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

Breakfast at the hotel and then visit 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. Late in the morning we begin the journey northward through the Western desert. We travel on the new tarmac road in a flat desert and we reach the Wadi Muqaddam area with many woods of acacia trees. We stop at the "chai houses", literally tea houses, which are simply a sort of very simple "motorway restaurants" in the desert where the local truck drivers usually stop. We reach the Nile in the small town of Meroe and after the river crossing we reach the NUBIAN REST-HOUSE just at the foot of the Jebel Barkal. Dinner and overnight.

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.

The Royal necropolis of the ancient city of Napata, the Nubian capital (from 800 to 400 b.C.) before the Meroitic period, had a large number of pyramids in three different places: a few hundreds of metres northwards from Jebel Barkal, at El Kurru, a dozen of kilometres southwards from the mountain and at Nuri, which is located on the other bank of the Nile. We then go southwards to the village of El Kurru where there is one of this necropolis. 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.

The trip continues with a visit to a site, rich in fossil trunks in the desert. In the evening return to Karima, accommodation at the Rest-House, dinner and overnight stay.
 

After breakfast, short visit to the market in Karima where we can have a real experience of the live of the Sudanese people. We then leave northwards, going into the Nubian desert with its level evenness, its sand stretches and its soft undulation. It is an almost sterile area where no vegetation survives. We then reach the beautiful granite rocky formations of the 4th Cataract, which prevent the Nile from flowing slowly but forms many rapids that obstruct the navigation. Beautiful walk amongst the granite boulders of the cataract. Among the rocks and the loops formed by the river, there were some villages whose inhabitants have now been moved to a different location because this area will be flooded by the new Merowe dam which will be ready by 2009.

Returning to Karima, a little trip on a small boat allows us to cross the Nile to reach the pyramids of Nuri. Take a little walk and then return to Karima, dinner and overnight in the Rest-House.

Not far from the Rest-House we cross the Nile by ferry-boat. Waiting for the ferry and crossing the river are very interesting moments that give us the opportunity to get in touch with the local people and to have experience of their kindness and hospitality. After the river crossing 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 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 close to the rare water wells. A new road is being built acroso the Bayuda desert, so some parts of the crossing might be on tarmac road.

We reach the town of Atbara, located on the confluence between the Nile and the river Atbara, where we cross the Nile for the last time. Then we drive south on a level ground area until we can see the pyramids of the Royal Necropolis of Meroe standing on a hill; more than 40 pyramids, some of them in perfect preservation conditions. Arrival at the PERMANENT TENTED CAMP OF MEROE. 

The Royal Necropolis of Meroe is located at about 3 km far from the Nile on some hills covered with yellow sand dunes. Several pyramids stand out with their sharp shapes against the clear sky. 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. Most of the area where the city is located, that is formed by many small hills covered by red clay fragments, has still to be excavated by the archaeologists. 

After breakfast at the camp, we spend the day visiting two archaeological sites. The site of Naga is located about 30 km to the east of the Nile and it is one of the two centres that developed during the Meroitic period. In Naga, in a typical Saharan environment with rocks and sand, there is the Apedemak temple (1st century a.D.): a wonderful building with bas-relief decorations with the image of the god with the lion head, of the Pharaoh and of the noblemen and several ritual images of the Apedemak god. A few dozens of metres away there is a small and odd construction with arches and columns, named "kiosk", in which we can notice the Egyptian, the Roman and the Greek styles at the same time. Not far away another temple dedicated to Amon with many statues of rams and beautiful temple entrance decorated with bas-reliefs.

In Musawwarat, 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 another temple - recently restored by a German archaeological mission - dedicated to the Apedemak god. Picnic and then return towards the Nile and stop at the town of Shendi to visit the market.

After breakfast we drive south and early afternoon we arrive to Omdurman, ancient capital of Sudan. Visit the interesting souk, where it is possible to buy some typical local handicrafts. Transfer to Khartoum. Return to the Holiday Villa Hotel where Day Use rooms will be available for until 21.00. Dinner free. In the evening transfer to the airport.