Begnebougou / Mango Circle

Due to the temperature, hiking is a bit of a challenge around Bamako, but in early May, the mangoes are ripe and you will enjoy this track where you'll be able to eat so many mangoes that you'll have plenty of energy! Just bring water to drink and wash your hands as the mango juice will make them sticky.

This track can be done all year around. In the late rainy reason, the water in the small stream will make it a pleasant view. Not only are there plenty of mango trees, there are also many agricultural fields along the way. Depending on the time of the year, you'll see everything from papaya, cabbage, green beans, tomatoes and peanuts.

In general, the trail is easy enough to find, but there are a few places it diverts from the bigger trail, so keep an eye on the GPS to follow the track as published. You are, of course, free to divert from the track as there are frequently several parallel tracks, but they don't always stay parallel or abruptly end at a garden patch.

To get to the trail head, follow the indicated way points. The track is not too difficult to find and Google Maps or Maps.me may bring you there without any problems. But do note that it's all on dirt road of a very poor quality and I would highly recommend a 4WD and a driver to match. Although just a few kilometres, allow for about 45 min drive once you leave the asphalt road. At the indicated parking spot, you'll find food parking in the shade of some trees. You can also opt to park earlier on the way up, but that obviously add to the length of the track.

I've found this valley via this trail on Wikiloc. But as that one is for mountain bikes and this one for hiking, there are plenty of differences. For hiking, I've tried to find the smaller tracks with more shade and more variation. For parts, the 2 tracks overlap, but overall is differently enough to be interesting. For those finding this track to short, you can combine it with my other track on the Mango valley.

Please remember to bring plenty of water and a snack as you'll not see any shops along the way.

Enjoy your hike and leave a comment!