Exploring the Sub-Sahel Region of West Africa - 16 days
Fri, Day 1
DEPART
Depart the U.S. for Paris, France.
Sat, Day 2
PARIS / AGADEZ
In Paris, board a commercial charter flight to Agadez, Niger departing in the early afternoon (lunch on your own account in the airport). Upon arrival in Agadez you are met and transferred to your hotel.
Sun, Day 3
AGADEZ / TIGUIDIT CLIFF: TAWACHI - IGHAYEN
After an early breakfast depart for Tawachi on a drive into the vast Tenere desert, an area of little wilderness and undulating sand hills nearly devoid of vegetation, yet breathtaking in its expanse and mystery. After approximately two and a half hours you reach the Tiguidit cliffs which bear rock paintings from prehistoric cultures. Circular, pre-Islamic tombs and petrified tree trunks evoke an ancient past.
In 1905, E. Chudeau, a French geologist, was the first to discover dinosaur fossils at Tiguidit cliffs. Phillipe Taquet was the first paleontologist who came to Niger specifically to study these fossils in the 1970s and discovered huge skeletons embedded in the sandstone.
The Tawachi area was put on the map when Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago began studying the site and discovered perfectly preserved fossils of carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaur, gigantic crocodiles, crustaceans and lake fish. Paul Sereno's most famous discovery is a primitive, long-necked adult dinosaur 60 feet long which rears to a height of more than 30 feet and a juvenile posed in mid-stride. These dinosaurs lived about 135 million years ago in the Cretaceous period when open forests and broad rivers characterized this now barren region. Explore the site with a local archeologist.
Have lunch close to the cliffs before heading on to Ighayen, the territory of the Wodaabe who treats the group to a special performance of a "Gerewol" festival. Like colorful jewels in a barren landscape, the Wodaabe live a life defined by complex rituals, taboos, and a striking sense of visual and aural beauty.
The "Gerewol" charm contest is akin to a men's beauty pageant! This much anticipated gathering takes place in September when all the nomadic herders of the region, both Wodaabe and Tuareg, lead their herds to the rich salt deposits located between In Gall and Tegguiddan Tessoum. The most handsome young men participate, making up for their months of asceticism in the bush by applying extravagant facial make-up and donning ornate costumes. A man does not have to be the most handsome to win, but must exude "togu," the Fulani word for magnetism and charm.
Dinner and overnight at your comfortable, but basic tented camp.
Mon, Day 4
TIGUIDIT CLIFFS / AGADEZ
After breakfast set out on your return trip to Agadez (approximately a four hour drive).
Upon arrival in Agadez you check back in to your hotel before having lunch. This afternoon is free to further explore Agadez.
Meet back at the hotel for dinner in the evening.
Tues, Day 5
AGADEZ / DABAGA / AOUDERAS / ASSADA VALLEY / CAMP
After breakfast begin today's journey by heading north by four-wheel drive vehicle into the heart of the Aïr Mountains and the rough domain of the Tuareg people. Following the Teloua Valley, which runs at least sixty miles in a northwesterly direction, you pass through the charming village of Azel where Tuareg farmers and herdsmen have settled. Stop for a picnic lunch in the Aouderas valley. Continuing northeast, the landscape becomes progressively more rugged and sprinkled with massive boulders and volcanic craters. Along the way admire remnants of ancient volcanoes and lava flows. The trail which your guide will negotiate in your four-wheel drive vehicle overlooks the Aouderas oases, the last green you see for a great while as you travel onward in the shadow of the beautiful Todgha Mountain range. Tonight camp near Mount Bagzane, a dark volcanic rock-capped mountain towering to 6,658 feet. Dinner and overnight in tented camp.
