Mali is a country in West Africa. It is a landlocked country. The country borders Algeria, Niger, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania. It is the 24th largest country in the world, and also the eighth largest country in Africa. The capital of the country is Bamako.
The Mande are the dominant group, with 50% of the population being Mande. The people of Mali are called Malian. It covers a total area of 1.2 million km2 and has a population of 14,500,000 people. However, the country has rich ethnical diversity and a lot of indigenous groups. The official language spoken here is French. It also has various other national languages.
The main religion in the region is Islam. In fact, 90% of the population follows this religion. Other than that, 5% people are Christians. The rest of the population practices local religions. Atheism is rare in Mali. Mali has a rich cultural diversity due to the variation in ethnic groups. Most of the population wear colorful robes, which are also called Boubous. The country has rich traditions of music, literature, and cuisines. The country has faced many famines in its history.
The currency of Mali is the West African CFA Franc. The exchange rate is 655 CFA Francs for 1 US dollar. In Bamako, you can exchange US dollars and Euros for local currency. Also, you can exchange traveler’s cheques there. It is advised, however, to take cheques in dollars or Euros to avoid additional exchange charges. Credit cards are not a popular way of payment in Mali. You can use credit cards only in airports, hotels, large restaurants and major banks.
In Mali, there are European plugs of types C and F. And the standard voltage is 220V.
Collective taxis in cities are cheap and fares don’t depend on the distance. Also, tipping is not common. Car hire is not difficult, you can even book a car in advance via the Internet. Cars drive on the right here. However, roads in Mali vary from moderate to very bad. Stops at customs and police checkpoints are frequent on major roads. And you should also avoid traveling at night. Be particularly careful, when driving in Bamako.
Travel safe!
July 30, 2016 12:00 am Leave your thoughts
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