Day 1 – N’Djamena
Arrive in N’Djamena and transfer to the hotel. Depending on when you arrive there may be time to explore, or you can simply relax at the hotel and prepare for your adventure. Overnight Hotel Ibis or similar.
Day 2 – Durbali
We drive to the region of Durbali, through the Sahel, to join the Wodaabe people in their celebration of the Gerewol festival. Overnight camping. (BLD)
Days 3-7 – Gerewol Festival
These days are spent staying amongst a Wodaabe community and witnessing the rituals and ceremonies of their annual Gerewol festival. Due to our excellent relations with the local Wodaabe sultan, we are welcomed as guests amongst these incredibly friendly people, and have the opportunity to see one of Africa’s most fascinating cultural encounters, unchanged for centuries and with very few traces of modernity.
We can expect to see traditional singing and dancing, and perhaps some horse racing. Young Wodaabe men daub themselves with extravagant and colourful makeup, feathers and traditional jewellery to ‘display’ to young women – the Gerewol is an elaborate mass courtship ritual and truly one of the most fascinating ceremonies you can see in all of Africa. Dances generally take place during the morning and evenings, and can last well into the night, with people coming from far and wide to take part and watch.
Unlike the festival in Niger, this has maintained its traditions largely intact, and makes no concessions to the outside world. We have plenty of time to visit the various camps dotted around the landscape and learn about Wodaabe culture. The Wodaabe are an open and curious people and we are made to feel very much at home in a completely authentic community. You should be prepared for the fact that this is not a ‘non-stop’ festival and during the middle of the day, the Wodaabe are generally resting in preparation for the evening’s festivities, which gives us a great opportunity to meet the various families camped here. On the afternoon of Day 7 we reluctantly leave the Wodaabe and start to make our way back towards N’Djamena. Overnight camping. (BLD)
Day 8 – N’Djamena
We return back to N’Djamena, where day use rooms are available to freshen up. After heading out to a restaurant for a final farewell dinner, you will transfer to the airport for your onward flight home. (BL)
Important: Please note that the exact date of this festival is usually determined around June each year, when the Wodaabe elders have decided upon the best time to hold it. The Gerewol festival is held around the end of September (at the end of the rainy season) and so the precise date of this trip may move by a couple of days either side. You should not book flights until this date has been confirmed by us.
Included in price:
- Airport transfers
- Accommodation – as listed in the dossier. The nature of the destinations that we operate may sometimes mean that we need to change hotels, but we’ll always endeavour to keep the same standards. Please be aware that as we operate in many countries where tourism is in its infancy, hotel standards may not be the same as you’re used to elsewhere.
- Guides – In most cases you will be accompanied by one guide from start to finish. However there may be occasions when this is not practical, for example if your trip covers a number of different countries. In these cases it often makes more sense to include different guides for each place, to take advantage of their specific knowledge of the destination.
- Meals – As listed within the itinerary / dossier (B-Breakfast, L-Lunch, D-Dinner).
Entrance fees – Entrance fees are listed for those sites that we mention within the itinerary. If there are any other sites that you’d like to see, these would be at your own expense.
Not included:
- Visas
- Airport taxes
- International flights
- Travel Insurance
