Chad

The Ennedi Massif is one of the great unseen landscapes on earth

Chad is landlocked, enormous and among the least visited countries in the world. Most Western governments advise against travel to large parts of it, particularly the border regions with Libya, Sudan, Niger and Cameroon, and the Lake Chad basin. Organised expeditions to the northeast do operate and require serious planning.

The Ennedi Massif is the reason anyone goes. A sandstone plateau in the northeast eroded into arches, towers and canyons, with the Aloba Arch among the tallest natural arches in the world, and rock art spanning thousands of years. Hidden in one gorge is the Guelta d’Archei, a permanent water hole where desert crocodiles survive as a relict population, visited daily by camel caravans.

The Lakes of Ounianga are a set of freshwater lakes in the middle of the Sahara, fed by fossil groundwater, sitting improbably in hyper-arid desert. Both Ennedi and Ounianga are UNESCO sites. Zakouma National Park in the south has been transformed by African Parks management, with elephant numbers recovering strongly after catastrophic poaching.

Annual events and festivals

• Eid al-Fitr (varies) — the main holiday in the Muslim north and centre.
• Eid al-Adha (varies) — the second Eid, widely observed.
• Independence Day (11 Aug) — marks 1960 independence from France.
• Gerewol among Wodaabe communities (Sep) — the courtship dance, also held in parts of Chad.
• Mawlid (varies) — the Prophet birthday.
• Christmas and Easter (Dec, Mar-Apr) — public holidays for the Christian south.
• Camel caravans, Ennedi (Nov-Mar) — salt and trade caravans still cross the massif.
• Republic Day (28 Nov) — marking the 1958 proclamation.
• Sara and Toubou traditional ceremonies (varies) — initiation and harvest rites across regions.
• Zakouma wildlife season (Feb-Apr) — not a festival, but when animals concentrate around water.