Chad

The Chad Sahara is a magical land of emptiness, where man is insignificant and nature rules the rhythms of life. Timeless features of the Chad Sahara include limitless expanses of golden sand dunes, multi-coloured outcrops, spellbinding canyons, wind-eroded turrets, breathtaking arches and palm-filled oases, along with picturesque villages and prehistoric rock art. The colourful people of Chad have a unique culture crafted over centuries of isolation. Camel caravans still ply their products to lonely trade posts, while hardy herding communities eke out a basic existence, moving between temporarily fertile places.There are many surprises in this lost horizon, with towering mountain vistas and high windswept plateaux of red sandstone. Canyons and defiles have been etched by the elements over aeons into colossal blocks of inspirational designs. The peaks of the Tibesti in Chad are a strange mix; some are jagged and wild, like Tarso Tieroko and Pic Toussidé. Others barely show their presence, like Tarso Voon and the highest of all, Emi Koussi, a slumbering shallow-sloped giant set among a field of looming cones. In the east is the contorted massif of the Ennedi, separated from the Tibesti by vast plains and hidden lakes. The lakes are like mirrors, reflecting the vast open skies with a ripple of eerie dissent. The Depression du Mourdi is an explorer's last frontier, an empty quarter of wild-eyed nomads and isolated oases. Inner sanctuaries of the Chad Sahara include little-known places like the Trou du Natron and the Guelta d'Archei. The country of Chad is just one small corner of a vast desert, but for now it is the jewel in the crown, a haven for Saharan addicts. Change is coming slowly to the communities in these remote and forgotten worlds, but the country has so far kept itself insular and isolated from its troubled neighbours. It has not always been this way, so this golden age of exploring Chad may be but a brief period of calm. We do hope not.