Trekking in the Acacus

Trekking in the Acacus

Libya

This trip combines some of the best sights in Libya with a few days trekking in the Acacus mountains, an area rich in sites with magnificent prehistoric cave art, set amongst grand rugged mountains and gentle sand dunes. Walking through this area we will have plenty of time to explore the wadis and see many of the paintings and carvings.

You will almost never camp within sight of other people and often in pristine countryside. All meals are cooked for you and evenings are spent round campfires under a starry sky. Whilst trekking a camel will carry your basic needs for the day including lunch, a support vehicle will have the main luggage and meet us at each campsite. The walking is easy but the more adventurous could explore more which might involve some scrambling over rocky areas in a wadi or up to the top of a jebel (mountain).

Itinerary
Day 1 Arrive in Tripoli, evening flight to Sebha, night in desert camp just outside Sebha.
Day 2 Drive to Awis and the entrance to the Acacus National Park. From now on we will be camping in the desert.
Day 3 to 8 We will trek with a Tuareg guide through this magnificent wilderness with plenty of time to explore the wadis with their superb cave paintings. The most famous of these is Wadi Tashwinet which is almost 60 kilometers long. On most days we will get up at sunrise, have an early breakfast and pack our belongings which will be taken by vehicle to the next campsite while we walk for 3 to 4 hours to the lunch spot. On hot days we will take a longer lunch break, on cooler ones we may start walking earlier in the afternoon and walk for 2 to 3 hours before our evening camp. A camel will carry the lunch and our day bags.
Day 9 Now we say goodbye to our Tuareg guide and drive to a camp in the beautiful Wan Caza dunes.
Day 10 Drive over the deserts to Germa, visit the local museum of prehistory and of life in the Garamantian times. Then a short drive to camp in the Ubari dunes near the oasis lake Umm al-Maa.
Day 11 Swim in the lake or walk on the dunes then return to Sebha for a shower and before the evening meal we fly back to Tripoli. Night in *** hotel.
Day 12 After breakfast we drive along the coast to Leptis Magna, arguably the best-preserved Roman town on the Mediterranean. After lunch at Leptis we drive back to Tripoli with time to explore the network of streets in the medina and maybe time to visit the excellent Jamahiriya museum. Final meal in an atmospheric restaurant.
Day 13 Drive to airport.