Gerewol & Ennedi – Trip to Chad (Sep 2019)

Trip to Chad in September 2019. Duration of 15 days, in which we will attend a Gerewol ceremony of the nomadic Wodaabe ethnic group and travel to the Ennedi plateau. 4×4 car to get to the Gerewol and 4×4 truck to Ennedi

A 15 day trip to Chad in September 2019, in which we will attend a nomadic Wodaabe Gerewol ceremony and travel to the Ennedi plateau. Trip in a 4 × 4 car to Gerewol and 4 × 4 truck to Ennedi.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

Travel style Culture, festival, photographic, landscape, adventure, truck, camping.
Departure N’Djamena. Tuesday 11th/09/2019
Arrival N’Djamena. Tuesday 09th/25/2019
Duration: 15 days / 14 nights
Group size 12 passengers
Transport: 4 × 4 car (Gerewol); 4 × 4 Truck (Ennedi)
Accommodation 10% Hotel – 90% Free camping
Price: 2.770€
More information at info@kumakonda.com

Ceremony Gerewol and Ennedi on an exclusive trip to Chad

Chad is one of the most fascinating destinations in Africa. A country that still today remains outside of globalization and where it is possible to find ancestral ways of life, simply exceptional nowadays.

The immense majority of the approximately 200 tribes of Chad hold much of their original culture due to their isolation.

Landscapes in Chad are breathtakingly beautiful. The Ennedi plateau offers some of the most amazing desert in the world. Fascinating rock formations, huge stone arches or spectacular gorges, such as the famous Guelta de Archei.

The Wodaabe and the Gerewol ceremony

On this special trip to Chad visiting the Gerewol and Ennedi, we will have the opportunity to approach the Wodaabe nomadic people. We will attend a Gerewol festive ceremony. For a few days we can meet and live with one of the most fascinating ethnic groups in Africa.

For the Wodaabe or Bororo there are three essential reasons in life. The first refers to the personal aspect, the second to their cattle and the third to the family and relations with their clan. The Wodaabe consider themselves the most beautiful people in the world.

We will observe how the Wodaabe are an unmistakable ethnic group. Men wear tunics and turbans and Women wear black vestments. Both look numerous geometric facial tattoos.

The Gerewol consists of a ceremony where men dance and compete to be the most beautiful and women are the judges and can choose their future husband. We will spend two days and two nights participating in Gerewol

In mid and late September, different nomadic Fulani tribes are concentrated in the Dourbali region, on their transhumant way to the south. We will meet some of them and spend a day and a night with a nomadic Alidjan ethnic group clan. We will continue our journey to Ennedi to discover many of their secrets.

On the way we will stop to visit another ethnic group as the Dangelaet.

DETAILED ITINERARY

DAY 1 – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11th.

Arrival in N’Djamena, capital of Chad.
Transfer to the hotel in local taxis, free day to visit N’Djamena
Night in the Catholic Mission of N’Djamena.

DAY 2 MARKET OF DOURBALI AND GEREWOL

Early in the morning we will travel in 4 × 4 Toyota vehicles to Dourbali, where every Wednesday a colorful and interesting market takes place, in which the different ethnic groups of the region meet.
Across countryside we will head towards the nomadic Wodaabe camps.
Afternoon attending the Gerewol festival
Camping

DAY 3 GEREWOL AND STAY WITH NOMADS WODAABE

Full day attending the Gerewol festival. We can see the dances and songs, but we can also live and see the way of life of one of the last nomadic people on the planet.
Camping

DAY 4 STAY IN A NOMAD ALIDJAN CAMP

After breakfast we will set up our camp to go in search of the nomadic Fulani sub ethnic group, the Alidjan. Alidjan women are distinguished by their incredible beauty and colorful dresses.
Camping

DAYS 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 DOURBALI – YAMENA – BOKORO – ABECHE – OUM CHALUBA

We will go back to N’Djamena, where we will change the Toyota 4 × 4 for our truck to continue our journey towards Ennedi. On the way visiting markets and the interesting city of Abeche we will see different ethnic groups of Chad.
We will cross through the beautiful and lively region of Guera, dotted with granite peaks (La reine du Guera), its traditional houses and its rich market.
We will stop in the village of Ab Toyour, dominated by a granite peak known as “the mountain of the vultures”.
We will also stop in Korbo, located in the Guera Mountains to visit the Dangelaet ethnic group. A very hospitable people that will welcome us beautifully and where we will spend one night.
Camping

DAYS 9 – 10 – 11 ENNEDI

We will stop first in the town of Kalait to stock food on its lively market, before continuing our journey in the majestic mountains of Ennedi. We will spend our time exploring numerous rock formations of sandstones modeled by the wind as an erosive phenomenon. There are spectacular and wonderful forms.
We will also visit a series of rock art sites, some of the paintings on the rocks outside and others hidden inside caves. It is possible to see paintings of cows, camels, warriors and even see also old graves almost intact.
Following our circuit, we can find nomadic villages with their mat tents that are grazing with their camels that collect water from a well.We will enjoy the pleasure of exploring sublime landscapes with natural arches, deep and isolated gorges, wells of water …
The highlight of this area is undoubtedly the Guelta d’Archei, the only point where water is found all year round. It is situated in spectacular and imposing rocky gorge where it is common to find hundreds of camels drinking. Its roar echoes the rock walls. El Guelta is also the refuge of some of the last crocodiles of the Sahara, with a little luck we should see some.
The landscape in this region is truly spectacular and we will install the campsite in unique natural spaces.

DAYS 12 – 13 – 14 OUM CHAOLUBA – ABECHE – N’DJAMENA

We will retrace our steps towards N’Djamena. The visits that we have not done on the way to Ennedi will be done on the way back, such as Abéché or the visit to the ethnic groups of the Guera Mountains.
Abéché is the capital of the province of Ouaddaï, base of a former sultanate that played a very important role in the trade of the Sahara, linking tropical Africa with the slave markets of Tripoli.
Camping and last night we will spend it in the Catholic Mission of N’Djamena

DAY 15 N’DJAMENA – TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25

End of the trip at 9:00
Transfer to the airport
Possibility of extra night in the Catholic Mission taking charge of the amount.

IMAGES GALERIE

Overland Africa Central. Visiting Wodaabe in Gerewol. Chad

THIS TRIP INCLUDES

4x4 cars to assist Gerewol
Transport in 4x4 truck during the trip to Ennedi
Spanish Driver (truck), guide and travel coordinator
French speaking Chadian guide all the journey
All the government necessary permits to travel in northern Chad
Local assistant in charge of picking up and setting up tents and camp.
Cooker during the trip
Pick up service and return to the airport
Letter of invitation to Chad necessary for the visa application
Attendance at the Gerewol ceremony-party
Visits to the nomadic Wodaabe and Fulani camps
All camping fees
Camping tents for every two travelers.
Sleeping mats
Two nights (day of arrival and departure) in ventilated rooms in the Catholic missions. The religious guests have priority for lodging in the Catholic Mission. When the rooms are occupied, we will camp in the Mission's garden.
All the entry rates of the programmed places we visit
2 x breakfast at the restaurant at the Catholic Mission
A common dinner in N'Djamena
3 meals per day
3 liters of mineral water per day and passenger
Generator for charging electrical appliances with voltage limiter
Exception: Meals are not served on arrival and departure of the trip in N'Djamena.

THIS TRIP DOES NOT INCLUDE

Flights
Travel insurance
Photography rates
Taxi expenses
Visa
Visa procedures (see visa section)
Drinks (soft drinks / alcoholic beverages )
Tips

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