An adventure beyond Timbuktu

The name of the fabled desert city of Timbuktu has become a synonym for remote and inaccessible, but it is actually a modest town in the modern state of Mali.

However, if you want a travel experience that is genuinely remote, you may need to go beyond Timbuktu.

Every year for one week in January thousands of people converge on the oasis of Essakane, two hours north of Timbuktu for three beautifully surreal days of music and culture, the Festival au Desert, a traditional gathering of the local Tuareg people, which has been expanded to welcome foreigners and to include acts from across Africa and the world.

Getting to Essakane is neither easy nor cheap. In fact it is downright difficult, but the rewards (and bragging rights) are in proportion to the effort. A visa is required to enter Mali and a yellow fever vaccination certificate is required before you apply.

Air France and Royal Air Maroc offer flights from London to the Malian capital, Bamako, and 4X4 transport from there to the site can be arranged through the festival's website.

For those looking to travel in a smaller group with more opportunities to interact with local people, all your in-country travel and accommodation can be arranged through Tounga Tours, a small, flexible family-operated company that will tailor your trip to your budget and preferences.

Tounga also operates a nice bed and breakfast on the banks of the Niger, which provides a calm space to escape from the smog and hassle of Bamako. Speak to them in advance and arrange to have payment wired as there are only a few cash machines in the city and they only accept Visa.

Be advised that the trip from Bamako to the festival site takes at least three days, with the quality of the roads deteriorating each day until calling the desert tracks roads at all is charitable. (Air Mali has service from the capital into Timbuktu but the decrepit planes involved require a stout heart.)

Dust is plentiful and breakdowns are routine. Thankfully, your steely-nerved driver will be able to fix nearly any problem with a small toolbox and some wire. Patience, flexibility and a French phrasebook are absolutely essential.

However, as you chat with fellow travellers at dusk waiting for the ferry across the Niger to Timbuktu, walk amid pick-up trucks loaded with Tuareg men in their purple robes and head wraps, and snuggle into the cold Sahara night to listen to traditional Malian music and the latest hip-hop from Senegal, you will know you have really experienced adventure travel.

Festival tickets were €149 euro in January 2007 (the exact prices and dates for 2008 are yet to be announced). However, as facilities near the site are non-existent, it is advisable to buy a combination of ticket and full room and board for €300.

Travellers should note the Foreign Office currently advises against travel north of Timbuktu, but this may change in future. For the latest official travel advice on visiting Mali see the Foreign Office website at www.fco.gov.uk

Jessica Stillman