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Day 1
Day 1 Tripoli
Excursion: short walking tour modern Tripoli
Highlights: Algeria Square, and Martyrs Square
Meals: lunch, dinner
Schedule depending on time of arrival.
Arrive Tripoli. Transfer to hotel. Short walking tour in modern Tripoli including Algeria Square with its imposing mosque converted from a cathedral, and Martyrs Square, the hub of Tripoli
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Day 2
Day 2 Tripoli – Tripoli old city
Excursion: National Museum (if open)
Excursion: Tripoli old city
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.
A full day sightseeing in Libya’s capital city, known as the ”White Bride of the Mediterranean”. In the morning, we visit the wonderful National Museum which includes one of the finest collections of statuary and mosaics in the world.
The walled old town of Tripoli encloses, arguably, the most charming medina in all of North Africa. After lunch in an old town restaurant, we’ll explore the warren of streets and alleyways, including the bustling souks, each devoted to a different trade, the historic house of the 18th century governor Karamanli, the Karamanli Mosque, the 16th century Dragut Mosque, burial place of the famous pirate of that name, the 19th century Gorgi Mosque, Â the 18th century former British Consulate, the former Turkish Prison, now a school, St. George’s Orthodox Church, the 19th century Ottoman clock tower and the sole surviving building of Roman Oea, the 2nd century Arch of Marcus Aurelius.
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Day 3
Day 3 Tripoli – Qasr Al-Haj – Nalut – Ghadames
Excursion: Qasr al-Haj
Excursion: Qasr Nalut
Meals: breakfast, lunch (light), dinner
Today, we leave Tripoli and drive into the Berber heartland of the Jabal Nafusa. Our first stop will be at Qasr al-Haj to visit the most beautiful Berber granary qasr (castle) in Libya, and it’s no wonder that Dan Cruickshank chose this imposing 13th century fortress, circular in build, as one of ”The World’ s 80 Greatest Treasures” in his recent BBC TV series. We continue to Nalut to visit another Berber qasr situated on the edge of an escarpment. This impressive granary castle, with its narrow passageways, is of a different design to that of Qasr al-Haj. We continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ghadames, known as the ”Jewel of the Sahara”, where we stay for two nights
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Day 4
Day 4 Ghadames
• Excursion: Ghadames old city (UNESCO), guided by a local Ghadames guide.
• Excursion: Short desert 4×4 tour, to visit Ras al-Ghoul and watch the sunset.
• Highlights: Ghadames Old Town, Sand Dunes of the Grand Erg.
• Lunch in a Traditional House
• Meals: breakfast, lunch (traditional), dinner
Entering via the ancient gateway of Bab al-Burr, today we explore the labyrinthine streets and enclosed passages of Ghadames’ old town, once inhabited by the tribes of the Bani Wazid and the Bani Walid. Renowned for its distinctive architecture, we visit the various small squares, the old mosque and a madrasa (Koranic school), see the fruit and vegetable gardens and view the ancient system of irrigation.
Lunch will be taken in a richly decorated traditional house in the age-old manner, sitting on the floor eating from communal dishes. We climb on to the roof of the house to see where the women, forbidden to wander the streets alone, would use the rooftops as a thoroughfare. We also visit Ghadames museum with its historical and ethnographic displays.
Later in the afternoon, we climb aboard four-wheel drive vehicles to visit Ras al-Ghoul (Summit of the Ghost), the remains of an ancient Roman fort before heading for the sand dunes of the Grand Erg Oriental, bordering the countries of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia to watch the sunset. (lunch included)
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Day 5
Day 5 Ghadames – Sebha
Landscape
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.
A day’s drive through the Hamadat al-Hamra via al-Qariyah and the Libyan truck stop of al-Shwayrif to Sebha, capital of the Fezzan.
Day 6 Sebha – Wadi Matkhandoush – Murzuk Sand Sea
Rock art of Wadi Matkhandoush,
Camping wild in the Murzuk Sand Sea
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Drive on tarmac from Sebha to Germa where we enter the desert for the drive to Wadi Matkhandoush, an ancient spiritual site festooned with rock engravings dating back thousands of years. Arrive in time for lunch before beginning exploration of the site. Afterwards, we’ll camp on the edge of the mighty Murzuk Sand Sea.
Accommodation: Wild camping
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Day 6
Day 6 Sebha – Wadi Matkhandoush – Murzuk Sand Sea
Rock art of Wadi Matkhandoush,
Camping wild in the Murzuk Sand Sea
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Drive on tarmac from Sebha to Germa where we enter the desert for the drive to Wadi Matkhandoush, an ancient spiritual site festooned with rock engravings dating back thousands of years. Arrive in time for lunch before beginning exploration of the site. Afterwards, we’ll camp on the edge of the mighty Murzuk Sand Sea.
