Bandiagara Escarpment
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How it came to be
The Bandiagara Escarpment in Mali is a sandstone cliff about 150 km long, rising some 500 m above the sandy plain below. The World Heritage site covers 289 villages across three zones: the plateau, the cliff and the plain.
Before the Dogon, the cliff was home to the Tellem, who carved caves into it and buried their dead high up, out of reach of flash floods. The Dogon who came after them used the rough terrain as a refuge from stronger enemies. Square granaries with pointed thatch roofs, the two-level family house called ginna, and the toguna, a men's shelter roofed with branches, line the foot of the cliff. Sacred sites are kept by a priest, the Hogon, and the snake Lebe is a key protective figure.
UNESCO notes that Islam and Christianity have spread here since at least the 18th century, and that drought and people leaving have recently added to the pressure on traditions. The site was inscribed in 1989 for both its cultural and natural values. After the 2012 conflict in Mali, security in the area worsened, and in March 2018 an armed group attacked a hotel in the town of Bandiagara, killing several people.
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