Wed, Day 6
ASSADA VALLEY / TIMIA / CAMP
After breakfast continue northward to the famous "guelta" of Timia, an extraordinary natural waterfall which drains into an inviting natural pool. Depending on the rains of the previous season it may be full enough for swimming. Local Tuareg nomads have heard of your pending arrival and gather to sell their wares. Just down the road is the charming and productive oasis of Timia. Before exploring Timia you make camp in one of the valley's many gardens. Lunch at the camp. Timia is inhabited by the sedentary agriculturists, the Kel Oui Tuaregs. The oasis boasts over one hundred palm gardens. Goats and camels are also raised here. Offering grains, dates, vegetables and tobacco for trade, Timia has become an important center of exchange for the camel caravans traveling between Bilma and Zinder. You climb up to the restored French Massu Fort located above town while offering a stupendous view of the village and valley stretching below. You also stop at a remarkable garden of grapefruits, dates, pomegranates and oranges. Local Tuareg leader, Kell Ewey, your host, explains the intricacies of the water system specific to Aïr agriculture which is responsible for enabling the gardens to flourish for centuries. Dinner and overnight at your tented camp.
Thur, Day 7
TIMIA / ASSODE RUINS / ASSARA / CAMP
After breakfast at camp, take a walking tour of Timia village to view its mud, brick and stone houses as well as its many cemeteries. Following the tour, depart to the east in the direction of the great Tenere desert stopping along the way for a picnic lunch in the Assode Valley.
After lunch continue east to the town of Assode set in the Assara Valley. It is estimated that Assode was founded in the middle of the 14th century and was renowned for its market. All that remains of Assode are the ruins where you can view sections of the ancient mosque structure and find abundant pottery shards. The mosque is still frequented by nomadic Tuaregs each Friday for the Muslim day of prayer.
Camp in the Assara Valley near the location of the old Tchintouloust village.
Fri, Day 8
ASSARA / ZAGADO / ILEKANE / CAMP
After breakfast, continue by vehicle through the Zilalet Valley. The road zigzags through small valleys, crosses numerous oueds (rivers) and follows one, the Zilâlet, to Tchintoulous, a village nestled at the foot of the Aguerâguer massif.
In Tchintoulous you view its small offering of ancient rock engravings which date back as early as 8-6,000 BC. Before leaving the Aïr Mountains behind, visit a handicraft and jewelry shop. Gazelles can be spotted in the area along the Zagado River's tree-lined bank. You stop for a picnic lunch in this valley. This afternoon, the Zagado Valley dissolves into the infinite expanse of the Ténéré desert. In every direction, sand waves roll toward the horizon. Gold, silver and pink dunes nurture delicate flowers and capture light that hints of a secret life amazingly well adapted to this harsh environment.
Dinner and overnight at your camp in East Illekane, close to Lerouana (dunes with marble).
Sat, Day 9
ILEKANE / FARES / EWEYE / TCHINOUADEGDEG / CHIRIET / CAMP
After breakfast travel via four-wheel drive vehicle to Chiriet across the large plains of Fares. Tchinwadegdeg, a valley blessed with impressive old trees and having the only well available for the Tuareg for a great distance, is your next stop. Here you have lunch and may witness the Tuareg watering their herds. Adrar Chiriet, your ultimate destination, is a stunning volcanic mountain fortress surrounded by waves of dunes. Explore by vehicle the beauty of the dunes of Chiriet. There is time before dinner to wander among the Tebet dunes, relax on a crest or search for Neolithic stone implements and arrowheads, part of Niger's ancient legacy, yet anything you find is to be shared with the group and then left behind. Camp in the Tebet dunes with a view of Chiriet mount's dark volcanic outcropping which has been fantastically eroded by blowing sand for millennia.
Sun, Day 10
CHIRIET / IFNYANE / BLUE MOUNTAINS / CAMP
This morning after breakfast explore by foot the undulating sand waves and the "islands" of blue and white marble and then continue on by four-wheel drive vehicles to Ifnyane valley where you stop for a picnic lunch in the shade. After lunch navigate through the dunes stopping along the way to visit prehistoric sites until you come upon the Blue Mountains, majestic marble hills emerging straight up from the sands. Camp this evening among this fantastic landscape.
