If you have more days to enjoy the itinerary to discover the Kingdom of the Black Pharaohs, take advantage of the opportunity of visiting Soleb, with its fantastic Egyptian Temple, considered the most beautiful of all Sudan, passing through Sebu and Tombos, and then returning to Karima.
transport with Toyota Land Cruisers (4 people per car) or Toyota Hilux (3 people per car) outside Khartoum; minivan or bus in Khartoum
2 full board nights at our exclusive Preset Camp in Tombos + 1 night at the Nubian House of Karima
English Guide (available on request and listed separately for less than 6 people)
Day 1: Karima - Dongola - Soleb Temple - Tombos
Today we drive west through the Nubian Desert. We reach the Nile and we cross the Nile on the Dongola Bridge, we continue north to the amazing Temple of Soleb, the most beautiful Egyptian temple of all Sudan, testimony of the New Kingdom in Nubia, with many walls rich in hieroglyphic inscriptions, bas-relief figures and many columns. We enjoy our lunch in a local Nubian house nearby. After the visit we drive off road to reach the Nile and cross it to the East coast. A short drive south will take us to Tombos. Here there were the ancient granite quarries with the remains of a statue of the King Taharqa, simply left there in the desert about 2800 years ago and some interesting Egyptian stele engraved on the rocks.
Meal plan
Picnic lunch
Dinner prepared by our cook
Accommodation
Preset Camp
Day 2: Tombos - Wadi Sebu - Third cateract - Sai Island - Tombos
After visiting the site of Tombos (ancient querries, statue of the King and stelae in the rock) we drive north on the eastern side and we visit the Third Cataract which used to be the third huge obstacle that the ancients Egyptians had to face when trying to sail on the Nile River. We walk up the hill to the ancient Ottoman Fort where we can have beautiful views of the cataract. In Sebu, right on the river bank of the Nile it is possible to visit one of the richest sites of rock engraving of all Sudan with hundreds of images from prehistoric to Egyptian times. We drive further north to reach the Island of Sai that we reach by a ferry boat. This is an important archaeological area where we can find ancient remains from Kerma civilization, Egyptian and Christian culture. We return on the Eastern bank of the Nile on a fisherman boat. During the navigation we may see Nile crocodiles on the shore of the river. We then return to Tombos.
Meal plan
Picnic lunch
Dinner prepared by our cook
Accommodation
Preset Camp
Day 3: Tombos - Kerma - Karima
After visiting the ancient querries of Tombos, a short drive this morning takes us to Kerma where we visit the majestic “Defuffa” the monument that characterizes Kerma civilization. Very interesting is the museum created by the Swiss archaeological mission after the recovery of seven statues of the Black Pharaohs in 2003. In the afternoon we reach Karima.
