DAY 1 Arrive in KhartoumUpon arrival our staff will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel in Khartoum where they'll help you settle in and introduce you to the local area. An optional city tour and evening Whirling Dervishes Cermony is available if you arrive this morning.
OVERNIGHTKhartoum - 4-star hotel
DAY 2 Khartoum to Meroe Pyramids via Mussawarat & NagaOur tour of Sudan begins as we drive north to visit the temples at Naga, which is located about 30 km to the east of the Nile and developed during the Meroitic period. We then go to Mussawarat, which is located in a beautiful valley crowned by hills. Later we journey northward, arriving into a desert area covered with huge round granite boulders; these are the last offshoots of the rocky formations of the 6th Cataract. Suddenly, more than 40 pyramids appear as if out of nowhere! These Pyramids belong to the Royal Necropolis of Meroe and some of them are perfectly preserved. We then arrive at the permanent tented camp of Meroe with a beautiful view of the pyramids which you can enjoy from your own veranda.
OVERNIGHTMeroe Pyramids - Permanent tented camp
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 3 Exploring the Necropolis and Royal city of MeroeToday is where our local guide will start teaching you about the Kingdom of the Black Pharaoh's. Several pyramids stand out with their sharp shapes against the clear sky. Each one has its own funerary chapel with the walls fully decorated with bas-reliefs that show the King’s life and offers to the gods. In the afternoon we move along the Nile to visit the ruins of the Royal City. Most of the area where the city is located, formed by many small hills covered by red clay fragments, is still to be excavated by archaeologists.
OVERNIGHTMeroe Pyramids - Permanent tented camp
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 4 Meroe to KarimaAfter breakfast we head north crossing the Nile by ferry boat. From here we enter the Bayuda Desert, an area bounded by the loop formed by the Nile between the 4th and the 6th Cataract and characterised by sharp black basalt mountains, most of them volcanic and typically cone-shaped. It is very likely we will encounter isolated groups of Bisharin nomads, who live in familiar groups in small huts made of intertwined branches close to the rare water wells. After we reach our Nubian Rest house the rest of the afternoon is free.
OVERNIGHTKarima - Nubian house
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 5 Karima. Visit to El Kurru and Jebel BarkalToday we explore the Jebel Barkal archaeological sites which are on the World Heritage list. Here we see Temples and Pyramids from the Royal necropolis of the ancient city of Napata. We then move southwards to the village of El Kurru. Here we can visit two tombs, which are excavated in the rock under pyramids - partially collapsed - and are totally decorated with images of the Pharaoh, of the gods and multicolour hieroglyphic inscriptions. Not far from here there is an interesting site of petrified wood, an ancient forest with hundreds of huge trunks.
OVERNIGHTKarima - Nubian house
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 6 Karima, visit Old DongolaThis morning we make the long drive to Old Dongola, site of several Coptic Christian churches. Centre of the Nubian region many of the houses are colourfully decorated with floral motives.
OVERNIGHTKarima - Nubian house
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 7 Nile cruise and the Pyramids of NuriAfter breakfast, we visit the market in Karima where we can have a real experience of the life of Sudanese people. We then board a small motorboat for a pleasant cruise along the Nile to enjoy the beautiful sand stretches and cultivated islands along the river. A little further northward there used to be the beautiful granite rocky formations of the 4th Cataract. After a scenic picnic lunch we visit the Pyramids of Nuri for the afternoon.
OVERNIGHTKarima - Nubian house
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch, Dinner
DAY 8 Karima to KhartoumAfter enjoying breakfast we pack up and drive back to Khartoum. We stop for lunch in a simple “chai house” (a roadhouse where the local truck drivers stop for food and to rest) and also visit the interesting Omdurman souk, before arriving into Khartoum in the afternoon. The rest of the evening is free time.
OVERNIGHTKhartoum - 4-star hotel
MEALSBreakfast, Lunch
DAY 9 Khartoum, departure airport transferYour time is free until we pick you up and transfer you to the airport for your departure flight.
OVERNIGHTN/A
MEALSBreakfast
EXTRASExtra night - post-tour