Safari to Karima

the southern extent of the ancient Egyptian Empire

Set alongside the River Nile around 400 km north of Khartoum, Karima is a modern town which serves as a base from which to explore various exciting archaeological sites.

The small hill known as Jebel Barkal has been a prominent landmark for many thousands of years and became a really important centre for the worship of the god Amun from 1450 BC.

The ruined city Napata was the most southerly city in the Egyptian Empire from its foundation in 1075 BC and became the first capital of the Kingdom of Kush following the rise of the Nubians in 593 BC.

The necropolis at Nuri entombed many generations of Kushite rulers over the centuries in an impressive collection of pyramids, the last of which dates to around 600BC.

Further to the northwest the ruined city of Old Dongola served as the capital of a much later Christian empire from its foundation in 450 AD to its fall to Muslims from Egypt in 1317 AD.

The most popular period to visit Sudan is Nov-Mar, which is the ‘cool’ dry winter season, when daytime temperatures tend to peak around 34C/93F and there is little chance of rain, therefore humidities are usually nice and low.

The converse Apr-Oct period represents the hot ‘wet’ summer season, when temperatures can exceed 42C/108F, rainfall tends to peak during Jul-Sep, which can lead to some really uncomfortable high humidities (although this becomes much less of an issue the further north you go).

Getting there

Karima is usually visited as part of a private-guided overland safari out of Khartoum, usually over around four nights, half of which are typically deployed here, the other two in Meroe.

visited as part of a private-guided overland safari