The cliff dwellings located at the Bandiagara Escarpment belong to the Dogon people, an indigenous ethnic group from the Central Plateau region of Mali. The Dogon people pushed out another ethnic group known as Tellem and moved to the slopes of the cliff of Bandiagara in the 14th century.
Tellem people carved their houses into the cliffs for various reasons. Firstly, they wanted to use the defensive qualities of the cliffs against invasions and fights. They wanted to bury their dead high up as well because of the flash floods in the area. Also, they wanted to have easy access to water as the Niger River is nearby.
The dwellings blend remarkably with the cliffside and go almost unnoticed, providing security during turmoils for the dwellers. There are thirty Dogon villages across the escarpment, and they show differences in terms of architectural style. Some dwellings are carved into the cliffs, while others have thatched roofs protruding from sand and rock, a similar trait in African architecture.
The cliff stretches over 150 kilometers. The landscape has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1989. Because of the security risk within the area, it is often inadvisable to travel there but the site remains an important and historical landscape.
Are there other ancient cliffside settlements with similar cultural significance?
1. Mesa Verde (USA) – The Cliff Dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans
- Located in Colorado, these remarkable 12th-century dwellings were built by the Ancestral Puebloans into the cliffs. The site includes Cliff Palace, the largest of its kind, with intricate stone masonry and kivas (ceremonial chambers).
2. Matera (Italy) – The Sassi Cave Dwellings
- One of the oldest continuously inhabited settlements in the world, Matera’s Sassi (cave dwellings) date back to the Paleolithic era. These homes, carved into limestone cliffs, were used for centuries and have since been restored into hotels and cultural sites.
3. Kandovan (Iran) – The Ancient Troglodyte Village
- This 800-year-old village in northwestern Iran features homes carved into volcanic rock formations. Like the Dogon settlements in Bandiagara, the structures blend seamlessly into the landscape and remain inhabited.
4. Vardzia (Georgia) – The Hidden Monastic City
- A 12th-century cave monastery built into a cliffside, Vardzia was created under King Tamar’s rule as a defense against invasions. It once housed thousands of monks and features a hidden network of tunnels and rooms.
5. Göreme (Turkey) – The Fairy-Tale Cave Dwellings of Cappadocia
- A vast network of cave homes, monasteries, and churches carved into soft volcanic rock, Göreme has been inhabited since at least the Byzantine era. Its unique landscape and fresco-adorned cave churches make it a cultural and historical marvel.
Like Bandiagara, these sites are not just architectural wonders—they are deeply tied to the traditions, beliefs, and survival strategies of the people who built them.
