Jebel Uweinat Expedition, Sudan November, 2017 Participants:  6 confirmed    2 tentative  Trip Status:  Confirmed

The exact dates and itinerary will be finalised after consulting with participants. The plan is to spend 10 days at Jebel Uweinat, partially visiting known areas, and partially exploring some remaining "blank spots". Depending on the composition of the group, some one or two day treks may be made to the upper parts of the mountain. We will also have the opportunity to visit some of the principal Nile Valley monuments. Khartum will be the point of departure. The following is a tentative itinerary, to be finalised as we get closer to departure time, considering also inputs from partcipants:

Day 1. - Khartum

Most international flights arrive into Khartoum in the small hours of the morning. Following arrival, we will need a day to sort out the police registration, travel and photo permits mandatory for all tourists. The process is pretty straight forward and predictable, but only possible on working days, exact departure dates will be fixed with this in mind.

I will also need the day to purchase and pack supplies while the permits are being prepared, and load the vehicles. The rest of you may use the opportunity to see the Museum, the only thing of interest in town with numerous Egyptian and Meroitic oblects, and a number of reconstructed Egyptian temples in the garden moved from Nubia.

Accomodation will be in the classic Grand Hotel in Khartoum.

Day 2. – Khartum - Soleb

In the morning we will start out along the recently built tarmac road direct from Omdurman to Dongola, and continue to Soleb on the west bank about 150 kms North of Dongola. We will visit the temple (the finest ancient Egyptian monument in Sudan) in the afternoon (or the next morning), spending the night at the lovely former excavation house not far from the temple.

Day 3. - Soleb – Camp on Selima Sand Sheet

In the morning we will pick up some fuel and water, then start our desert trip proper, cutting accross the Selima Sand Sheet towards Uweinat along the quickest and easiest route along a generally flat sand sheet. All things going well we should cover about a third of the roughly 600 kilometre distance, in a best case scenario camping among a belt of dunes about 100 kilometres West of Selima Oasis.

Day 4-5. – Camp – Jebel Uweinat

All things going well, after a day and a half we should be at our base camp in Karkur Talh by lunchtime on the second day.

Days 6-12. Karkur Talh

There are many options in Karkur Talh:

• Spend three days visiting the innumerable known rock art sites in the main valley, one of the richest rock art areas of the Sahara, including the magnificent group of shelters discovered by the 1968 Belgian expedition.
• One full day from our campsite to the rock art sites in the western branch discovered in February 2003, a good 5.5 kilometre walk in each direction on generally flat good terrain.
• Visit the "Winkler" sites in Karkur Murr, possibly continue to the upper springs and return to camp along the direct route (a long day's walk)
• Make a two-day trek to the upper areas of the mountain (starting from the western branch), seeing some very remote but spectacular sites, and exploring some unvisited areas.
• Spending a day exploring some remaning blank patches to the North of the main valley.

Day 13-15. – South Uweinat

With a base camp in the Wadi Wahesh along the southern part of the mountain.

• A day in the southern area visiting the some of the oldest and most interesting sites at Uweinat near the Libyan border. We will also be able to explore some remaining blank spots.
• A two day trek to the upper parts of Wadi Wahesh, visiting the principal sites found in March 2005 along the way, with the sturdier members of the group possibly attempting a go at the summit of Uweinat.
• As an alternative to the summit trek, an easier walk on the plateau above Wadi Wahesh visiting some remote recent discoveries of Mark Borda.

The exact daily itineraries will be fine tuned as we progress, depending on the wishes and abilities of our party.

Day 16-17. – Uweinat – Soleb

Two full day's drive back to Soleb along the easiest route towards the Nile.

Day 18. – Return to Khartum

A full day's drive along the tarmac road to Khartoum.

Day 19-20. – Optional visit to Meroe, Musawaret es Sufra and Naqa

An optonal two day visit to the principal Meroitic sites in the Bayuda desert, the Pyramids and city of Meroe, the palace complex of Musawwaret es Sufra, and the temples of Naqa, returning to Khartoum by the evening of the second day.

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