Timbuktu However, a new paved road is under construction between Niono and Timbuktu running to the north of the Inland Niger Delta. The road will pass through Nampala, Léré, Niafunké, Tonka, Diré and Goundam. The completed section between Niono and the small village of Goma Coura was financed by the Millennium Challenge Corporation. This new section will service the Alatona irrigation system development of the Office du Niger. The section between Goma Coura and Timbuktu is being financed by the European Development Fund. Timbuktu Airport is served by both Air Mali and Mali Air Express, hosting flights to and from Bamako,
History of Timbuktu young Scottish adventurer named Mungo Park, who made two trips in search of the Niger River and Timbuktu (departing first in 1795 and then in 1805). It is believed that Park was the first Westerner to have reached the city, but he died in modern-day Nigeria without having the chance to report his findings. In 1824, the Paris-based Société de Géographie offered a 10,000 franc prize to the first non-Muslim to reach the town and return with information about it. The Scotsman Gordon Laing arrived in August 1826 but was killed the following month by local Muslims who were fearful