Ancient Nubia – Sudan

Welcome to Sudan! Upon arrival in Khartoum, you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. The remainder of the day is yours at leisure.

Built where the Blue and White Nile rivers meet, Khartoum is a boisterous, modern, flashy city with an ever-increasing number of glass tower blocks altering its skyline. As well as an excellent museum,

some fascinating souqs and Nile-side views, Khartoum’s good facilities, hospitable people and laid-back vibe provide the traveller with a warm welcome to this fascinating country.

Meals

N/A

Accommodation

Grand Holiday Villa Hotel or similar

Services

Airport transfer

Travel time and distance

Airport to hotel: 20 km | 30 mins

Khartoum City Tour

Enjoy breakfast at your hotel. This morning, start your Khartoum city tour. Cross the confluence between the Blue and the White Nile near the Presidential Palace where in 1885 General Gordon was beheaded by the Mahdi’s troops and reached Omdurman, the old capital of Sudan. Here you will see Mahdi’s Tomb from outside.  Visit the interesting Khalifa’s House (currently closed for restoration but due to re-open after renovation in November 2020) which holds a small museum about the Mahdyia.

Next, immerse yourself in the vibrant and colourful Omdurman Souk. Take in the lively atmosphere and perhaps pick up some local treasures.

Nile River Boat Ride

Enjoy a peaceful boat ride along the Nile, where you can witness the confluence of the Blue and White Nile, a stunning natural spectacle.

Lunch in Khartoum

Savour lunch at a local restaurant in Khartoum, tasting authentic Sudanese cuisine.

Visit the National Museum

In the afternoon, visit the National Museum, which showcases beautiful artefacts, including two UNESCO-rescued temples relocated from the Lake Nasser area after it was flooded.

Traditional Nubian Wrestling

End the day with an unforgettable experience in Khartoum North, where you can watch traditional Nubian wrestling, a lively and spirited event. Return to your hotel.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation

Grand Holiday Villa Hotel or similar

 Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Khartoum City Tour including Mahdi’s Tomb (from outside), Khalifa’s House, Omdurman Souk, National Museum

Activity: Nubian Wrestling experience

Travel time and distance

Hotel to Omdurman: 10 km | 20 mins

Omdurman to Khartoum North: 15 km | 30 mins

This morning you will drive north to cross the Western Desert on a good tar road until you reach the Nile and cross into Ed Debba. Continue by road along the Nile to visit the site of Old Dongola, the old Christian capital of the Makuria Kingdom.

Old Dongola

Old Dongola is a deserted town located on the east bank of the Nile. An important city in medieval Nubia, and the departure point for caravans west to Darfur and Kordofan, from the fourth to the fourteenth century, Old Dongola was the capital of the Makurian state. A Polish archaeological team has been excavating the town since 1964.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Camping

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Old Dongola

Travel time and distance

Khartoum to Old Dongola: 500 km | 7 hrs

Nubian Villages

After breakfast, it is time to depart and transfer to the central part of the Nubian region where you will have the chance to experience some Nubian Villages. Here the population lives in small villages amongst yellow sand dunes and palm trees.  They speak a different language from the Arabs and also the Islamic religion is not as “strict” as in other regions. The women don’t cover their faces and will readily speak to foreigners. Look out for the houses in these villages that are painted and decorated with colourful patterns and flowers. Enthusiastic hospitality abounds, people will often invite travellers to visit their home and share a meal or a cup of spiced tea.

Kerma and the Defuffa

Then you will begin the drive to Kerma and visit the majestic “Defuffa” and the rest of this ancient civilisation. There will be time to pay a visit to the Kerma Museum, founded by Charles Bonnet, where you will see the seven beautiful statues of the Black Pharaohs discovered by a Swiss archaeological mission in 2003.

Late in the afternoon, you will reach Tombos.

 

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Preset Camp in Tombos or similar

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Nubian villages, Kerma

Travel time and distance

Old Dongola to Kerma: 150 km | 3 hrs

Kerma to Tombos: 60 km | 1 hr

Wadi Sebu

After breakfast, depart for Wadi Sebu, located on the river bank of the Nile. You will pay a visit to one of the richest sites of rock engraving in all of Sudan with hundreds of images from prehistoric to Egyptian times.

