Desert Adventure in a Long-Forbidden Land

Lost Worlds of Libya

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Ancient Roman and Greek cities by the sea, desert caravanserais and lush datepalm oases, tribal nomads, Neolithic rock art, ochre dunescapes of silence and grandeur—Libya has it all, and this journey takes in all its wonders. On Libya’s sunsplashed Mediterranean coast, we explore beautifully preserved Roman cities including Leptis Magna, one of the greatest Roman ruins in the ancient world, set against the serene blue sea. Amid some of the most spectacular scenery in the entire Sahara, we travel by camel (or on foot) in the glorious Acacus, a mountainspiked desert of dramatic grandeur, and by 4WD in the Wadi Mathendush, with its treasury of rock paintings of an era when the Sahara was green. Our extension visits the desert citadel of Ghadames.

Below is an Itinerary-in-Brief. To view a complete Detailed Itinerary, Download Full Itinerary or Email our Area Specialist

Itinerary-in-Brief

Days 1-3
Tripoli / Benghazi

A walk through Tripoli’s classic Old Town brings us through a medieval walled medina built over a Roman settlement. Flying to Benghazi, we visit the Greco-Roman city of Ptolemais and Qsar Libya, with its Byzantine fort and Roman mosaics.

Days 4-5
Cyrene / Sabratha

The spectacular 7th century BC Greek city of Cyrene, a World Heritage Site, is one of the great ancient cities of North Africa and we visit its forum and Sanctuary of Apollo. We also explore Apollonia, Cyrene’s beautiful port for a thousand years. We devote a day to beautiful Sabratha, famed for its extraordinary colonnaded Roman theater and spectacular setting on the Mediterranean.

Days 6-9
Ghat / Acacus Mountains / Camel Trek

Flying to the outpost of Ghat, we meet our Tuareg cameleers for a threeday journey by camel in the lost desert world of the Acacus Mountains. All the romance of the Sahara awaits us in this magnificent world of craggy desert escarpments, vast blue skies, and Neolithic cave paintings. At night we sleep under a desert sky ablaze with stars. These days give us the chance to live the life of a nomad with the Tuaregs, the famous “blue men” of the desert, enjoying their tea, their tagella (bread baked in the sand), and their joy of life.

Days 10-11
Wadi Mathendush Rock Art / Erg Ubari

We continue our desert adventures by 4WD, exploring beautiful Wadi Mathendush, a World Heritage Site and an openair museum of the most beautiful rock paintings in the whole Libyan Desert, where we find 10,000yearold engravings of the elephants and giraffes that once roamed here. We also visit the “Great Sand Sea” of Erg Ubari, camping by exquisite natural lakes fringed by date palms.

Days 12-14
Tripoli / Leptis Magna

We fly back to Tripoli, then head to stunning Leptis Magna to walk the marblelined streets of one of the most extraordinary ancient sites in the Mediterranean, home of Septimius Severus, who became Emperor of Rome in 193 AD. Depart on Day 14, or join our Ghadames Extension.

Ghadames Extension Days 14-17

Explore the extraordinary World Heritage Site of Ghadames, a beautifully preserved ancient desert city of mudbrick architecture, once a southern outpost of the Roman Empire.

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Tour Costs $4195 (10-15 members) $4595 (8-9 members) $4995 (6-7 members) Single supplement: $265 Ghadames extension from: $1095 *Prices are for 2008 dates only **Airfare is not included in Tour Cost unless indicated

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