Mali is landlocked in the west of Africa, and largely flat arid savanna of the southern Sahara. Only the southwestern inland Niger River Delta is more tropically humid.

Mali has one large National Park: Baoulé, not far from Bamako in the southwest of the country. Also interesting for wildlife are Bafing Reserve and Gourma Reserve.

Some hiking is possible in Dogon country, south-central Mali, along the Bandiagara Escarpment (Falaise du Bandiagara).