Tibesti / Chad

[andrasz]

We are back from an absolutely superb three weeks in the Tibesti Mountains, taking the Point Afrique flight to Faya - a dream since 20 years fulfilled! Things went surprisingly smoothly, no hassles, no substantial issues, a very positive first encounter with the land and its people. Never had any concerns about safety/security, seems to be an island of calm in the Sahara for the present.

Some preliminary photos here: https://www.facebook.com/FJexpeditions

A trip account will be posted on my website when I can manage the time to do it, hopefully within a couple of weeks.

[danielsprague]

Good to hear, hope it stays calm for a few years!

Looking forward to looking through all the photos on the FB page - looks amazing.

Greets

Daniel

[liammons]

Looks spectacular.

[andrasz]

Prompted by several messages, a personal first-hand assessment of the present situation in Chad
APPLICABLE TO THE FAYA - BORKU - TIBESTI REGION ONLY

Overall safety / security

Never had any feelings of discomfort, attitude of both officialdom and locals very relaxed and friendly. Very clearly the Tibus are in complete control of the area, and are fully aware of what is going on. (A good example: we had some disagreement on camel prices to ascend Emi Koussi at one place, we moved on to make the ascent from another place at two days' driving distance, ~80km. The camel owners at the destination already knew about this without any means of communication other than walking from one place to another...) The terrain is very difficult to access with vehicles (average speed 20-30kph on 'roads', practically impassable elsewhere), there are minefields everywhere (some marked, some not) so without a knowledgeable local guide attempting to cross the area is like playing Russian roulette, and the Tibus long-standing reputation to being less than friendly to uninvited strangers pretty effectively prevents the 'troubles' elsewhere in the Sahara spilling over to the region. As long as one maintains a good relationship with the locals (and yes, this does come at a price, in fact there is an agreed price-list for maintaining good relations, payable in hard cash in every village to the local chief) the region may be considered reasonably safe for western visitors, provided the current truce between the Tibus in the North and the Government in the South holds.

Hassles / officialdom

Have experienced none. While we had to 'check-in' with military authorities at every larger village we passed, all these stops were quick, good spirited and hassle free. There are no formal check-points anywhere, but I got the impression that if one would 'forget' to check in at the local sous-prefecture, a couple of AK-47s would greet one on waking up the next morning...

The locals were reserved but friendly, like everywhere children were more curious but always in a polite way. Some like being photographed, some don't, so ALWAYS ask before taking photos of people, especially women.

Mines

They are literally EVERYWHERE near terrain passable with vehicles. Contrary to what most sources say, the majority do not date from the Libya - Chad war, but from the much more recent Tibesti rebellion times which only ended 4-5 years ago. There is a considerable marking / clearing operation on the way funded by the EU, currently work is focusing on the Zouar - Bardai track. Known roadside minefields are marked with a perimeter of stones painted white/red (white on the safe side, red on the danger zone side), but there may be mines anywhere off the tracks, as innumerable wrecked vehicles clearly indicate. There is little incentive to clear the mines and mark the known areas outside the currently used tracks, as most are anti-vehicle mines, posing relatively little threat to locals on foot and camels (and they know where they are anyway, as they have planted most of them during the rebellion). In fact locals see the threat of mines (both real and perceived) as a form of protection against infiltration of unwanted outsiders from both Libya and Niger.

One must never let one's guard down. After passing for two days through an area without any known mines, on our very last day in the vicinity of Faya (which was mostly cleared) we by-passed a very nasty stretch of track by climbing the hard sand arc of an encroaching barchan dune. The far slope led down straight into a marked-off area, with the near side covered by the dune and probably already under us as we stopped. We backed up the dune VERY carefully...

[ktm990]

Originally Posted by andrasz

We are back from an absolutely superb three weeks in the Tibesti Mountains, taking the Point Afrique flight to Faya - a dream since 20 years fulfilled! Things went surprisingly smoothly, no hassles, no substantial issues, a very positive first encounter with the land and its people. Never had any concerns about safety/security, seems to be an island of calm in the Sahara for the present.

