Route data is compiled in chronological order from Wikipedia's voyage articles (CC BY-SA), cross-checked against primary source narratives and historical records. Waypoints mark approximate port, bay, and landfall locations — not survey-grade ship positions — and should be verified against detailed historical charts and logs before being treated as authoritative. Coordinates for remote stops and open-ocean legs are estimated and approximate.
Stage 1 — The Great Pilgrimage
1325–1326· Overland caravans and coastal dhowsPerform the Hajj; Ibn Battuta was 21 years old and had no plan to travel further.
On 14 June 1325, the 21-year-old Ibn Battuta left Tangier alone, joining caravans across North Africa. He crossed the Maghreb, Egypt, and the Levant — visiting Cairo, Jerusalem, and Damascus — before reaching Mecca. He performed the Hajj and resolved to keep travelling. He would not return home for 29 years.
⚠Accuracy: North African and Levantine stages well-documented in the Rihla. Some scholars question the Syria detour chronology.
Stage 2 — Iraq, Persia & East Africa
1326–1330· Overland caravan; Red Sea and Indian Ocean dhowsExplore Iraq, Persia, and East Africa; return for multiple subsequent Hajj pilgrimages.
After his first Hajj, Ibn Battuta turned north to Iraq and Persia — visiting Basra, Baghdad (still recovering from the Mongol sack of 1258), Tabriz, and Shiraz — before returning to Mecca. He then sailed down the Red Sea and East African coast as far as Kilwa (Tanzania), the southernmost Swahili port, before returning for a second Hajj. He spent three years in Mecca studying Islamic law.
⚠Accuracy: Iraq and Persia well-documented. East African Kilwa identification confirmed archaeologically.
Stage 3 — Anatolia, Golden Horde & India
1330–1341· Overland caravans; Black Sea and Caspian crossings by shipTravel through Anatolia, the Byzantine Empire, Mongol steppes, Central Asia, and reach India.
Leaving Mecca in 1330, Ibn Battuta crossed Anatolia, visited Constantinople, sailed across the Black Sea into the Mongol Golden Horde steppes, traversed Central Asia through Bukhara and Samarkand, crossed the Hindu Kush, and arrived in Delhi in 1334. Sultan Muhammad ibn Tughluq appointed him as a judge and ambassador. He served in Delhi for nine years under an erratic but brilliant sultan.
⚠Accuracy: Anatolia and Constantinople visit well-documented. Central Asia relies on dictated memory; some scholars question Constantinople timeline. Delhi service confirmed by independent historical sources.
Stage 4 — Maldives, Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia
1341–1345· Indian Ocean dhowsDiplomatic mission to China; detoured through Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bengal, and Sumatra after shipwreck.
Dispatched by the Sultan of Delhi to China, Ibn Battuta's fleet was wrecked off Calicut — he barely escaped with his life. Stranded, he detoured through the Maldives (serving as a judge for 18 months), Sri Lanka, Bengal, and Sumatra before finally departing for China in 1345.
⚠Accuracy: Maldives stay detailed in the Rihla. Bengal and Sumatra material thinner. Sri Lanka pilgrimage to Adam's Peak confirmed.
Stage 5 — China
1345–1346· Chinese junksReach the court of the Emperor of China.
Ibn Battuta arrived in China via Quanzhou (Zayton) — the world's greatest port. He travelled north through Guangzhou, Hangzhou ('the city of Heaven'), and reached Beijing (Khanbaliq), capital of the Yuan dynasty. He was impressed by Chinese craftsmanship but disturbed by the widespread consumption of pork and wine. Historians debate how much of the China narrative is accurate vs. compiled from other travellers' accounts.
⚠Accuracy: China section most disputed by modern scholars; some passages appear derived from other travellers. The broad outline (Quanzhou → Hangzhou → Beijing) is accepted but Ibn Battuta's presence is not independently confirmed.
Stage 6 — Return to the Islamic World
1346–1349· Chinese junks and Indian Ocean dhowsReturn home to Morocco via the Indian Ocean and Middle Eastern routes.
Departing China in 1346, Ibn Battuta retraced his path through Sumatra, Calicut, and the Persian Gulf. He arrived at Mecca for a third Hajj in 1348 — just as the Black Death was sweeping the Islamic world. He experienced the plague firsthand in Syria and Egypt. He returned to Morocco briefly in 1349 — home for the first time in 24 years. His mother had recently died.
⚠Accuracy: Return route follows established Indian Ocean paths. Black Death observation in Syria and Egypt confirmed historically; Ibn Battuta's account is a primary source on the epidemic.
Stage 7 — Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain)
1349–1350· Overland and coastal vesselsVisit al-Andalus and fight in a jihad against the Castilian Reconquista.
Barely home, Ibn Battuta set off to al-Andalus, under pressure from the Christian Reconquista. He crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, visited Ronda, and reached Granada — the last remaining Muslim emirate in Iberia. He returned to Morocco via Ceuta.
⚠Accuracy: Andalusia itinerary brief in the Rihla; exact sequence of towns uncertain. Granada and Gibraltar confirmed stops.
Stage 8 — Sahara & Mali
1351–1354· Camel caravans across the SaharaCross the Sahara to the Mali Empire — the wealthiest kingdom in Africa and a major Muslim realm.
At the Sultan's request, Ibn Battuta crossed the Sahara to the Mali Empire. He traveled via the salt mines of Taghaza to the Mali capital, met Mansa Suleyman, and proceeded to Timbuktu and the Niger River. He returned to Morocco in 1354 and dictated his entire 29 years of travels to the scholar Ibn Juzayy in 1355. He never travelled again.
⚠Accuracy: Saharan and Mali stages best-documented in the Rihla — Ibn Battuta was critical of Malian customs, suggesting genuine firsthand experience. Mansa Suleyman independently attested in Arabic chronicles.