Mali Travel Guide
Mali is a country situated in West Africa. Mali is landlocked
with borders of Algeria in the north and northwest, Guinea to the southwest,
Niger in the east and south, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast in the south, ,
Senegal to the west and Mauritania to the west and northwest.
Mali offers a variety of attractions: lakes, rivers, mountains, game parks and villages. The country has a diverse eco-systems, beautiful scenery, a variety of wildlife and an interesting culture. Two massifs dominate Mali, which is served by two rivers - the Niger and Senegal and their tributaries. The republic is divided into three natural zones; the Sudanese, an area of cultivation covering some 200,000 sq. km (77,220 sq. mi) in the south and in the Niger delta; the Sahelian and the Saharan. The second massif, in the circle formed by the Niger River, is virtually a plateau and rests on the sandstone base.
Mali is known as the "the warm heart of Africa". Geographically, Mali is dominated by Lake Mali, the third largest freshwater lake in Africa, a trough 360 miles long and 50 miles wide formed where the western arm of the Great Rift Valley cuts into southern Africa. Major cities are the capital Lilongwe and the commercial center Blantyre.