Mon, Day 11
BLUE MOUNTAINS / TCHINOUAFFEDEN / TEMET / CAMP
This morning is at leisure to absorb the sensation of being in the great Tenere Desert. Mid-morning depart for the Adrar Bous area and the Temet dunes. The Adrar Bous retains traces of very ancient human life. Its rich treasure-trove of Neolithic artifacts such as arrow heads, grindstones, and fish bones are witness to a climate and level of existence exceptionally different from what you observe today. These Neolithic communities lived in a Ténéré dotted with lakes. The Temet Oued, an intermittent river, meanders through steep sand dunes. Almost completely blocked by these forbidding walls of sand is the treacherous Temet Pass which leads to the highest dunes of the Ténéré and eventually to Mount Gréboun which peaks at 6,370 feet. Conrad Kilian, the famous English geologist, climbed Mount Greboun with Tuareg guides in July of 1943. The Temet valley which begins at the top of Mount Greboun, diminishes in the Tenere Desert below. There is also a single dune named Temet which is one of the largest and most beautiful dunes bordering the Aïre massif. Lunch along the way. Camp near the town of Temet.
Tues, Day 12
TEMET / IWELEN / CAMP
This morning is at leisure to continue your exploration of the Temet region. After lunch in camp you depart for the famed site of Iwellen. Admire rock engravings etched into granite boulders. View strange animal figures and etchings of lions, elephant, ostriches, monkeys and bovines which may be as old as 9000 years. Camp in the Iwellen surroundings.
Wed, Day 13
IWELEN / IFEROUANE
Today you drive to the Tuareg oasis of Iferouane, known for its splendid and well-tended gardens and for being the home to many Tuareg jewelry-smiths who still practice their traditional, centuries-old art. Your route takes us through the dunes of Samarat, a landscape strewn with marble rocks, and finally the Oued Tadek. Afterwards you join back with civilization and its comforts during your stay in Iferouane, a large lowland oasis which has become a thriving town. The German explorer, Heinrich Barth, traveled to Iferouane in 1850. Then in 1899, the French military mission of Foureau-Lamy spent a few months in this village. They dug a well and built a fortress in colonial style. You arrive at a charming hotel in Iferouane in time for lunch.
After lunch, explore Iferouane including the Silversmith's Cooperative, vegetable gardens, the museum at Natural Tenere Reserve and the local museum. In the late afternoon you head out of Iferouane to meet up with a large gathering of over 100 Tuaregs. We have organized this festival especially for your group.
Thur, Day 14
IFEROUANE / TUAREG FESTIVAL
Today your visit to Niger culminates in a spectacular Tuareg festival which includes the "tinde" in which indigo-robed women sing and clap to the music of the Tuareg "tinde" drum (actually a converted mortar with two pestles). At the same time, pairs of elegantly dressed men in traditional indigo robes and turbans circle the women on their camels, which have been trained to prance to the beat of the drum. This camel dance is called the "Ilougane." The men ride around the women increasing their speed and tightening the circle, until one man reaches down and snatches the head shawl of one of the women. He then rides off with the others in hot pursuit. The winner is the man who returns the stolen shawl to its rightful owner. There are also camel races, where a multitude of men dressed in holiday finery race on camels for the honor of crossing the finish line first.
Throughout the Aïr Mountains, you have been traveling alongside the Tuareg people. Mystery has long shrouded the Tuareg, veiled and indigo-robed warriors who for millennia dominated the Sahara.
The men wear the "taguelmoust" a combination veil and turban that covers their faces. It is the symbol of a Tuareg's identity, and the way it is wrapped identifies one's home. Tuareg women are the only sect of Muslim women in the world who do not don a veil. They are strong, independent and often beautiful. The name "Tuareg" (meaning "Abandoned by God") was given to them by their historical enemies, the Arabs, who considered them infidels because of their failed initial attempts to convert them to Islam.
After the festival and traditional feast in the wilderness return to the hotel.
