Hiking in the Hombori Mountains

Main de Fatima

As I look at the overall trip in Mali, I feel I had been very efficient with my travel in Mali since I was well ahead of my schedule for most of my travel. On second though, I probably had been too efficient because some of the basic things like taking a regular bath, brushing the teeth twice daily, eating three square meals everyday and shaving the stubble where far below on the priority list of things to do due to a combination of circumstances and time. However, a night’s stay in Hombori gave me an opportunity to revisit these chores.

Sahel as long as the eye can see

The day after seeing the elephants I had plans to hike in the village of Hombori and the mountains surrounding it. I had to get a local guide from Hombori to take me to a mountainous rock formation called as Main de Fatima (Fatima’s Hand) because from certain angles it looks like a gigantic human hand bursting from the flat plain of the Sahel.

This was the most breathtaking scene while ascending the mountains

Tools of the ancestors of the locals

The problem with climbing to the top of Main de Fatima was that half of the mountain was a vertical cliff and the only way to climb all the way was using rock climbing gear which neither I had not the guide. It’s a shame that I could not climb all the way as the view from halfway was spectacular and I can only imagine how much better it must have been from the very top. I guess this was one of those desires that remain unfulfilled which is a reminder than I can’t always do it all.

Most of the morning was spend hiking in the mountains and soaking in the views and in the early afternoon we returned to the village of Hombori where the guide and I walked through the village where we tried our best to communicate with my understanding of French being a barrier…though not a very significant one.

The views were so beautiful...even the goats stopped by to catch it :)

The village of Hombori was located in and around the foothills of the Hombori Tondo and was a very interesting little village to walk around with a combination of the mud architecture unique to this region and some structures made of rock due to the ample supply of rocks around the mountains.

Two fingers from Fathima's hand

Main de Fatima

The village was a good introduction to the last remaining place I wanted to go in Mali….Dogon Country. Dogon Country is a term, loosely used in referring to a region south east of the port city of Mopti where there are tribes of people who live on the plateau, cliffs and plains of the Bandiagara escarpment. The people of Dogon, even though referred to generally as the Dogon are in fact distinct in their cultures and traditions with each village having its own dissimilar styles.

The history of the Dogon people, as passed through their oral tradition mentions that they were probably related to the Bambara ethnic group and initially habituated the region around Bamako and Segou. They fled to the relative safety of the Bandiagara escarpment in the 14th or 15th century to escape the invading Muslims rulers who wanted to covert or enslave them. Not wanting to being converted to Islam which was spreading through most of Mali at that time they fled to the escarpment which runs from south-west to north-east of Mali. Before the spread of Islam, most Malians were Animist (belief that even inanimate objects possess soul) so I believe that the Dogon people, most of whom are still animist and follow their unique traditions, represent a relic of how Mali must have been before the spread of Islam.

Village of Hombori against the backdrop of the Wari Tondo (Mount Wari)

Center of Hombori

Center for village elders...i could not go in

To make matters more interesting, the story further elaborates that when the Dogon people arrived in the region, that region was already occupied by mysterious people called as Tellem. The Tellem where pygmies and lived in the seemingly impossible to live vertical cliffs and where primarily hunters and gatherers. The region at that time was apparently more lush with vegetation and animals but when the Dogon, who where agriculturist, arrived they over-exploited the region for cultivation. A loss of their basic food source and skirmishes with the Dogon led the Tellem to abandon the region to flee…never to be seen again. There are old tales that the Tellem then went through to Benin, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon and later mixed with the local population there.

Traffic through the streets of Hombori

Some unknown species (to me)  of Monitor Lizard

Before I got to the Dogon Country, I had to head south from Hombori to the town of Douentza and from there to Sevare before going east towards the Burkina Faso border to the town of Dogon town of Bandiagara.

On the way to Douentza was the stunningly beautiful Hombori mountain chain. We even lucky to encounter a species of desert monitor lizard on the road which was pretty cool.

The mountain range along the road from Hombori to Douentza

At Douentza, after the driver dropped me off, I bid adieu to Ismail and took a public bus heading to Sevare I stayed the night at Sevare which was an unappealing town and then next morning went to Mopti to exchange cash and then took a public ride to the town of Bandiagara which would be my base before I embarked on the four day hike through the Dogon country.

At Bandiagara, my accommodation was the usual sleeping bag on the terrace but this time I had to wake up in the middle of the night as I felt rain drops. Fortunately, the rain did not persist and I slept my way through a light drizzle.