TCHAD
A vast, forbidding desert at the crossroads of North and Central Africa, Tchad is rarely visited by tourists. And yet this barren landscape is exquisite in its ‘splendid isolation’, its topography hugely varied and packed with hidden wonders that bear witness to a fascinating past. More than nine thousands years ago when Tchad was a land of abundant grasslands and wildlife, human settlers took advantage of its position on the trans-Saharan trade routes. Productivity and trade flourished while empires rose and fell over millennia. An exploration of this terrestrial ocean is guaranteed to set all senses tingling as the past reveals itself in tantalising fragments.
Photo Credits: Sophy Roberts
Located in the northeast of Tchad, the remote and rarely visited Ennedi Massif is a natural sandstone masterpiece spanning 50,000 sq.km of a sculpted landscape marked by cliffs, natural arches, spiring rocks, giant labyrinths, and water catchments. This Eden of the Sahara was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 for its unique natural formations and globally significant rock art. Dating back 8,000 years, the rock art is a testament to the historic role people have played in this landscape. The flora and fauna of this region is also extraordinary. Ennedi is home to a relict population of desert-adapted West African crocodiles, Barbary sheep, patas monkeys, some 525 plant species and at least 180 bird species that pass through on their transcontinental migratory routes.
ENNEDI MASSIF
Photo Credits: Sophy Roberts
WARDA CAMP
I loved Warda Camp – opened in 2018 and newly upgraded this year, created by SVS Tchad and perfect in its simplicity: a thick duvet, a fly swat, a soft light for reading, an iron trunk and seagrass carpet, with hot showers shielded by canvas to the rear of each room. We ate fresh salads and barbecued meats; the bread tasted of Tuscany, and the wines were good. At night, we drank mossy Scotch whiskies around a campfire of slow-burning acacia wood.
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Sophy Roberts for the Financial Times - Splendid Isolation
Sheltered from the desert by lofty golden cliffs, we stay at the elegant yet simple Warda Camp. With its cool and comfortable white Lotus Belle tents, classic Italian cuisine and fine wines, it is the ultimate base for our Ennedi adventure.
EXPLORING THE DESERT
Piero Ravà fell in love with the desert on an overland trip in 1975. Soon after, he formed Societé de Voyages Sahariens (S.V.S.) and began leading expeditions to Niger, Algeria, Libya and Tchad. Nearly five decades on, his sons Rocco and Tomaso, together with their team of passionate expedition leaders, continue to explore and discover.
Based in Kenya, Tropic Air Helicopters is a diverse company best known for aerial filming, wildlife conservation and bespoke expeditions to Africa's wildest and most remote regions. Over the past 20 years, Tropic Air’s clients have experienced pioneering trips to Ethiopia's Danakil depression, spent nights under the stars by the shores of Lake Turkana and even landed atop the active Virunga volcanoes.
With the Sahara too compelling to ignore, Tropic Air joined forces with S.V.S. in 2018 to create rare desert encounters in Tchad. The result has been truly extraordinary. Every trip to this remarkable land has been a voyage of discovery, the experience of working together tethering us to a future of further discovery.