Mopti

Mopti stands where the Bani joins the Niger, built on a set of islands linked by causeways, and it is the country's main river port: pirogues and pinasses loaded with salt slabs brought down from the desert, dried fish, pottery and rice, and a waterfront that works from dawn. The Komoguel mosque, a banco building of the 1930s modelled on Djenné's, stands above the port. The town is the departure point for the inland delta.

What you actually see

• The port - the working waterfront with pinasses loading salt, fish and rice.
• The salt slabs - the blocks brought down from the desert mines and traded here.
• The Komoguel mosque - the 1930s banco building above the port.
• The confluence - the point where the Bani joins the Niger.

When to go

November to February is the comfortable season with high water for boats. Water drops from March and river travel becomes limited. The rains run June to September.

Honest expectations

The port area is crowded and selling pressure at the waterfront is heavy. Sanitation along the shore is poor. River journeys depend entirely on water levels.

Nearby

Djenné is southwest, and Lake Débo is downstream.