Agadez Travel Guide

 Bonobo2005 Says:  The on the main road signposted tourist office in the Old Quarter is a private initiative. Its best quality is the rooftop with superb views over Agadez.I went their to inform about independent travel in the region, but the friendly young man, educated and all but not well... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Since Agadez has the region’s most important market it has quite a rich market visited by all kinds of people.The main market is a good place to buy tailor made desert outfits if you plan to travel in the desert. If you plan to visit remote villages, you may like to buy... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  To be honest, I didn’t bother much the main attractions in town, but I did visit the former residence of Sahara explorer Heinrich Barth.The German Heinrich Barth travelled in the early1850’s from Tripoli to Lac Chad and was the first European to traverse the Air Mountains,... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  The Old Quarter is a fascinating maze of small sandy alleys and certainly worth a visit.Some of the traditionally built century old mud brick houses have nicely decorated street facades, and you can sit down at one of the numerous small street stalls to enjoy tea and see the... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Perhaps the most striking, and certainly the most well-known structure in Niger is the 15th century clay mosque in Agadez.The remarkable minaret is 27m tall and spiked with wooden sticks, according to Sudanese tradition. The mosque has been an important centre of Islamic... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Agadez has large quantities of guides, wanna be guides and professional tour agents. Your choice should largely depend on reputation and recommendations.As I came to Agadez in the off season and just a week before the cure salée festival, there were no other independent... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Internet is still a novelty in Agadez and – if you’re lucky enough to connect to the server in Niamey, it’s expensive at EUR 0,27 / minute.As far as I was aware, there are two outlets in Agadez. The worst of the two is the communication centre along the main street next to... 

 Tidalstream2 Says:  Ive stayed at the hotel Tidene, opposite the night market on a couple of occassions now. The rooms start at 10,000 CFA for a single 15000 CFA for a double. The rooms are reasonably spacious and clean with decent showers, (copious amounts of hot water too)!The staff make the... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  The car now was damaged severely. Together we pushed the car back towards the road, but the engine didn’t start anymore and our driver badly needed a spare part. Two hours later, just before dawn, a truck passed by. He stopped and towed our car back onto the road. It’s a... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  It was all fine for about an hour. Then suddenly, near the Tiguidit escarpment, the road was blocked and partly washed away after the recent storms. The driver saw it only when we were about 30 meters away from it and without working brakes our only chance would be to turn... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  We got out of the overheated car, I took a piece of plastic sheet and wrapped it around me, fell down in the sand and tried to get some sleep. Like the others did. We had to wait for sufficient moonlight. I was happy that we didn’t continue and actually loved this situation,... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Not long after that minor incident, we reached Ader Bissinat, the last settlement before entering the complete emptiness towards Agadez. We just stopped to buy the local specialty, cheese. I wasn’t sure about the hygienic conditions the cheese was produced under, but it... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  When we left Tanoukou around 4PM, I knew we were maybe just over half way, and soon it would be dark. The early teenage boy spoke some English and we became friends, while the English speaking Nigerians kept me informed about the cheating and the stealing at the checkpoints... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  The people of Tanoukou had some good business since, not only we, but also a big Mercedes Sahara truck paused here. It is an amazing sight to see such a heavy loaded and just adequately equipped truck that had travelled for 2-3 weeks through the Sahara sand. Overloaded with... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  It became clear soon that the “all inclusive” fee paid to the driver by the Coastal Africans was “consumed” already by the time we reached the third checkpoint. The men without papers had to get out, open their luggage and had to pay a negotiable sum of money, a time... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  Due to the lack of higher gears, we (fortunately) couldn’t move very fast on the seemingly endless road through the desolate landscapes of sand, sometimes knee high grass, scrub and the occasional seasonal pond. During the first few hours outside Zinder, we passed through... 

 Bonobo2005 Says:  The road to Agadez was just 450 km, mostly on recently surfaced or reinforced dirt road. I estimated 12 hours and since we left by 8am, I expected to arrive in the early evening. But we ended up arriving by noon next day! From the Agadez Lorry Park in Zinder to the first...