Travel and Tourism

Travel and Tourism in Mali

Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Mali.

Practical Information

Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.

Travel Alert Status: Level 4: Do Not Travel
Time Difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Climate: There are two primary seasons in West Africa. The dry period can be further divided into two distinct seasons, mild and hot, particularly in the savanna and Sahelian regions of Mali. The rainy season usually begins in June and continues into October. Almost all of the annual rainfall occurs during this time. As much as 60-80 inches of rain may fall in the southern savanna but rainfall is lower further north. Temperatures range from 70 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (21-40°C). The cool season lasts from December to mid-February, when temperatures range from 60 degrees Fahrenheit at night to the mid-80s (about 28-34°C) during the day. The hot season starts in mid-February and goes into June. The air is dry, dusty, and very hot; temperatures often reach over 100 degrees (40°C) and clouds of dust hang in the air. This is the season of the harmattan, the dry, sandy wind that brings dust clouds southwards from the Sahara.
Ethnic Groups: Mande 50% (Bambara, Malinke, Soninke), Peul 17%, Voltaic 12%, Songhai 6%, Tuareg and Moor 10%, other 5%
National Holiday: Independence Day, 22 September (1960)
Geographic Coordinates: 17 00 N, 4 00 W
Location: interior Western Africa, southwest of Algeria, north of Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, and Burkina Faso, west of Niger
Airports: 27

Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.

Medical Facilities and Health Information: Medical facilities in Mali are extremely limited, especially outside of Bamako. Psychiatric care to the same standard as that practiced in the United States does not exist. The U.S. Embassy in Bamako maintains a list of physicians and other healthcare professionals who have indicated willingness to treat U.S. citizen patients. The Embassy is unable to recommend medical professionals or facilities. Most U.S. medicines are unavailable; European medications are more easily found, and can be obtained at pharmacies throughout Bamako, and are usually less expensive than those in the United States. Travelers should carry with them an adequate supply of needed medication and prescription drugs, along with copies of the prescriptions, including the generic names for the drugs. Be careful to avoid purchasing potentially dangerous counterfeit medications when buying on the local market in Mali.
Accessibility: While in Mali, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what is available in the United States.

Degree of Risk: very high
Animal-Contact Diseases: rabies
Food and Waterborne Diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
Respiratory Diseases: meningococcal meningitis
Vectorborne Diseases: malaria and dengue fever
Water-Contact Diseases: schistosomiasis