur is a local resident and will know most of the names of the places that you need to go. There is no hassle in finding a parking spot as the chauffeur can wait for you while you attend to the business at hand.

For the tourist, this option can be your solution to seeing the city of Bamako in a care-free manner. Trips out of the city are available as well, although the fare can be somewhat higher than intra-city rates. Gas is an additional cost to the renter. A distinguished man by the name of Aldiouma (pronounced al-Jew-ma) Togo runs a classy operation is open to negotiation for rates. Usually around CFA25,000-30,000 per day for intra-city use. Slightly less than double that fee for extra-city travel. His info: Aldiouma Togo: Cell: +223 642-6500 Home: +223 222-1624 togoaldiouma@yahoo.fr

It is possible to travel across Mali by plane, as numerous companies have sprung up. It is possible to fly (usually from Bamako) to cities such as: Mopti, Timbuktu, Kayes, Yelimané, Gao, Kidal, Sadiola, and others.

The planes, typically, are Czech turboprops (LET-410s) and small Russian jetliners (Yakovlev YAK-40s). Air travel in Mali is fast but, compared to a bus ride, expensive. It is not, however, foolproof - often you are at the mercy of the carrier, who may choose not to fly on a certain day if too few passengers show up! You can generally get tickets at the airport before flights, however the best bet is to book a ticket in advance.

Société Transport Aerienne (STA) and Société Avion Express (SAE) are the two most popular, and most reliable, carriers.

It is possible to travel around Mali by boat, however this is very seasonal. The most common option, only really possible in the wet season, is a barge to/from Timbuktu. There are also very small boats, "pirogues" in French, which are available to be hired almost anywhere - they are essentially large canoes. When the big boats are not running you can still charter a pinasse (like a big, motorised pirogue). Or use one of the public pinasses. These will run for another 3 months or so before the water levels being too low for them as well. You can navigate the river all the way from near Bamako to Gao, though the level drops more rapidly in the portion between Bamako and Mopti.

Rail services in Mali are limited to a twice- or thrice-weekly train between Bamako and Kayes.

The currency of the country is the West African CFA franc, denoted CFA (ISO currency code: XOF). It's also used by seven other West African countries. It is interchangeable at par with the Central African CFA franc (XAF), which is used by six countries. Both currencies are fixed at a rate of 1 euro = 655.957 CFA francs.

The West African CFA franc is envisioned to be reformed into the "eco" as the unified currency of all West African countries (the CFA is mainly used by former French colonies in the region). As of 2023, the change is planned for 2027.

There are plenty of crafts in Mali. Various ethnic groups have their own, trademark masks. There are some great musical instruments; blankets; bogolas (a type of blanket); silver jewellery, and leather goods. The Touareg people, in particular, produce attractive silver and leather goods, including jewellery, daggers, spears, swords and boxes. Local music also makes good souvenirs.

All Ecobank ATMs in Mali take Mastercard and Visa card for cash withdrawal. A list of locations is shown on their web site.

Although it is rarely enforced, you are required to have an international vaccination card showing immunization against yellow fever. It is also recommended to get Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, typhoid, and meningitis vaccinations. You may also consider getting a polio vaccination due to the outbreak of polio in Northern Nigeria that has spread around the region.

Mali is highly endemic for malaria, including s. falciparum malaria, the most acute variety. All travellers should plan to take a malaria prophylaxis throughout their time in Mali (mephloquine and Malarone are the most common). The other main precautions are to use insect repellent in the evenings and to sleep under a mosquito net in all but the fancy, sealed, air-conditioned hotels. This will significantly lower your exposure to malaria as the mosquitoes that carry the parasite are only active at night, but you would want to take these precautions even without the risk of malaria simply to avoid being covered in itchy mosquito bites! You will almost never see or be bothered by mosquitoes during the day.

The rule "cook it peel it or forget it" should be followed. Also water should only be drunk out of sealed bottles or after it is sterilized through boiling or chemical utensils. The food is another issue. It's sometimes difficult to know if it's cooked long enough. Also, to Westerners, the unusual spices are sometimes the cause for sickness, especially diarrhea. Also expect little stones or bits of grit in the meal, especially the local couscous (this doesn't mean it's unsafe though, as it has been cooked long and thoroughly). For the traveller the main danger is diarrhea. For mild diarrhea you should be sure to get lots of rest, drink lots of clean water and eat soft plain foods. If the diarrhea is severe or lasts several days, be prepared to take antibiotics. During the illness the body will lose a lot of water and salt. Coca Cola (sugar and water) and pretzel sticks (salt) are available everywhere and can help with recovery. There are also instant powders that have the necessary glucose and salts available to purchase.