Tibesti Mountains

The Tibesti Mountains are a volcanic mountain range in Saharan Chad. A small portion juts into southern Libya. This is about as remote as you get. You want a travel challenge? Here's your travel challenge.

Understand

Your ability to travel here (at least safely) is going to depend upon the prevailing political situation. As of 2023, it's a no-go zone. Incredible peaks poking out of the Sahara desert sands, yes. But it's also a land now dominated by drug traffickers, unscrupulous miners, refugees, warlords, jihadists, CIA agents, and just general chaos. This is the wild west, if the wild west had AK‑47s.

A Toubou woman in traditional attire

The cause of the current chaos is multi-faceted, including the recent discovery of gold in the range, war in Sudan, Islamic unrest in the Sahel, and the Tibesti happening to lie on a popular cocaine smuggling route between South America and Europe. But chaos isn't anything new here. The mountains have long been the domain of the Toubou people, a fiercely independent ethnic group that settled in the range around the 5th century BC. They turned the range into a natural fortress and, whilst regularly fighting amongst themselves, also by-and-large kept every eager outside party at bay. The Toubou confused and daunted the Romans, who left the Tibesti well alone. The Ottomans had limited luck, being booted out and slaughtered after a couple months. The Arabs had some success, converting the region to Islam. The French gave up on the area after several attempts, opting instead to "leave [the Toubou] to their stones". The Chadians from the south couldn't hold control after the French left, while the Libyans were repulsed in the 1980s in a historic battle that for once, and only briefly, united the ethnic groups of Chad under a common banner. Granted, in 2021, the Chadian president was shot and killed nearby.

The Tibesti Mountains are unconquerable, untamable, part of Chad in name only, and yet also ruggedly beautiful. Volcanic spires rise haphazardly out of the desert. Hot springs burst from lava plateaus. Palm trees grow from desert oases between the lava flows. The Toubou, semi-nomadic by nature, shepherd livestock and harvest dates around the oases. The range, rising high above the Sahara, is like an island in the ocean, with its own separate biome and numerous endemic species. Its wildness, both natural and political, is its appeal. Not many people can go to the Tibesti; it is rarely photographed; and it has always been like this. In 1958, the Italian novelist Dino Buzzati wrote a short story based in the Tibesti. In the story, a local guide offers to show a traveler the walls of a great city that is absent from the maps. The city is exceedingly opulent, yet exists in total autarky and does not submit to higher authority. The traveler waits many years, in vain, to enter the Tibesti city.

The Tibesti is near the ultimate of travel challenges. That's not to say you should attempt it. How about somewhere relatively easier for now, like Kabul or the South Pole?

Get in

Unless you're insane, the only real option is arranging a tour from N'Djamena. Historically, there were a couple of Italian tour operators out of N'Djamena who would take you there. You could arrange a tour independently; you will likely fail at this. Your best bet is to pony up a load of money (oh let's say $5000–15,000 USD) for an external tour broker to arrange to get you there. Granted, you might not get there. Good luck.

See and do

The Trou au Natron caldera of Toussidé

• Toubou culture Most tours include exposure to Toubou cultural traditions
• Emi Koussi The highest peak in the Tibesti Mountains
• Bardaï The capital of the Tibesti where it feels like you rewound time by 50 years
• Hot springs There are many
• Rock art Over 200 engraving sites and 100 painting sites from as early as the 6th millennium – yes millennium – BC

Sleep

You'll be sleeping in a tent. Years ago, when the Chadian government had a semblance of control over the area, they constructed a tourist campsite in Bardaï. The condition (or use) of this campsite today is uncertain.

Stay safe

Do research before you book a tour. Look for news articles. If the politics of the Tibesti are off-kilter, as they usually are, don't come. Wait for a period of relative stability to approach. These tend to occur every couple decades or so. If you're determined over the course of your lifetime, you'll get here... probably... er, maybe.

This is a dangerous part of the world. You will not be safe, not by any measure. Kidnappings are somewhat common (and occasionally make headlines). Minefields abound, sadly. Stay close to your guide. Your willingness to visit the Tibesti Mountains should very much depend upon your appetite for risk.