Take breakfast this morning at your leisure at the hotel. We will gather for lunch to meet the group and receive a briefing about the trip ahead. This afternoon, we’ll take a pleasant hour and a half boat ride on the Nile to see the confluence of the Blue and White Nile. Just before sunset we head out to witness a sacred ritual called dhikr, performed every Friday evening by Sufi dervishes at the tomb of Sheikh Hamad-al Nil, a 19th-century Sufi leader. The devotees dance and work themselves into a frenzy while reciting Allah’s name, helping to create a state of ecstatic abandon that supposedly allows their hearts to communicate directly with God.

After breakfast we’ll cross over the confluence of the Blue and White Nile to visit Omdurman, the old capital of Sudan. Located in Omdurman is the burial site of Muhammad Ahmad, a Nubian Sufi religious figure. Ahmad led the Islamic revolt against the Ottoman-Egyptian occupation of Sudan and the victory against the British in the siege of Khartoum that established the Mahdist state in 1885. He was believed to be the long-awaited Madhi, come to rid the world of evil and injustice. After removing our shoes, we can enter Ahmad’s silver-domed tomb. Next, we’ll visit the home of Ahmad’s successor, Khalifa Abdullah, and its small museum containing artifacts of the 1898 Battle of Karari. We’ll return to Khartoum for lunch at a local restaurant. After some free time in the afternoon, this evening we’ll attend an exhibition of traditional Nuba wrestling, a popular activity for many local Sudanese.

We’ll set out this morning traveling north from Khartoum, quickly entering the desert landscape of sand and rocky, granite hills. We’ll stop at Sabaloka Gorge at the Sixth Cataract of the Nile, gaining a closer view of the rapids on a short boat ride. After a picnic lunch, we’ll continue our drive to Meroe. Hold your breath as the spectacular pyramids of the Royal Necropolis of Meroe come into view, perched high on a hill and surrounded by dunes. The ruins of the ancient royal city now appear as a collection of small hills covered in red clay fragments, yet to be fully excavated by archaeologists. We’ll settle into our comfortable tented camp and enjoy the splendid view of the pyramids from our personal verandas.

Slowly being reclaimed by the sands of time, the pyramids of Meroe hold the fragile footprints of a mysterious and long-forgotten civilization. Meroe was an ancient city in the Kushite Kingdom around 270 BCE, and the sheer number of its still-standing pyramids indicate that it was a massive city, once bustling with traders and everyday inhabitants. Archaeologists have identified that the numerous pyramid structures are very clearly in the Nubian style. The structures’ sharp angles and relatively narrow footprints carry all the hallmarks of the former Kushite Kingdom, meaning Meroe was a pinnacle location in one of history’s greatest and least-understood civilizations. Today, several structures and pyramids still stand, rising from the sand. Each pyramid contains a funerary chapel and walls decorated with bas reliefs showing the life of the king and offerings to the gods. In the evening, we’ll have the option of traveling by camel to watch the sun set over the pyramids.

We’ll begin today’s excursion at Musawwarat es-Sufra, one of the most important archaeological heritage sites and the largest Meroitic temple complex in Sudan (300 BCE to 350 CE). Pause and take in the setting of this magnificent valley, surrounded by sandstone escarpments: the Wadi es-Sufra. The focal point of Musawwarat is the “Great Enclosure,” a huge complex of religious temples, corridors, and courtyards. The walls are carved with depictions of elephants, which must have once roamed this region. A short distance away is Naqa, where we’ll find two well-preserved, first-century Meroitic temples to explore. One is the Lion Temple, dedicated to the lion-headed warrior god Apedemak, and the other features statues of rams, gates, and decorative bas-reliefs dedicated to ancient Sudan’s most prominent god, Amon. After a full day of archaeological exploration, we’ll return for a final night at our camp.

Leaving Meroe early this morning, we’ll cross the Nile on a public pontoon ferry, sharing our passage with locals and their donkeys, camels, and goats. We enter the Bayuda Desert, an area bordered by the Nile River and punctuated by sharp, black, conical, basalt mountains interspersed with pebble plains and large, dry valleys. Isolated groups of Bisharin nomads call this area home; as we travel through, we might meet some of the familial groups gathered near one of the desert’s rare water wells in what is otherwise an inhospitable landscape. After a full day of traveling these desert roads, we’ll arrive at Jebel Barkal, the holy mountain of Egyptian and Nubian Pharaohs. At the mountain’s base is the small town of Karima, where the charming Nubian Rest House will provide welcome respite.

Weathered pyramids spike upward amid sweeping stretches of golden desert sand. They stand in the shadow of Jebel Barkal, a small butte that was considered sacred thousands of years ago. The Egyptians, then later the Kushites, transformed the 322-foot-tall sandstone monolith into a trove of architectural treasures (900 BCE to 350 CE). Roughly a dozen pyramids are scattered around the base of the mountain, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You’ll also find ruins of tombs, pyramids, temples, burial mounds, chambers, palaces, statues, and hieroglyphics on both sides of the Nile. One of the temples we’ll encounter was dedicated to the god Amon, who was believed to live atop the butte. Amon was the Olympus of the Nubians and at the center of worship for over 1,000 years. In the afternoon, we visit the village of El Kurru where we find one of the necropolises of the ancient city of Napata. This was the Nubian capital from 800 to 400 BCE, and we’ll have the chance to observe an excavated tomb under the pyramid, featuring images of pharaohs, ancient gods, and hieroglyphic inscriptions. In the late afternoon, we’ll return to Karima through an ancient petrified forest.

Enjoy a leisurely morning, relaxing and taking breakfast on your own time. We’ll then gather to board a small motorboat for a gentle cruise along the Nile, providing views of the cultivated islands along the river. To the north once stood the beautiful granite formations of the Fourth Cataract, which disrupted the flow of the Nile and obstructed navigation. After a scenic picnic lunch on an island in the river, we’ll visit some of the oldest pyramids in Sudan (7th century BCE) at the Necropolis of Nuri, another UNESCO World Heritage Site and the burial site of King Taharqa. We’ll then return to the Nubian Rest House, where in the evening, we’ll have the chance to enjoy a performance of traditional Sudanese music and dance.

After breakfast we’ll begin our journey back to Khartoum or head onwards if you’re joining the optional extension. For those heading back to Khartoum, we’ll head south on the tarmac road across the Western Desert, an area so dry and flat you can see from horizon to horizon in all directions. We’ll take a break for lunch at a simple roadside chai house, just as the local truck drivers do. After checking into the hotel back in Khartoum, you’ll have the evening at your leisure. Most international flights depart late in the evening or after midnight; a private airport transfer will be arranged according to your flight schedule. See below for itinerary details if you are joining the extension.

After our unforgettable journey through some of the world’s most legendary lands, it’s time to bid farewell. Head to the airport or on to your next destination; if you’d like to extend your stay in the area, consider joining the two-night extension which starts on Day 10 in the remote Nubian Desert.