Timbuktu : Most know it only as a figment of the imagination. But in the Middle Ages, it was a dazzling center of scholarship and trade at the edge of the Sahara. We explore

not only the faded glories of this fabled city, but also such exotic sites as the Grand Mosque of Djenne, the bustling city of Mopti and the Dogon region, where a complex animistic cosmology reigns, inspiring mask ceremonies, vibrant rock paintings and mystical cliff dwellings. Unlike most pilgrimages to Timbuktu, chartered plane flights transport us from Bamako to the Sahel and into Timbuktu itself, bypassing lengthy and arduous drives. Then, aboard the 34-guest Callisto, cruise down the Gambia and

Saloum rivers of Senegal and The Gambia. You will be surrounded by the extraordinary villages and wildlife of the Kiang West National Park, and the Makasutu Culture Forest, as we explore the cultural and natural history of this seldom-visited region. Conclude

in Dakar with its colorful markets, fine museums and poignant historical ties to the slave trade.

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