A Tour On The Niger River

Mopti, Mali, 2004

After our week long hike along the Cliffs of Bandiagara, we did some tours around Mali en route back to Ghana (punch Mali into the search field above for the three-part series of the hike). The natural landscapes along the cliff had been quite spectacular, but other parts of central Mali were vast, dry and rather unsensational. The mighty Niger River is another highlight in this otherwise rather barren part of the country. The river is a lifeline mainly because its water is being used to provide irrigation to farming communities, but also because it´s a reliable highway through the country. Goods are transported to villages and towns that are cut off from the major road infrastructure, and of course people also use transport vessels, ferries and taxi-boats to reach certain points along the river. We started our little river tour in Mopti, which has the busiest harbor in the country and is also one of the major trade hubs. From here one can reach any other significant part of the country, upstream towards the capital Bamako, and downstream towards Timbuktu, Gao and the other countries further along the stream. Mopti is also the main city within the Niger River Inland Delta, the so called Massina. But unfortunately we couldn´t get an impression of the delta, as the extent of it is just too great for a short boat tour.

I travelled through parts of Niger (the country) a year later and got some impressive views of the broadness of the river close to Niamey. I´ll post some pictures of that tour later on.

The photos were not good to start with, they´ve lost additional quality due to a too hasty digitalization-process. But hey, remember? This site is not so much about the perfect picture, rather, some of it is about documenting an expats experiences and travels - even without the Ansel Adams gene.

Along the river bank in Mopti

Boats of all sizes arrive and depart along the makeshift landing places,

the actual proper harbor is in downtown Mopti

within a system of Niger tributaries

Life along the river within the vicinity of Mopti is simple and full of

privations, as many people are lured by economical promises

A village and Mosque somewhere along the western banks

It may not be obvious, but the river throws off a certain amount of wealth

to some communities that re-invest in straw and forage for cattle,

which in turn is a safe livelihood

The pinasse is a typical boat on the river

A ferry being loaded, goods on top, people below in the shade

Mali Gallery