The majority of folks traveling to Africa do so to see the Big Game. While this is a magnificent event one can only experience in Africa, the Continent has much more to offer! One of the most amazing events I have ever personally attended is the Essakane Music Festival. This Festival takes place only once a year, every January. You may not be familiar with the name Essakane, but I know most of you have heard of Timbuktu. Yes Timbuktu is a real place! It is located in the Northern Sector of the West Africa Country, Mali. Timbuktu is the gateway town to the remote regions of the Sahara Desert and the Salt Mines of Taudenni. Essakane is a small desert village, which is located about seventy-five Kilometers from Timbuktu. It is a true adventure just getting to Timbuktu, but the real adventure starts from Timbuktu to Essakane!

The event was originally a local Tuareg Festival. The Tuaregs are the indigenousness tribes still living in the Sahara today. They would gather at Essakane to share food, stories and music. In 2001 the festival was taken to an international level. The festival still draws many desert nomads as well as Tuaregs living in towns throughout the region, but now it attracts international travelers from all over the world. It is well organized and when one thinks of the fact that there are no services in Essakane, such as electricity and running water, it is simply incredible that the organizers of the festival do such a great job making folks comfortable in the desert conditions.

As a guest/spectator at the festival you will really enjoy life, desert style for a few days. Your accommodation will be in large comfortable white desert style tents; very similar to the ones the nomadic folks living in the desert reside in. All of your meals are included and if you can catch a local bar the first day or so you may even be able to find a cold beer! There are also local artists offering some of their creations for sale, but most of all, we are there for the music! There are several Taureg musicians playing local traditional music, but there are also several international bands and musicians as well. We heard bands from Europe, Australia and one from America.

One can share great food, drink, and music at any festival in the world, however I have never been to a festival where you can actually live in the Sahara Desert for a few days as you can at Essakane!

Please feel free to contact me personally if you would like to attend the festival or if you should have any questions about the festival