Kayes is a city in the Kayes Region on the river Senegal in the West African country of Mali.

Understand

The city is told to be the hottest town in Africa. Until 1908 it was the colonial capital of French Sudan. The town is a stop of the Dakar-Bamako railway. The area is rich in iron and gold.

Get in

Kayes is on the railway between Dakar and Bamako, however due to the deteriorating of tracks international trains are suspended, leaving only a slow thrice-weekly service from Bamako.

• 1 Kayes railway station (Gare de Kayes) (Southwest of city centre). (updated Jan 2023)

See

• 1 Medina Fort (12 km east of Kayes, along the road to Bamako). Site of a major battle between the Toucouleur Empire and French colonizers. The fort still stands and is open to the public. (updated Jan 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Hôtel du Rail (In front of the railway station), ☏ +223 21 52 12 33. (updated May 2016)

Go next

Take a truck to Keniéba, in southwest Mali. One hell of a journey!