Accommodation: Wild camping
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Day 7
Day 7 Mesak Mistafit – Wan Ekamed – Mesak Millat – Wan casa – The Acacus
Camping wild in stunning desert scenery
Rock art of Wan Ekamed
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Continue through the rocky desert terrain of the Masak Mistafit and Mesak Millat, stopping to view the beautiful prehistoric engravings at Wan Ekamed. Continue through the rolling sand dunes of Wan Casa to the edge of the Acacus.
Accommodation: Wild camping
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Day 8
Day 8 The Acacus
Camping wild in stunning desert scenery
Millennia-old rock art
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Exploration of the Acacus, with its amazing vistas and superb rock paintings charting the evolution of human societies harking back 12000 years. The scenery, with its great basalt monoliths ladled among shifting sands, is awe-inpiring, particularly the great 150 metre high arch of Afizajarin.
Accommodation: Wild camping
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Day 9
Day 9 The Acacus – Al- Awainat
Camping wild in stunning desert scenery
Millennia-old rock art
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Continue exploration of the Acacus. Drive via Wadi Adad and exit to the town of Al-Awainat where we overnight.
Accommodation:
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Day 10
Day 10 Al-Aweinat – German – Ubari Sand Sea
Ancient capital of the Garamantians,
Towering dunes
Salt lakes of the Ubari Sand Sea
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
From Al-Awainat, we drive north to Germa where we visit the ancient capital of the Garamantian civilisation before heading into the high dunes of the Ubari Sand Sea on an exhilirating ride to the great Ubari lakes of Lake Gabraoun and Lake Umm al-Maa. These beautiful oases are enchanting, and offer the opportunity for a refreshing swim in the salt waters followed by a dousing with freshwater from a well.
Accommodation: Wild campingild camping
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Day 11
Day 11 Ubari Sand Sea – Sebha – Tripoli
Towering dunes
Salt lakes of the Ubari Sand Sea
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Continue visit to Ubari Sand Sea before driving to Sebha for flight to Tripoli
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Day 12
Day 12 Tripoli – Janzour – Sabratha – Tripoli
Excursion: Sabratha (UNESCO)
Excursion: Janzour Tombs (if open)
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner.
We leave Tripoli for the day, heading west along the coastal road to Janzour where we visit the Janzour Museum and go underground to see the catacombs with their tomb paintings. We continue to the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Sabrata, originally founded in the 4th century BC. It later fell under Greek influence before Rome took hold in the 1st century AD.
The most spectacular monument is the Theatre, featuring 108 Corinthian columns rising to a height of twenty metres above the stage. Below the stage you will see marble friezes depicting mythological figures including, inter alia, the Three Graces, the Judgement of Paris and the Nine Muses. We also see the Punic Mausoleum of Bes, the Temple of Antoninus, the Temple of Zeus, the Court of Justice and the great Roman Forum
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Day 13
Day 13 Tripoli – Leptis magna – Villa Sileen – Tripoli
Excursion: Leptis Magna with local guide (UNESCO)
Excursion: Paintings and the mosaics of Villa Sileen (if open)
Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner
Full day excursion to Leptis Magna (UNESO World Heritage Site), the largest and best-preserved Roman city in the world that came to prominence in the 2nd century AD under its native son, the Emperor Septimus Severus. Following his reign, the city fell into decline until revived by the Emperor Justinian in the 5th century AD at which time it fell under Byzantine rule.
The vast site is truly spectacular and includes the triumphal Arch of Septimus Severus, the Hadrianic Baths complex, the Palaestra (Athletics Ground), the Nymphaeum (Temple of Nymphs), the huge Imperial Forum, the Basilica, the Arches of Tiberius and Trajan, the Theatre with its beautiful backdrop against the Mediterranean Sea, the Sanctuary of the Divine Emperors, and the Market with its unique kiosks which, at the time of construction, were a groundbreaking design in the Roman world. In the eastern part of the city lie the Circus and the vast Amphitheatre, the most complete in the world, with seating for over 15,000 spectators. You will visit the vast arena, the terraces, gladiators anterooms and animal enclosures.
En route back to Tripoli, a visit will be made to the 2nd century Villa Sileen discovered in 1974. The wall paintings portray scenes such as gladiatorial combat and chariot racing while the mosaics display river scenes that include sea nymphs, birds and animals.
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Day 14
Day 14 Tripoli – Home
Last day for shopping
Meals: breakfast, and lunch
Enjoy your final day at leisure, with time for shopping, before your transfer to the airport.
