Safari to Meroe

home of the Black Pharaohs

Set alongside the River Nile around 300 km northeast of Khartoum, Meroë is the spectacularly photogenic remains of the historic capital of a 2800 year old civilisation known as the Kingdom of Kush.

The best known section of the ruins is the Royal Necropolis, a complex of around forty main pyramids, the tombs of various kings and queens. These structures range in height from six to thirty metres and are built in the Nubian style, with unusually steep sides.

The complex is set on elevated ground, backed up against a range of granite mountains and looking out across the Nile Valley, with its characteristic patchwork of irrigated fields and ribbon settlements.

This little-visited location is undoubtedly one of the most impressive and romantic archaeological sites in Africa.

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

Meroe 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 Karima.

visited as part of a private-guided overland safari