Ségou

Understand

The first inhabitants of the city were the Bozos, a people living from fishing. Later there were also the Soninkes, the Malinkes and finally the Bambara people in the 16th century.

Segou is often considered to be the second city of Mali, and is certainly one of the most important ports in Mali.

In 2004 the region was inhabited by 1,887,100 people, of which nearly half younger than 15 years old.

Get in

The city is about 240km from Mali's capital, Bamako.

You can travel by river easily to Mopti, continuing on towards Gao, Wednesdays are your best bet.

Segou is on the main road therefore it is easy to get buses on the route between Bamako (CFA 2000) and Mopti (CFA 4500).

Get around

thumb|Tricycle in Ségou. You can easily walk around the centre of the town, but to reach some of the outlying hotels you can easily get a taxi ~250-500cfa.

See

The most impressive architecture in Mali is to be found in the colonial buildings in the government district, however being government houses it's best not to take photos of them. The port is fairly small compared to Mopti but still worth a visit as part of a walk along the waterfront from the government district.

Do

Visit the Craft centre along the Mopti road, it's in a distinctive bright orange mud building set next to large mud quarries. For CFA 500 you will be given a guided tour and explanation of how bogolan clothes are made and even have the chance to try your hand at creating your own masterpiece. They also have a shop with work that is generally of a higher quality than on market stands.

Take a walk along the waterfront from the government district to the port.

Festival sur le Niger, an annual music and dance festival in late January/early February.

Buy

Segou is famous for its bogolan cloth, or mud clothing (literally translated as "earth clothe" in the Bambara language), the craft centre is the best place to buy these from (note that the prices are fixed), but there are also plenty of street vendors selling them. Opposite the Hotel L'Auberge are several small shops and stands selling a variety of traditional Malian art and crafts including masks, bogolans, carvings, Tuareg boxes.

Eat

Hotel L'Auberge and Hotel Indépendance both have good restaurants.

Go next

Teriya Bugu "Centre du Tourisme Solidaire", on the way east between Segou and San is a great ecotourism "resort" that is off the beaten path and deserves a visit if you can make it! Visit Gao, Mali's north-eastern region.