TRAVEL EXPERIENCE IN CHAD

Middle-Africa is one of the few travel agencies specialised in organising trips to Chad. Travelling to Chad is not easy, but it is one of Africa’s most rewarding destinations. In the year 2011, Chad is a virgin travel destination, and this is without doubt one of its main attractions. The traveller that visits the amazing Ennedi desert, considered the Sahara’s most beautiful territories. In Middle-Africa we propose 2 itineraries in Chad: a longer one to the Ennedi desert and a shorter one to Lake Chad and the Kotoko adobe villages.



TRAVEL HIGHLIGHTS OF CHAD

One of Chad’s main tourist attractions is its desert, occupying 70% of the country. From N’Djamena we organise trips to the Sahara’s most beautiful region, the desert area known as Borkou and Ennedi. We will drive from N’Djamena to the palm grove of Faya Largeau, a beautiful oasis which used to be Chad’s last ‘civilised’ town during the French colonial times. From Faya we can visit the ancient ruins near Yen, Ai-Galak, and Kirdimi. After Faya you enter the wild territory of Ennedi, inhabited by the welcoming Teda nomadic tribes. In this remote region of Chad you will find spectacular desert landscapes, with natural rock arches, the caveman paintings and petroglyphs of Zouar, and the amazing Guelta of Archei, a narrow canyon of hollowed vertical stone walls inhabited by endemic cynocephalus, and the last dwarf Nile crocodiles. Another region of the Chadian desert that can be visited is the Tibesti, in the far Northwest part of Chad. Reaching the area implies several days of hard desert drive, but it is worth meeting the grandiose mountain summits of Tibesti (l’Emi-Koussi 3.415 mts.), the pinnacle tips of Sissé, the Trou du Natron (a wide volcanic crater with a crater lake spanning 8 km. and being 700 mts. deep), and the palm oasis of Bardai with beautiful adobe architecture.

Back in N’Djamena, Chad’s capital, we can explore its colourful markets, its national museum, the big mosque of Toi Fayçal, and its handicraft centre of Béguinage. Lake Chad, the Sahel’s last big lake, is also a great place to explore in your trip to Chad. From Djimtilo you can explore the islands of Lake Chad, inhabited by the Buduma tribe. You can drive to Mao, capital of the ancient Empire of Kanem Bornu, meet the Sultan that continues to rule the area. On your way you can visit Bol, another old historical town, the Hadjer El Hamis or ‘elephant rocks’. These volcanic 4 aligned domes are facing a massive 5th dome, known as ‘sugar hat’. Another interesting attraction in Chad are the adobe Kotoko villages around N’Djamena. One of them is Gaoui, a small pottery village, situated 10 km. from N’Djaména. An excursion of a day and a half is only possible during the dry season, as the road is flooded from June to October. Linia, located 30 km. from N’Djaména, with a great market exclusively held on Sundays. It is the meeting point to the Peul tribal group. Logone Gana, another little Kotoko village, accessible via the road during the dry season, or by boat from Mailo during the rainy season. Market on Thursday and fishing feast in the middle of the dry season (around mid-March).

In central and southern Chad we can propose you a trekking in Mount Guéra (1.613 m) where the Hadjeray tribes continue to practice their Animistic religion. We can also organise a safari in Zakouma National Park with 300,000 ha. and last refuge for big game in Chad. For culture-lovers Southern Chad offers great ethnic excursions to Leré Kingdom (wonderful adobe granaries built by the Moundang people), Sarh, capital of the Sara ethnic group, famous for its spectacular facial scarifications. The best travel period in Chad is from November to April.



ORGANISING YOUR TRIP TO CHAD

Middle-Africa organises travel tours to every corner of Chad since 2006. Contact us.