The Ennedi Plateau is a sandstone plateau in Saharan Chad and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

About 50,000 km2 (19,000 sq mi), a large portion of the Ennedi Plateau, was designated as the Ennedi Natural and Cultural Reserve by the Chadian government in January 2019.

Understand

The Guelta d'Archei

The Ennedi Plateau is as Sahara as Sahara gets. See the camels drink at the gueltas. View the rock paintings. This is Sahara life encapsulated.

The plateau experienced a brief burst in tourism in the late 1990/early 2000s, when French airlines started running tourist routes to Faya. Following jihadist activity in the Sahel, those flights were canceled. The area can now be considered more-or-less untraveled.

See and do

• Guelta d'Archei Perhaps the most iconic of Saharan waterholes
• Rock art From the second century AD to 1000 AD

Get in

As of 2023, absent flights to Faya, you'll be booking a tour from N'Djamena. The Ennedi Plateau is usually safer and more stable than, say, the Tibesti Mountains, but regular cautions apply. Always check the prevailing political situation Saharan Chad – searching news sources is a good idea. If things are unstable, don't go, bide your time. Don't rely on your tour operators (who would like your money) to warn you away.