The Ennedi Massif: A Gem of the Sahara

Rarely Visited UNESCO World Heritage

The Ennedi massif covers an area roughly the size of Switzerland and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2016. Nevertheless, it is rarely visited by tourists.

For decades, an Italian travel agency had a virtual monopoly on tours to the Ennedi massif, which had an impact on the price-performance ratio.

Those who do make the several-day journey from N’Djamena via Abéché and Kalaït through a Sahel landscape of little variety will be richly rewarded in terms of scenery once they reach the Ennedi massif, but will not necessarily be welcomed with open arms by the Toubou, some of whom live there as nomads.

It is well worth entrusting yourself to a guide from the Toubou tribe.

Toubou People

The Toubou’s homeland is a desert area twice the size of France in northern Chad, northeastern Niger, and southern Libya, centered in the Tibesti Mountains.

Their name means “people of the mountains.” Estimated to number 350,000, they consider themselves more as a confederation of clans than as a people.

Their social structure is egalitarian, and the position of women is stronger than in most other Islamic ethnic groups. The literacy rate is low, and knowledge is passed on orally through stories, songs, and teachings of the elders.

Most Toubou are pastoral, raising mainly goats and sheep and breeding camels. While elsewhere in Africa the number of cattle is a sign of wealth, for the Toubou, it is the number of camels.

Camels are not only the main means of transportation in the desert but also a source of milk and meat. The cattle are also part of the dowry for marriages or are given to young couples by their relatives to help them start a family.

The Toubou nomads follow fixed migration routes, passed down from generation to generation, that take them to seasonal grazing grounds and water sources.

The sedentary part of the Toubou live in oases with vegetable gardens, date palms, fruit trees, and farmland for millet and sorghum. Trade between the pastoral and agricultural sectors is crucial for the nutrition of both.

The First Bizarre Sandstone Sculptures

After stocking up on diesel, water, and food in the oasis of Kalaït, we head out into the seemingly endless sea of sand.

After a good two hours, the first bizarre sandstone sculptures appear in the form of columns, fingers, mushrooms, chess pieces, and rock arches, glowing a deep orange in the late afternoon sun.

In the Terkeï area, Khalid, our driver and guide, takes us to hidden rock outcrops where, for the first time, we can admire rock carvings of an elegance that we have never seen before in the Sahara.

They are up to 8,000 years old and mostly date from a time when the climate here was still temperate, cattle grazed on the pastures, and even giraffes had their habitat here.

Over the next days, we will discover several more true masterpieces. They not only depict animals but also show people hunting, riding camels, milking, or playing music.

To date, around 650 rock art sites have been cataloged, enough for our daily dose of art.

We drive on through the bizarre landscape, where mysterious peaks in the middle of the sand alternate with rock labyrinths, long sandstone ridges, or deeply incised canyons that wind for up to 20 miles through the desert, their walls resembling castles and cathedrals.

At the end, they may open up into a wadi or narrow into a guelta, whose sheer cliffs can be home to baboons.

As the gueltas are fed all year round by groundwater deep beneath the desert floor, their importance to the local ecosystem cannot be overestimated.

They guarantee the existence of plants and animals as well as the survival of the nomadic population.

Sahara’s Most Famous Waterhole

Probably the most famous waterhole in the Sahara and therefore a highlight of every Ennedi crossing is the Guelta d’Archeï. It is ancient and a popular watering place for the Toubou.

It is therefore considered the center of nomadic life in the Ennedi region. In the morning, the Toubou men and children drive their camel herds here, and the women bring their donkeys to fill jerry cans with water.

Long before we reach the guelta, the camels trot ahead of us in droves to the waterhole. When we finally reach it on foot, over a hundred camels are awaiting us, grunting and gurgling to quench their thirst.

The morning sun glistens in the water that almost completely covers the narrow stream, illuminating its sheer rock walls. A truly impressive sight in a constant interplay of light and shadow!

The men lounge in the shade drinking tea, while the boys mount the camel and dash toward Holger, taking pictures, only to come to a halt in front of him at the last moment.

Holger acknowledges their obvious display of imposing behavior by smiling and taking a step toward them instead of backing away. They smile back, dismount, and indicate that they would like to see the photos he has taken of them.

