Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesThe Air Massif
Granite mountains standing two thousand metres out of the sand, with guelta pools in them.
Photo SERHAT TUĞ / Pexels
NIGER · Tourism
The Tenere
The Tenere is the emptiest desert on earth, the Air massif rises out of it to two thousand metres, and the last West African giraffes live wild an hour from the capital.
West AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
The Air, the Tenere, and the last giraffes of West AfricaKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
MountainsMont Idoukal-n-Taghes
2,022 metres in the Air, and the high point of a range full of rock art.
Photo Jeffry Surianto / Pexels
WaterfallsGuelta Pools
Permanent rock pools in the Air, the only standing water for hundreds of kilometres.
Photo Isaac Naph / Pexels
Lakes & RiversThe Niger at Niamey
The river runs 550 kilometres across the southwest and the whole country leans on it.
Photo Sagar Thapa / Pexels
Beaches & CoastSandbars on the River
Landlocked, and the swimming is off the sandbanks at Niamey when the river is low.
Forests & RainforestThe Doum Palm Valleys
Palm-filled wadis in the Air, green lines through absolutely bare rock.
Photo Engin Akyurt / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
The Last West African Giraffe
About six hundred of them at Kouré, the only wild population left in the whole of West Africa.
Photo Regan Dsouza / Pexels
SafariW National Park
Shared with Benin and Burkina Faso — lion, elephant and buffalo on the Niger river.
Photo Camille Cox / Pexels
Eco TourismGiraffes Beside Farms
Kouré's giraffes live among fields, and the community is paid to keep it that way.
Photo alameen .ng / Pexels
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Tuareg, Hausa, Zarma, Fulani
Tuareg and Toubou in the north, Hausa and Zarma in the south, Wodaabe in between.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
The Wodaabe
The Gerewol, where the men dress and dance and the women choose.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
Food & CuisineMillet, Djerma Rice and Kilishi
Millet paste with sauce, and kilishi — beef dried thin and spiced, the best in the region.
Photo Tito Zzzz / Pexels
Festivals & CelebrationsThe Cure Salee
Tuareg and Wodaabe gather at In-Gall in September when the salt pastures come up.
Tuareg Silver and Leather
The Agadez cross in silver, and camel saddles and boxes in tooled leather.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
Agadez
A mud minaret twenty-seven metres high, and the Sultanate that has stood behind it since 1449.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
HeritageThree Sites
Agadez, the Air and Tenere reserves, and W National Park — desert, mountain and river.
Photo Drinu Cutajar / Pexels
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
CitiesNiamey and Agadez
A river capital with the best museum in the Sahel, and a caravan city at the desert edge.
Photo Marcia Salido / Pexels
Mud and Beams
Sahelian mud with projecting timber, and the Agadez minaret as its tallest expression.
Photo Sani Maikatanga / Pexels
Local LifeThe Niamey Grand Marche
Everything from millet to motorcycle parts, and the noise that goes with it.
Photo Ghufran Visuals / Pexels
Family & CommunityGiraffes an Hour Away
Kouré is a morning trip from Niamey, on foot, and children can do it.
Photo alameen .ng / Pexels
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Crossing the Tenere
The Tree of Tenere marked the crossing until a truck hit it in 1973. The route is still run.
Photo 光曦 刘 / Pexels
The Air on Foot and Camel
Weeks of walking or riding between guelta and village, with Tuareg guides.
Photo mohamed aouni / Pexels
Very Little
A few hotels in Niamey. Everything north is camps and hospitality.
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsDunes and Nothing
The Tenere at either end of the day, where the only vertical thing is your own shadow.
Photo Luis Quintero / Pexels
The Bilma Salt Caravans
The azalai still runs from Agadez to Bilma and back, a thousand kilometres by camel.
Photo Walid Ahmad / Pexels
Why Visit This Country
Why Niger
The emptiest desert on earth, and a giraffe population saved by the people farming next to it.
Why Niger
The emptiest desert on earth, and a giraffe population saved by the people farming next to it.
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