Ennedi, Sahara at the end of the world - From the Bachiké massif to the Bachikélé gorge guided by Sylvain PHILIP

Early in the morning, we take advantage of this time to complete mandatory police formalities. Please remember to bring an identity photo to facilitate the registration of your passport with the authorities.

Mid-morning, we head north following the paved road axis allowing us to reach the town of Massaguet. We then follow the main track towards Moussoro and the Kanem region. The transition between savanna and Sahel is stark. The track can be regularly cut by temporary water pools, we are in the spillway of Lake Chad. The diversity of vegetation cover is exceptional, the various Acacia nilotica and raddiana are remarkable, as are the Balanites egyptiaca, Calotropis proceras, Maerua crassifolia, Salvadora persica with its rubber-like smell, and a few capers from the Caparis family. In the sandy valleys appear small forests of Doum palms. The populations present in this contact zone are the Kanembou, the Peuls, the Keredos and the Dazas. It is frequent to find some semi-nomadic Toubou groups in the large plains. The track crosses a few arms of the Bahr el Gazal, then runs along its right bank this long depression which was once the spillway of Lake Chad. We reach the town of Cheddra, a place of life in this rich green valley and this great center of traditional culture and livestock.

Further north, the environment changes; Salal; small town made up of a few banco houses and a small abandoned colonial fort. The wind is almost permanent giving a quite unreal sensation just as in Kouba Oulanga, 150 km to the north. Shortly after Kouba Oulanga – the "depression of acacias", we leave the Faya Largeau track and the terminal part of the Bahr el Gazal to undertake a long sandy crossing due east towards Oum Chalouba and Kalaït. The sub-Saharan landscapes are wild and rarely visited. However, wildlife is abundant: Dama and Dorcas gazelles, different species of bustards (Oubara, Arab and the great bustard), hyenas and jackals are also well present. In these isolated regions, only a few tribes of great Arab nomads live from livestock and seed gathering. It is not uncommon to meet them at the Toli well, in the Achim wadi. The track follows the course of the Achim wadi and reaches Oum Chalouba, a sad abandoned village on the 16th parallel which was an important Libyan military base. The population is now settled in the town of Kalaït 20 km away.

We are now on an important road axis connecting northeast Chad, Libya and the important city of Abéché in the Ouaddai region. The region is less desert thanks to the proximity of mountain massifs, to the north the southern borders of the Ennedi and to the east and south the chains of Kappa foothills of the Sudanese Darfur. The populations of these regions consist of Gaeda, Tama and Zagawa, ethnic groups of nomadic herders roaming in these mountainous areas and in nearby Sudan. Continuing our route northwards towards the town of Fada, we catch sight of and then skirt the violet-coloured sandstone barrier which constitutes the imposing massif of the Ennedi. We must make a brief stop at the Fada oasis, prefecture of the Ennedi, in order to fulfill administrative obligations. We then return to the southern border and the Archei region.

Warning – car travel: Land communication routes are difficult throughout Chadian territory. To reach the Ennedi massif, in north-east Chad, the transfer is long and spreads over three and a half days and the return via Abéché, over four and a half days. Along the route, fuel supply can be very unpredictable and involve some last-minute itinerary modifications. The vehicles are in as satisfactory a condition as possible, but nevertheless, one must always expect unforeseen circumstances: track damaged by rain, delicate passage, engine needing to cool down, getting bogged down in sand, puncture… You must really consider these long driving days as an integral part of the journey.

From the Bachiké canyon, we begin this exceptional discovery of the Ennedi massif. We skirt around the very complex Ga Kourou massif supported to the south by sandy slopes in order to reach the isolated peak of Déli which rises above the plain like an enormous "molar", vanguard of the western bastion of the Ennedi. During this camel trek, we become immersed in the extraordinary atmosphere of the Ennedi massif. We now travel parallel to the major wadi of this part of the massif, the Archeï wadi.

We cross sites that are quite picturesque and of rare beauty where rock art is omnipresent. By a path skirting the massif we can access the upstream part of the guelta. The spectacle is then extraordinary: you will be able to observe the few crocodiles (Crocodilus niloticus) that survive in this water point. They are the survivors of a period when the climate of the Sahara was less arid.

ARCHEI 1 and 2: these two important sites are located downstream from the Archeï guelta. ARCHEI 4 – Manda Guili: two major rock art shelters of the Ennedi. ARCHEI 7 – Grande Riparo: Exceptional mural fresco, also see the ensemble of Tumulus at the foot of the scree.

The crowning point remains the gorge and the guelta of Archeï. This permanent water point is of paramount interest for the people and animals of the region. Have we not seen in certain very dry years herds of bovids coming up from the south to drink in spring? This gorge is generally very lively and offers a spectacle of rare beauty!

Progressively we leave the Archeï circus and, towards the south-east, we reach an astonishing labyrinth formation. It is worth noting that on certain hills, we can observe a whole set of fossils named "Harlania enigmatica" which would be traces of plants dating from the Devonian period. Here again, many rock art sites are remarkable.

Continuing our journey towards the east, we then cross another major wadi of the massif, the Nohi wadi, and we enter the Bamena region. Rocky peaks, sandstone cathedrals alternate with large masses of dunes and sandy depressions occupied by green acacias and a few Toubou encampments. Every prominent point, even if little accessible, is studded with tumulus tombs from the pre-Islamic period.

By skirting an imposing massif, we reach the elegant Aloba arch. Of impressive height, it ranks among the largest natural arches ever observed. This monument rests on the "base plateau" of the Aloba Mountains, a mountain still considered sacred and forbidden today by the Bideyat ethnic group.

We are now heading south following the jagged border of the Ennedi. We then cross a succession of more or less significant wadis: Ketara, the major wadi Sîni, Tunisi, Chebi, Toli, Chegela, Djoua, Joulia and finally the Bachikélé gorge. Due to its ideal location, a most remarkable microcosm has developed and persists. An unusual vegetation of surprising variety shelters still-preserved fauna. During our explorations of the massif, we found a whole collection of equally magical places Koboué, Maya, Aoué, refuge zones with atmospheres of equatorial Africa very close to Ethiopian landscapes.

As throughout the Ennedi massif, we can observe: the Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia), the dorcas gazelle (Gazella dorcas), the dama gazelle (Gazella dama), the golden jackal (Canis aureus), the fennec (Canis zerda), the pale and Rüppell's foxes (Vulpes pallida and rueppelli), the spotted hyena (Crotula crotula), the caracal (Felis caracal), the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), the honey badger (Mellivora capensis), the yellow baboon (Papio cynocephalus), the patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas). A leopard (Panthera pardus) was reportedly observed in 1996, but this should be taken with caution.

At the exit of the Bachikéle gorge, we find our vehicles again and it is in this magical place that we will end our discovery of this surprising and remarkably diverse massif. We continue towards the Terkeï massif, on the western edge of the massif. We discover there a major site of rock art with a fresco of flying horses. Last camp in Ennedi.

We leave the Ennedi massif to regain the tracks that will take us back to Kalaït, then the road axis (track) that allows us to reach Abéché, the large city of eastern Chad. You should allow +/- 4 and a half days to return to N'Djamena.

Transfer to the airport according to flight plan.