Sudan: Khartoum and Nubia in 1 week

The border crossing between Metama (Ethiopia) and Qallabat (Sudan) takes place in the early morning. The bus is taken on the Sudanese side to Khartoum, where you will arrive in the evening. No problem if you have your own car.

Passage to the foreigners' registration office (it is mandatory within three days), to the Tourism office for the travel permits to be issued, and visit of the triangular metropolis. Omdurman, the tomb of the Mahdi, the Bait al-Khalifa, the camel souk... Khartoum, the banks of the Nile, the National Museum, Tuti..

If you are there on a weekend (Sudanese), come and watch the Nuba wrestling in Bahri or the Sufi ritual dances in Omdurman on Sunday evening. After a sunset on the banks of the Nile, spend an evening in a restaurant or one of the city's growing number of cafés. Don't forget, to rest from your travels, to sit down for a few minutes in front of the scented tea of the "sitta chay".

The pyramids that have popularized the image of Nubia and Sudan around the world are magical in their beauty. If you can come early in the morning or late in the evening to enjoy the splendour of the sun's colours on these millenary stones, it will be a unique memory for you. For motorized travellers - with GPS if necessary - don't miss Musawwarat and Naqa. Night in Meroe, Atbara or Karima, after crossing the Bayuda desert for the fastest backpackers (no, we didn't say "in a hurry").

Leave in the morning for the pyramids of Nuri, which notably housed the great ruler Taharqa, the most famous of the "Black Pharaohs". Then join El-Kurru later in the day. The coolness of the royal tombs will rest you from the relentless heat of the sun. Take the opportunity to admire these paintings, which have magnificently survived the centuries to reach us. End this day in the heart of the legend of the "Black Pharaohs" by rallying the djebel Barkal. Napata extended here two thousand years ago. The view from the top of the djebel is magnificent. Visit the ruins before sunset. If you have time, walk along the Nile and switch from palm groves to the scattered noise of irrigation pumps.

Unfortunately, Old Dongola is still too isolated. However, Kerma is much more accessible, with its deffuffas and museum. The oldest evidence of civilization in Sudan still stands about 20 metres above the burning sand. Then head north to Abri or Wadi Halfa, depending on your time availability. Don't forget that on the way the island of Sa or the temple of Soleib await you. The region, with its unreal atmosphere at the end of the world, between desert, sky and Nile, deserves time to explore its palm groves and villages..