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All Mali Timbuktu

The Atlas Obscura Guide To Timbuktu

2 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Timbuktu, Mali

Updated June 1, 2022

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Unusual Attractions in Timbuktu

The Timbuktu Manuscripts showing both mathematics and astronomy.

Timbuktu, Mali

Timbuktu Manuscripts

Ancient Manuscripts showcase the civilization of West Africans during the Middle Ages.

Timbuktu, Mali

Djingareyber Mosque

One of Western Africa's oldest mosques, this Timbuktu icon has stood for nearly 700 years.
Are we missing something unusual?
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Gaddafi Canal

Gourma Rharous, Mali

Gaddafi Canal

Muammar Gaddafi's well-intentioned investment in his favorite city turned out to be a nightmare.
3 miles from Timbuktu
In partnership with KAYAK

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Unforgettable Experiences Nearby

Explore Timbuktu, Mali

Timbuktu Leaderboard

Places Added

  1. Madiha Bataineh
    1
  2. micahspangler
    1
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Add an unusual place to Timbuktu.

Places Edited

  1. Annetta Black
    1
  2. Madiha Bataineh
    1
  3. Tawsam
    1
  4. CK KNiRSCH
    1
  5. Patti Neves
    1
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Improve the Atlas with edits and photos.

Places Visited

  1. alliouaganarama
    2
  2. anferny2016
    2
  3. micahspangler
    2
  4. hatmac
    2
  5. sgcnewmex
    2
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Visit a place in Timbuktu.

Recent Timbuktu Activity

  • tomjones8

    wants to go to Timbuktu Manuscripts

  • martinbull2802

    has been to Timbuktu Manuscripts

  • martinbull2802

    has been to Djingareyber Mosque

  • RHF

    wants to go to Djingareyber Mosque

  • sylph6

    wants to go to Timbuktu Manuscripts

Stories About Timbuktu

The Postcards from Timbuktu project promises mail from one of the most legendarily inaccessible cities in the world. The city’s reputation was mostly myth until the unrest of the last decade.

Timbuktu Is Just a Postcard Away

Years of political unrest have halted tourism in the Malian city, so local guides are bringing Timbuktu to the world—through the mail.
by Annie Risemberg
June 1, 2022
The riparian buffers flanking the Niger River in Timbuktu, Mali, appear in red.

Striking Satellite Images of Cities on the Brink

A fresh perspective on the fragility and resilience of our world.
by Jessica Leigh Hester
September 24, 2018

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