Bandiagara

Bandiagara is a town in Mopti Region traditionally known as the gateway to Dogon Country and the Bandiagara Escarpment, a sandstone cliff rising about 500 m over the surrounding plains and running roughly 150 km. The escarpment and its 289 Dogon villages, spread across sandstone plateau, cliff, and plains, were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1989 for their exceptional cultural landscape and traditional Dogon architecture and belief systems.

Dogon Country has effectively been closed to tourism for over a decade. Since the 2012 conflict in northern and central Mali, the security situation on the Dogon Plateau has deteriorated sharply, with armed groups active in the area and intercommunal violence between local ethnic groups. By the mid-2010s the region was largely inaccessible to visitors, and as of the mid-2020s it remains so; close to 30 villages, about half of them inside the World Heritage property, have suffered partial or total destruction, prompting a UNESCO/ALIPH rehabilitation project. Check official government travel advisories before considering any travel here — this guide describes the place for reference only, not as a current destination.

By Plane

The nearest airport is Bamako (BKO IATA).

• Bandiagara Escarpment — A UNESCO World Heritage-listed sandstone cliff and cultural landscape of 289 Dogon villages, currently inaccessible to visitors due to the security situation.

• Mopti (65-100 km) — The Venice of Mali
• Djenné (180 km) — Great Mosque