The Third Cataract

Then it is onward to the granite boulders of the Third Cataract, this site used to be the third huge obstacle that the ancients Egyptians had to face when trying to sail on the Nile River. The Third Cataract presents very interesting rocky formations. It is located north of Kerma, the ancient capital of the Kingdom of Kush, which lasted for over 1.000 years before falling under the control of the Egyptians thanks to the natural protection offered by the cataract itself. When the 18th New Kingdom dynasty reached it, made here the border between the Egyptian Empire and the Nubian kingdom.

Crossing the Nile and Arrival at Soleb

After a picnic lunch, you will reach the Nile and cross it via the ponton, the local ferry boat. These ferries are a hive of colourful activities. You will find yourself sharing space with people, donkeys, camels and goats. Late in the afternoon reach Soleb where you will visit the Temple of Soleb, the most beautiful Egyptian temple of all Sudan. Testimony of the New Kingdom in Nubia is the many walls rich in hieroglyphic inscriptions, bas-relief figures and ornate columns. Return to Tombos.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner 

Accommodation

Preset Camp in Tombos or similar

 Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Local Ferry ride crossing

Sightseeing: Wadi Sebu, Third Cataract, Soleb Temple visit

Travel time and distance

Tombos to Wadi Sebu: 30 km | 45 mins

Wadi Sebu to Soleb: 80 km | 1.5 hrs

Tombos

This morning, pay a visit to the ancient granite quarry site of Tombos. You will see a statue of King Taharqa, simply left there in the desert 3000 years ago. On the Nile banks see some Egyptian stelae and inscriptions. This was the southern border of the ancient Egyptian kingdom for centuries.

El Kurru and Surrounds

Cross the Nubian Desert to reach the village of El Kurru where there is one of the necropolises of the ancient capital, Napata. You will visit one of the tombs, which is excavated in the rock under the pyramids. Although partially collapsed you can still see the decorated images of the Pharaoh, gods and multicoloured hieroglyphic inscriptions.

Not far from El Kurru lies an intriguing site featuring petrified wood, remnants of an ancient forest filled with hundreds of enormous trunks. This natural wonder offers a fascinating glimpse into the region’s geological history.

Jebel Barkal

In the evening, you will enjoy a breathtaking sunset at Jebel Barkal, watching the day come to a close over this stunning landscape. The view is a perfect way to reflect on the rich history and beauty of this extraordinary region.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Karima Nubian Rest House or similar 

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Tombos, El Kurru, Tombs, Ancient Forest,  Jebel Barkal

Travel time and distance

Tombos to El Kurru: 250 km | 4 hrs

El Kurru to Karima: 30 km | 45 mins

Jebel Barkal

After breakfast, it is time to get up close and learn more about Jebel Barkal. A key landmark in the Nubian Desert, Jebel Barkal, which means mountain in Arabic, can be seen from miles around. At the foot of this wonderful and isolated red sandstone mountain, considered holy since ancient times, there is a big temple, dedicated to the Pharaohs of the New Reign and to their patron, Amon. Amon’s ancient “Pure Mountain”, the Olympus of the Nubians, was the religious Nubian heart for more than 1000 years. Besides the ruins of the big temple, there are several sculptured granite rams that were once a border along an avenue that probably led to the pier on the Nile. In the mountain wall, there is a vast room decorated with bas-relief. You will soon see why Jebel Barkal archaeological sites are on the World Heritage list.

Lunch at the Nubian Rest House

Lunch today will be enjoyed at the Nubian Rest House in Karima, where you can relax and savour the local flavours while soaking in the surrounding scenery.

