Libya

A Saharan destination par excellence, since the fall of the charismatic and controversial Colonel Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been in the news for its political instability and the traffickers who use its ancient caravan routes. Yet this fascinating ”sea of sand” holds within it priceless treasures from the various civilisations that have succeeded one another over time, from prehistoric to modern times.

The postcard image of Libya is a sinuous golden dune silhouetted against a cloudless blue sky. The Fezzan with the sands of Murzuq, or the scenic lakes of Ubari, surrounded by palm trees in the middle of the Sahara dunes, are what you would expect from this fascinating North African country. But here the world’s largest desert takes on a thousand shades, from the black volcanic sands of the Waw al-Namus, to the rocky scenery of the Jebel Acacus and Jebel al-Uweinat, which together with the Wadi Methkandoush constitute the most surprising and evocative open-air museum of prehistory, with graffiti and paintings dating back as far as 12,000 years.

And Saharan culture is echoed in its oases, such as the splendid Ghadames, with beautifully preserved traditional dwellings in a maze of labyrinthine streets, or Ghat, on the border with Algeria and inhabited by the Tuareg, or Cufra, at the crossroads of the caravan routes coming from Chad, Sudan and Siwa in Egypt, heading towards the Mediterranean coast.

Other treasures await us just off the Mediterranean Sea: the magnificent monuments of Cyrene, Apollonia and Ptolemy, testifying to the purity of Greek architecture, the cities of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, among the most beautiful of ancient Rome, and the sumptuous Byzantine mosaics of Qasr Libya. And then there is more recent history, with World War I cemeteries in Tobruk and Italian colonial architecture in Tripoli.

A rich and diverse country that we look forward to discovering with you!

Kanaga Africa Tours works at the service of travellers to offer a privileged channel to anyone wishing to immerse themselves in the reality of this magnificent country and appreciate its immense tangible and intangible cultural heritage. At the moment, due to a rather complex socio-political situation, we have decided to suspend our trips to Libya, a land that we deeply love and that we will certainly be the first to propose again as soon as the situation will calm down and the necessary security conditions will be restored.