Some preliminary photos here: https://www.facebook.com/FJexpeditions

A trip account will be posted on my website when I can manage the time to do it, hopefully within a couple of weeks.

Thanks.
What differences with the algerian sahara ?, is algerian sahara always the best of the sahara ?

[andrasz]

Much more wild, untamed. There is a strange paradox of a sense of ultimate remoteness combined with a 'living' desert. There are people and villages everywhere, but as if in a different dimension and era. A village marked on a map is perhaps ten houses built of twigs and mats. A town two-three dozen... Items that I would call archaeological artifacts elsewhere are in everyday use.

Hard to convey in words, pictures will better tell the story.

[ktm990]

Originally Posted by andrasz

Much more wild, untamed. There is a strange paradox of a sense of ultimate remoteness combined with a 'living' desert. There are people and villages everywhere, but as if in a different dimension and era. A village marked on a map is perhaps ten houses built of twigs and mats. A town two-three dozen... Items that I would call archaeological artifacts elsewhere are in everyday use.

Hard to convey in words, pictures will better tell the story.

Il like this knd of wilderness, the ennedi plateau will be a future destination for me.
Do you know the immidir in Algeria ?, a very wild plateau with big canyons ( only accessible by foot and camels not pass everywhere), il felt the same remoteness when i was here.

[andrasz]

I have never been to the Immidir, but I expect the Tadjelahine near Iherir would be quite similar based on pictures I saw.

The Tibesti is very different, unlike anything I have ever encountered before. Those huge volcanoes sitting on a base of sandstone have produced an incredibly varied landscape, almost every day we have passed an environment totally unlike the day before.

The Ennedi is dramatic, but more in line with the sandstone landscapes encountered elsewhere in the Sahara.

[Richard Washington]

Here's a photo of some bombs in the desert 100km or so south of Faya, N.Chad. There is so much of this stuff about in N Chad.

[priffe]

Originally Posted by andrasz

In fact locals see the threat of mines (both real and perceived) as a form of protection against infiltration of unwanted outsiders from both Libya and Niger.

Interesting. Could mean that the region will never be demined.

[andrasz]

I have completed the first installment of our Tibesti trip account:
http://www.fjexpeditions.com/frameset/tibesti14.htm

[andrasz]

You probably didn't hear about this tragedy - because it happened in Chad, not Chelsea

Of note, this accident befell gold miners from the South who probably came to the area without having a proper local guide (and probably without telling anyone...).

[Richard Washington]

I had a few days in Chad last week during which I heard about the gold rush in the north and the tragic land mine incident. I understand that the government has banned people from travelling to the gold area now because of the incident. One of the guys who works for the Mine Ministry showed me a photo on his mobile of a bit of the gold that was found there.

I also learnt that the Chad military has active bases at a bunch of places including Zouar, Yeboubou, Bardai and Tenoua. The French fly routine patrols out of Faya too.

The landmines are clearly an impediment to travel in the north of Chad. But I've been wondering if they also act as a disincentive to AQIM. I'm surprised that AQIM haven't had a go at kidnapping in N Chad as yet. They most likely have a strong presence in 'nearby' southern Libya which is a safe-haven for AQIM now. But perhaps one reason for the lack of AQIM activity in N Chad is that the escape routes from northern Chad to Libya run down restricted mine-free corridors which are easy for the military to block/patrol and AQIM is not confident to go off-piste, like they have in N Mauri, N Mali, N Niger and southern Algeria, with all those mines about.

[andrasz]

I have finally managed to complete our Tibesti trip account, plus have added a short bibliography for further reading:
Tibesti Expedition, Chad - January 2014

[Fastship]

Originally Posted by andrasz

I have finally managed to complete our Tibesti trip account, plus have added a short bibliography for further reading:
Tibesti Expedition, Chad - January 2014

I enjoyed your pictures and commentary immensely. Thank you for sharing your trip.

What is your opinion on the possibilities to cross the Libyan border to the north?