One of the men stands up and offers Holger a bowl of still frothing camel’s milk to drink. He doesn’t need to be asked twice and gives me a sip to try. It tastes delicious.

In addition to plant species found only in the subtropics, the Ennedi massif is also home to relict animal and plant species. These include various trees from the past that are no longer able to spread today.

The animals and plants are remnants of the last wet period in the region when the watercourses of the Ennedi massif were connected to the rivers of the surrounding landscape.

While the water supply inside the massif was able to survive due to the unique climatic conditions, the rivers outside dried up, leading to the isolation of the flora and fauna in the area.

Probably the most famous relict is the very small population of desert crocodiles in the Guelta d’Archeï, which, depending on the source, comprises only three or four animals.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any of them during our visit.

Gigantic Rock Arches

Along the way, we keep seeing smaller and larger rock holes and arches of different sizes and shapes. With a height of 400 feet and a span of 250 feet, the Arche d’Aloba is one of the largest in the world.

Another arch resembles an elephant’s trunk, and yet another looks like a giant harp on top of a hill.

While we cut tracks in the sand with our 4WD Toyota and can hardly get enough of the inexhaustible variety of rock formations, one or two Toubou emerge occasionally out of nowhere, high on camels.

Twice, we meet a small salt caravan. For Khalid, this is always a welcome opportunity for a quick chat. He knows them all and introduces them to us as either “mon grand frère” or “mon petit frère,” depending on their age.

The Toubou are a proud people who have repeatedly resisted the colonization attempts by the French. Their interest in us is rather limited.

70 Feet Deep Wells

These encounters remind us again and again that the desert here is not as empty as we think. The next time we meet, Toubou is at a well. Here, too, there is a constant coming and going.

While one family is watering their camels, donkeys, goats, and sheep, another is already waiting its turn. The well is so deep that I can’t see the bottom.

Driven by young girls, donkeys and camels pull the bulging sacks of water from the depths. When another sack appears at the edge of the well, I pace the distance to the pulling animal.

The well must be more than 70 feet deep. Woe betide if such a well dries up. The Toubou already have to travel long distances with their herds to reach it.

Among the most beautiful moments on this trip is waking up, opening the zipper of the tent, looking at the contours of the rock formations in the morning light, and taking in the atmosphere.

Holger is then irresistible; he wants to catch the first rays of the sun between the rocks. Another unforgettable moment is when the sun goes down, and the shadows get longer and longer, and the rocks get redder and redder.

The Lakes of Ounianga

Our next destination is the lakes of Ounianga, located between the Ennedi and Tibesti massifs. The eighteen lakes are connected underground and are the remains of a much larger lake system from prehistoric times, when the Sahara was still green.

The deep blue Ounianga Serir and Ounianga Kebir are the largest groundwater lakes in the Sahara. The former is salty due to the extremely high evaporation rate, while the latter is not.

This is due to the fact that half of the water surface is covered by reeds, and the constant inflow of fresh groundwater prevents salinization. The dunes reach down to the shore, which is lined with palm trees.

Small vegetable gardens are hidden among the palms, and the Toubou people have pitched their typical straw-mat tents on the hills. The backdrop consists of red rock cliffs interspersed with dunes and a bright blue sky above.

On the way back to N’Djamena, Khalid takes us through the Erg du Djourab: a sea of crescent dunes as far as the eye can see.

We spot gazelles and desert foxes, pass burned-out tanks from the Libyan-Chadian border war, and finally experience a sandstorm.

Shortly before N’Djamena, we meet a caravan of Arab nomads. We are so impressed by the camels’ setups that we decide: This is worth another trip.

If You Go

Organize your trip with a trustworthy local travel agency since traveling to Chad is generally not advised due to the tense political, economic, and social situation.

Besides, there is no tourist infrastructure. We can recommend Zenith Tours.

Travel insurance is essential for any trip, offering peace of mind and protection. Explore options with SafetyWing or SquareMouth to find the coverage you need.

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Author Bio: Sylvia Furrer & Holger Hoffmann are Swiss freelance travel and documentary journalists who have traveled to over 100 countries. They are particularly fascinated by the customs and daily life of people who have preserved their traditional culture. They have published numerous travel and photo reports in various magazines.

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