Fri, Day 15
AÏR MOUNTAINS / IFEROUANE / GOUGARAM / DABOUS / AGADEZ
You depart early this morning to Agadez, stopping briefly at Dabous to view the stunning Neolithic rock engraving of a giraffe. Rock engravings and paintings in this area of the Sahara date back to as early as 8-6,000BC. The giraffe at Dabous is another testimony to the former green lushness of the Sahara. The giraffe is nearly eighteen feet tall. There are over 300 individual rock engravings at this site. Dinner and overnight at your hotel in Agadez.
Sat, Day 16
AGADEZ / PARIS
After breakfast at the hotel you set off to discover Agadez, with its sandy streets and houses of earth. Agadez, "the Gate of the Sudan," is inhabited mainly by the Kel Oui Tuareg (a subgroup of the Kel Air Tuareg) a nomadic people who are widely known as "The Blue Men of the Desert" and the Hausa which account for over fifty percent of the populace. The Hausa are the second largest group in the area, and are mostly farmers recognized by their traditional cat claw facial scarification. Agadez is a fascinating place - like Timbuktu, it was once a great city due to its strategic stopping position on the trans-Saharan trade routes which connect Egypt and the oases of the Sahara.
With its unique mosque, dominating Sahel-style minaret and dirt streets, Agadez is one of the most picturesque cities in Africa. It was founded in the early 16th century and quickly became the capital of the region as well as a holy city known for its multitude of religious festivals. You begin the walking tour of Agadez with a visit to the Grand Mosque where the guardian of the mosque may permit us to enter its interior and climb to the top of the pyramid-like minaret for a fantastic view of the Air massif. Then it is on to the old section of the city where you view Sahel or Sub Saharan style houses with outstanding examples of Hausa-inspired designs including The Baker's House, a very unusual residence full of ornate bass relief sculpture. This specific house has been memorialized in director Bernardo Bertolucci's film, The Sheltering Sky, which was based on the novel by Paul Bowles.
For lunch you dine at a restaurant which is owned by an Italian family who has been living in Agadez for over forty years. The restaurant is a stunning example of Sub Saharan or Sudanese architecture and has wonderful Italian cuisine.
After lunch, walk to the local market where everything from traditional Tuareg clothing, household goods, fruits, vegetables and meats can be purchased. Tailors wait in the crooked alleys to take orders for Saharan garments. Here you may purchase a traditional Tuareg turban or "cheche" which protects from the blowing sand and dust encountered on any journey into the Aïr Mountains. Return to the central square of the Mosque to explore the "antiquaries" or antique shops which display a variety of authentic Tuareg and Saharan jewelry, ornaments and artifacts. In the late afternoon your last stop is the camel market located on the fringes of the northwest corner of town where camels, sheep, goats and even the occasional cow are for sale. The edges of the market are lined with shops selling everything from camel saddles and blankets to sugar and Tuareg tea. This is guaranteed to be an animated, cultural experience. Return to the hotel late in the afternoon. Transfer to the restaurant for a farewell dinner. Transfer to the airport after dinner for midnight departure to France.
Sun, Day 17
DEPART
Arrive back into the U.S.
NOTE: This is just one example of many custom itineraries we can do for you in this diverse country.
GENERAL INFORMATION
There are no set departure dates for this trip. Please contact EXPLORE as to the time you would like to travel and we can book this itinerary or another customized itinerary for you.
Tour Includes:
All air charters and ground transportation, accommodation, all meals (unless otherwise stated), all soft beverages, guides, gratuities, entrance fees, all activities listed in itinerary.
Tour Excludes:
U.S. domestic and international airfare; airport departure taxes; passport fees; visa fees; medical immunizations; baggage & cancellation insurance; individual transfers, excursions deviating from the scheduled tour; excess baggage charges; medical expenses; meals not specified in the program itinerary; laundry; dishes and beverages not part of included meals; telephone or fax charges; room service; and other items of a purely personal nature.
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