Sudan cultural holiday
Highlights
Khartoum | Nile river boat cruise | Mussawarat | Naqa ruins | Mussawarat 'Great Enclosure' | Shendi souk | Meroe pyramids | Atrun Crater | Atbara railways | Bayuda Desert | Nuri pyramids | UNESCO temples of Jebel Berkal | Old Dongola | Farewell meal at Omdurman accompanied by whirling dervishes |Description of Sudan cultural holiday
This eight day small group adventure takes you into one of Africa’s lesser-visited and less-understood countries, Sudan.Beginning in the country’s capital city, Khartoum, you’ll be treated to a boat cruise along the Nile before being driven northwards in search of elephant inscriptions and the exciting souks of the riverbank town of Shendi.
Continuing north you’ll enter the arid lands of the Bayuda desert as well as exploring Sudan’s ancient and colonial era heritage as you take time out amongst the pyramids of Meroe and the railway abundant Atbara.
Sudan contains more pyramids than Egypt and it’s with this in mind that you pause for thought in Nuri before venturing onwards to Karima and the UNESCO temples and palaces surrounding the mini-mountain foothills of Jebel Berkal.
Discover the ancient kingdoms and landscapes of the north where archaeological sites appear along the road to Old Dongola and whirling dervishes dance after dinner in Omdurman.
Follow the meandering Nile at the confluence of the Blue and White Niles as you board a 4x4 vehicle and delve into the desert’s most exciting secrets. Meet local Sudanese as they go about their business and welcome you with hospitable and genuine smiles as well as tempting traditional fare.
This trip maybe short in length but it undoubtedly packs a punch when it comes to exciting ancient sites and authentic cultural experiences.
Travel Team
If you'd like to chat about this holiday or need help finding one we're very happy to help. The Travel Team.
01273 823 700 Calling from outside the UK? rosy@responsibletravel.comCheck dates, prices & availability
Responsible tourism
As the pioneers of responsible tourism, we screen every trip so you can travel knowing your holiday will help support conservation and local people.
We are very aware of the economic, ecological and ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures and fragile environments. We realise that taking clients through such a region can have a negative impact on the the environment if not handled responsibly. On all our Sudan trips we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive… after all, there are also many good things that the traveller can bring.We have a strict environmental policy to make sure that the fragile eco-structure of the desert is not damaged or spoilt in any way. Our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips in all regions, and as tour operators is something we are careful to promote.
By keeping the group size to a maximum of 12, we can also minimise the human impact on the fragile sites we visit – particularly important as this trip visits some remote sites that aren’t policed by tourist regulators.
The Impacts of this Trip
Sudan is still little known by tourism and it has incredible potentials due to its history, its nature and above all its kind population. All those characteristics make this country a very attractive destination especially before it is spoiled by mass tourism.
By staying and visiting traditional houses we support local development. This helps to forge good relationship between local people and the concept of tourism, and allows also the travellers to get a better insight on traditional and typical lifestyle of the very warm local people.
All of the services are provided by Sudanese suppliers together with the assistance of a small experienced Italian team that is helping the local small and still immature travel business to improve, employing mainly local staff and providing them with professional training. More than 40 Sudanese families are benefiting from this collaboration.
Bringing tourism to the many archaeological sites that Sudan has to offer (two of them are listed in the Unesco project: Jebel Barkal near Karima and Meroe region) but that still have very few visitors in a year, will help drawing attention to those hidden treasures in order to assist the many archaeological missions working on those projects to obtain funds and use them to preserve those precious areas and possibly discover more of their intriguing history. The travellers will enjoy the incredible experience of wondering alone among those ancient ruins and this will help evoking their fascinating past and enjoying the mysterious atmosphere.
We are very aware of the economic, ecological and ethical impact tourism can have on ancient cultures and fragile environments. We realise that taking clients through such a region can have a negative impact on the the environment if not handled responsibly. On all our Sudan trips we therefore go to great lengths to minimise the negative and accentuate the positive… after all, there are also many good things that the traveller can bring.We have a strict environmental policy to make sure that the fragile eco-structure of the desert is not damaged or spoilt in any way. Our guides are trained to uphold this policy and all clients are fully briefed on appropriate/responsible behaviour whilst in wilderness areas. Our “Leave No Trace” ethic is applied to all trips in all regions, and as tour operators is something we are careful to promote.
By keeping the group size to a maximum of 12, we can also minimise the human impact on the fragile sites we visit – particularly important as this trip visits some remote sites that aren’t policed by tourist regulators.
The Impacts of this Trip
Sudan is still little known by tourism and it has incredible potentials due to its history, its nature and above all its kind population. All those characteristics make this country a very attractive destination especially before it is spoiled by mass tourism.
By staying and visiting traditional houses we support local development. This helps to forge good relationship between local people and the concept of tourism, and allows also the travellers to get a better insight on traditional and typical lifestyle of the very warm local people.
All of the services are provided by Sudanese suppliers together with the assistance of a small experienced Italian team that is helping the local small and still immature travel business to improve, employing mainly local staff and providing them with professional training. More than 40 Sudanese families are benefiting from this collaboration.
Bringing tourism to the many archaeological sites that Sudan has to offer (two of them are listed in the Unesco project: Jebel Barkal near Karima and Meroe region) but that still have very few visitors in a year, will help drawing attention to those hidden treasures in order to assist the many archaeological missions working on those projects to obtain funds and use them to preserve those precious areas and possibly discover more of their intriguing history. The travellers will enjoy the incredible experience of wondering alone among those ancient ruins and this will help evoking their fascinating past and enjoying the mysterious atmosphere.
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