Brussels - Bamako
 

I would like to drive from Brussels to Bamako in 1 month with a normal car, sadly no diesel. I have quite a few questions for the guys who have driven south recently...

In the past I drove
12/2011: Brussels - Bamako using route de l'espoir
7/2012: Brussels - Banjul
8/2012: Brussels - Bamako using route de l'espoir
10/2013: Brussels - Cape Town using route de l'espoir

This time Brussels - Bamako again, but I would like to avoid 'la poste de douane' in Nioro. So several questions...

1. Visa for Mauritania can now be taken at the border, coming from western sahara? (all previous times I had to take it in Rabat)
2. Visa for Mali can still be taken at the border?
3. Route Nouakchott-Aleg-Bogué-Kaédi-M'bout-Sélibaby-border crossing-Kayes-Mahina-Kita-Bamako Which parts are sand roads? How long will this route take with a normal car
4. The part between Sélibaby and Kayes is my main concern... Is it true you have to cross some 'wadi'? I guess february will be fine for this, but can it easily be done with a normal car?
5. Availability of petrol after Nouakchott? I will drive a huge V6 enigne and I will need a lot of petrol...
6. Are customs and 'laissez-passer' all being done at the border, or do you still have to go to a main office in Kayes?

Thx, Seb

I'll leave others to answer your difficult questions but I went down to Dakar a couple of months ago on a bike.

I got my Mauritania visa in Rabat, took about 3.5 hours total. You can also get a visa at the border though but for me it was good to have it before arriving at the border because customs took a few hours. Some guys I met at the border took 6 hours to get through, getting visa and then customs. I took less than 3 hours to get through.

As for petrol, I used the garage between the 2 cities on way down it had petrol, on the way back, no petrol. In Nouackchott I went to nearly 10 garages before finding one that had petrol. Usual advice, fill up when you can.

Good luck with the trip.

I think this route is going to be a big challenge on a normal car compared to Road of Hope. And for a petrol car that would be even more challenging. It looks like there are miles and miles of sand and petrol not available everywhere in Mauritania as you know.
Last year I went to Bamako and one option was to take this road you are considering, but when I realised how much of unpaved and sandy miles I would ride on, I changed my mind and took the Road of Hope.
You are right, the main concern is from Selibaby to Kayes and It does look like there is deep sand, rough terrain and flood plains and not much tarmac.
I like this route, but on a normal petrol car I would't go solo and would think carefully about Security, Sand, petrol, water and food.

No sand dunes or loose sand, just a rocky piste. Challenge could be finding Melgue, I usually have to ask around a little
There are wells and villages en route.
With a full tank from Selibaby or a couple bidons Kayes isn't that far away, some 450 kms?

Edit: more like 250 kms

Is there a piste between Selibaby and Melgue?
Can one do immigration formalities in Melgue or have to go to Kayes?

Hi Priffe,


You mean 150 km, no?


Is it true that you drive through some dried river beddings? So it can't be done all year round (with a normal car)?


Have you also driven the route I mentioned between Kayes and Bamako?


Thanks!


Seb.

I think that they still use a simple paper 'laissez passer' at the border (which is not digitalised). But I am also not sure if you still have to pass an office in Kayes to get it stamped or anything like that...


(That's what I was told when I was in Bamako in oct. 2013)

Selibaby - Kayes is probably 250 kms, leave by daylight arrive before dark.
This is abeautiful piste to drive.
I have written about this piste and Kayes - Bafoulabé - Kita before

1. Mauri visa at the border
2. Mali visa at the border
3. day 1 Nkt - Selibaby
day 2 Selibaby - Kayes
day 3 Kayes - Bamako
4. Dry season ok, no 4wd. It won't be 'easy', rocky piste, several riverbed crossings.Take your time.
5. Don't know
6. Melgue: mauri side passport + douane,mali side only douane.
Do passport and insurance in Kayes.

164Kms in my book -
Priffe, could you please can you recheck your track log?
& email me your track? many thanks if you have one. ATB

My tracks are at the home computer, but you are probably right it is a one day drive including border formalities.
I only drove straight through the first trip, this area is very interesting and we have gone south west along the oued on the mali side down to the Senegal river which we have then followed to Kayes.
The trick was then to avoid the gendarm escort so we could go where we wanted.

This trip I am not going over Selibaby we are crossing at Diama Monday Then going east finding a new route to Agadez inchallah.

Ok thank you Priffe

Following as I am preparing a trip to Mali for 2016. Very interesting info :)

Hi Priffe,


Thanks a lot for all info!


Has anyone got the link on the report mentioned above. I couldn't really find it... Anyone gps points of this 2 pistes?


Seb.

eh, eh, my dear Priffe you need a navigator: Selibaby - Kayes is cca. 110 kilometres :) depending on which of the many variations of piste you choose

**
if anybody needs relevant WPs from this route, which I can confirm as easy, PM me
***
there is NO more compulsory escort on this route, info as of 13 jan 2015

that's correct, they use the simple "lp" at the border.
In Kayes you're supposed to stamp your "lp" by police, not ANY police mind you, the one situated close to the train station,
but you can do it later too, actually better do it later as the police in KYS will demand a few thousand cfa to do their job :)