Boat Ride to the Pyramids of Nuri

In the late afternoon, you will take a boat ride on the Nile to visit the Pyramids of Nuri. More than 20 ancient pyramids belonging to Nubian kings and queens still stand at Nuri, which served as a royal necropolis for the ancient city of Napata, the first capital of the Nubian Kingdom of Kush. At its height, it is believed that as many as 80 or more pyramids stood at Nuri, marking the final resting places of Nubian royalty.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Karima Nubian Rest House or similar

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Nile boat ride

Sightseeing: Jebel Barkal, Pyramids of Nuri 

Travel time and distance

Karima to Jebel Barkal: 5 km | 10 mins

Jebel Barkal to Nuri: 15 km | 20 mins

Bayuda Desert

After breakfast, it is time to start your journey crossing the Nile. Enter the Bayuda Desert, an area bounded by the loop formed by the Nile between the Fourth and Sixth Cataract. The region is characterised by volcanic cone-shaped black basalt mountains. They alternate with level pebble stretches and large valleys crossed by dry wadis, where little vegetation can be seen. Look out for isolated groups of Bisharin nomads, who live in family groups in small huts made of intertwined branches.

Atrun Crater

In the centre of the Bayuda Desert reach Atrun Crater. Local nomads gather salt from the edge of a green-coloured pool, in turn, they will then sell it to markets of the towns outside the desert. Continue your desert crossing visiting wells where nomads gather water for their camels and goats.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Camping

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Nile boat ride

Sightseeing: Bayuda Desert, Atrun Crater, wells

Travel time and distance

Karima to Jebel Atrun: 200 km | 4 hrs

Today you will finish crossing the Bayuda desert and again cross the Nile on a local ferry boat. As you drive along the other side of the Nile catch a glance of more than 40 pyramids located on top of a hill, some of them perfectly preserved and belong to the Royal Necropolis of Meroe.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Meroe Camp or similar 

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Nile Boat ride

Sightseeing: Bayuda Desert

Travel time and distance

Jebel Atrun to Meroe: 250 km | 5 hrs

The Royal Necropolis of Meroe

This morning is dedicated to visiting the Meroe pyramids. The Royal Necropolis of Meroe is located about 3 km from the Nile on some hills covered by yellow sand dunes. 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.

Tarabil school

Visit the Tarabil school (if open), that we support as part of our responsible tourism policy. Coffee break at the local village of Kabushia.

Royal City Ruins

In the afternoon, move along the Nile to visit the ruins of the Royal City. Sunset today will be at the Pyramids.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation

Meroe Camp or similar

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Royal Necropolis of Meroe and Meroe pyramids, Royal City ruins, Tarabil School visit (if open)

Travel time and distance

Royal Necropolis to Royal City: 3 km | 10 mins

Mussawarat

Following breakfast at the camp, you will begin the journey southward. The site of Mussawarat is located in a beautiful valley crowned by hills. Here the ruins of a very big temple are visible; it once played an exceptionally important role. Its main characteristic, the “Great Enclosure” is made by many constructions and boundary walls that surround a temple built in the 1st century A.D.

Naga and Its Temples

Then it is time for a visit to Naga which is one of two centres that developed during the Meroitic period. In Naga, in a typical Saharan environment with rocks and sand, you will find a 1^st Century AD temple dedicated to Apedemak. Marvel at this wonderful building with bas-relief decorations depicting the god with a lion’s head, the Pharaoh, noblemen and several ritual images. A few metres away there is a small and odd construction with arches and columns, named “kiosk”, in which you will notice Egyptian, Roman and Greek styles, all at the same time. Visit another temple dedicated to Amon with many statues of rams and beautiful gates decorated with bas-reliefs.

Omdurman

In the late afternoon, you will arrive in Omdurman, where you will witness the captivating Dervish ceremony at the Ahmed al Nil cemetery. This vibrant cultural experience offers a unique insight into the spiritual traditions of the region.

Arrival in Khartoum

After sunset, you will reach Khartoum, where you will be dropped off at your hotel, concluding a day rich in history and culture.

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch

Accommodation

Grand Holiday Villa Hotel or similar

Services

Private vehicle with English-speaking guide

Sightseeing: Mussawarat Es Sufra, Naga temples, Omdurbman

Activity: Dervish ceremony in Omdurman 

Travel time and distance

Meroe to Khartoum: 250 km | 4.5 hrs

The day is yours at leisure until it is time to be transferred to the airport for your onward flight.

Meals

Breakfast

Services

Airport transfer

Travel time and distance

Hotel to airport: 20 km | 30 mins