Ultimate Chad :  Ennedi - Wadi Rime - Gerewol Festival

4 people: trip cost $10,750 per person

6 people: trip cost $9,450 per person

8 people: trip cost $8,450 per person

Single supplement $750

Please read the physical requirements before booking this trip

Chad is still one of the safest countries to visit in northern Africa. Across the northern part spreads the vast and very sparsely populated Sahara desert while the south is dominated by grass and bush savannah which receive seasonal rain falls. The spectacular landscapes are as diverse as the colorful and traditional tribes.  The mix of large sand dunes, bizarre rock formations, volcanic mountains, grasslands, dense forests, swamps and lakes make this country one of the most beautiful in the northern half of Africa. Chad is simply magic.

Our expedition starts in the dusty capital N'Djamena, formerly Fort Lamy,  and is located on the southwestern border, adjacent to Cameroon. It has the charm of a typical frontiers town with a mix of old and new: dusty and paved roads, stark contrasts between modern office and hotel buildings rising above primitive old brick houses.

After spending our first night in a comfortable hotel in N'Djamena we will drive southeast for about 100 miles to attend the gerewol Festival of the Wodaabe tribe. Chad’s Gerewol is a colourful, centuries old festival during which men put on makeup, dress up and perform a series of enigmatic dances to attract a new wife – or at the very least, score a night of passion.

During the next 3 days  we will cross a dramatic sub-saharan landscape on lonely gravel and sand tracks to a small town in the western part of the Ennedi Plateau. Only a few hours after leaving the capital we will have said good-bye to civilisation for the next 2 weeks and and immerse into a wild world that hasn't changed much over the past centuries.  We will travel across the Sahel where we will see scattered villages that are traditionally built out of reeds. The huts are organized in a circle surrounded by a brush fence to keep the life stock - mostly goats -safely inside over night. On the third day we will arrive at Wadi Rime where scimitar- horned oryx and critically endangered addax antelopes have been reintroduced in 2020. There we also will encounter the critically endangered dama gazelles. These are usually very shy and not so easy to approach as the antelopes.

Our next destination is Ennedi, a World Heritage Site, with its stunning, bizarre rock formations, needles, arches and canyons it is often being compared to the landscapes in Utah. Many consider the Ennedi Plateau the most beautiful part of the Sahara. During the following 7 full days we will explore the natural wonders of Ennedi by Land Cruiser. The landscape is dominated by deep, water-filled canyons, rock needles reminding of Bryce Canyon and sandstone arches as spectacular as in Arches National Park in Utah. The nights are brilliant and clear, offering perfect conditions for astrophotography.

In the oasis town Fada we will say good-bye to Ennedi and take a charter flight back to N'D'jamena.