Arrival at the Khartoum airport. Meet and Greet with the guide, and transfer to the hotel. Check in, dinner free and overnight stay.

Morning to visit the town and the Archaeological Museum that, besides many beautiful objects, contains two full temples rescued by UNESCO and moved from the Lake Nasser area, when was flooded by the water. The expedition departs late morning heading North.

After 3 hours drive, trough a desert of rocky hills, we arrive at the ancient site of Naga, where we can see the temple of Apedemak (1°st century ad.) a beautiful sandstone building of whose walls are engraved with the images of the Meroitic kings and gods. Nearby, another temple in Greek/Roman style called the "Kiosk" and another one dedicated to Amon with many statues of rams and beautiful temple entrance decorated with bas-reliefs.

One hour drive from Naga we reach Musawwarat El Sufra, not far away from Naga, the settlement was located in a beautiful valley crowned by hills. Today the ruins of a very big temple are visible; it once played an exceptional important role. Its main characteristic, the Great Wall, is made by many constructions and boundary walls which surround a temple built in the 1st century a.D. The large number of elephants represented on these walls makes you think that this animal used to have an important role in this area. Beyond the big wadi there is an other temple - recently restored by a German archaeological mission - dedicated to the Apedemak god. Then we reach the small town of Shendi, on the Nile where we stop for supplies of water and fresh food. After an hours drive the pyramids of the royal necropolis of Meroe become visible on top of a rise among yellow sand dunes. Here there are more than 100 pyramids, some very well preserved.

The Royal necropolis of Meroe is located at about 3 km far from the Nile on some hills covered with yellow sand dunes. More than 40 pyramids stand out with their sharp shapes against the clear sky. Most of them are in perfect preservation conditions. Just in front there are some small funerary temples with the walls fully decorated with bas-reliefs that shows the King’s life and the gods. Then we move along the Nile to visit the ruins of the Royal city. The excavations confirm that it used to be on a large area with a central one surrounded by suburbs and a boundary wall.

After the visit, we continue northward and we reach Atbara at the junction with the Atbara river with the Nile. After crossing the Nile, we enter the Bayuda desert, area bounded by the loop formed by the Nile between the 4th and the 6th Cataract and characterised by sharp black basalt mountains, most of them volcanic and typically cone-shaped. They alternate with level pebble stretches and large valleys with dry wadis going through where little vegetation and dorcas gazelles can be seen. It is very likely to meet isolated groups of Bisharin nomads who live in familiar groups in small huts made of intertwined branches covered with large blankets made from camelwool, close to the rare water wells in areas where surviving seems almost impossible.

Just before reaching the Nile we reach the area of Nuri one of the Necropolis of the ancient Napata with many pyramids. Another Nile crossing and we reach the site of El Kurru, where there is one of the necropolis of the ancient capital Napata. Here we can visit two tombs which are excavated in the rock under pyramids - partially collapsed - and are totally decorated with images of the Pharaoh, of the gods and multicolour hieroglyphic inscriptions. Not far away the small town of Karima at the foot of the holy mountains Jebel Barkal.

Landmark in the Nubian desert, Jebel Barkal ("Jebel" means mountain in Arabic) can be seen from a few dozens of kilometres whilst still in the open desert. At the foot of this wonderful isolated red sandstone mountain considered sacred since the ancient times there is the big temple, dedicated to the Pharaohs of the New Reign and to their patron Amon. The 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 still several sculptured granite rams that were supposed to border a long avenue that probably led to the pier on the Nile. In the mountain wall there is a big room decorated with bas-relief. We drive now north-east to reach the Fourth Cataract where the Nile flows through huge granite rocks with rapids. Walk along the Nile’s shore. Then we start the crossing of the Nubian desert.

The Nubian desert is completely different from Bayuda desert: sand dunes, flat sandy plains and red rocky hills eroded by the wind. Once again we reach the Nile near the site of Old Dongola a Christian Coptic temple with marble columns as well as several churches are situated on the banks of the Nile remains of a small Christian kingdom (Makuria Kingdom) that remains till the X°-XI° century tot the Islamic invasion.

We drive now north following the Nile. This area is the central part of the Nubian region. Here the population speaks 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 readily speak to foreigners. The Nubian villages are beautiful , between send dunes and palm trees; the houses are painted and decorated with patterns and flowers. Enthusiastic hospitality abounds, people will often invite foreigners to visit their home and share a meal or a cup of spiced tea.

We cross the Nile by ferry for the third time. These ferries, the only means of crossing the Nile in these remote regions, are a hive of colourful activity. One finds oneself sharing space with people, donkeys, camels and goats. From the Nile we drive west in the western desert. Another kind of desert will appear to the eyes of the passengers: rounded “stony dunes”, covered by small round stones, probably an ancient Nile bed. Then a flat desert until wadi El Milk, where sand dunes and acacia trees show the presence of underground water. In this area it is easy to meet some settlements of Bisharin nomads. They are usually situated near wells which supply water for their large herds of camels and goats.

Today we reach Omdurman, the old capital of Sudan. After a visit to the big market, the tomb and the small museum of the Mahdi (the Islamic leader of the Sudan that fought in 1885 against General Gordon and English colonisation). Then we check in at our hotel in Khartoum where Day-use rooms available. Dinner free. In the evening transfer to airport.