Sudan

Because of the news and coverage you may not immediately have a positive feeling about this country. Against all odds, Sudan is a fantastic country for cycling! The people are very nice and hospitable, the roads are good and the Sudanese cuisine exceeds all expectations when you eat at people's homes. Isa-Youri definitely recommend it and found the desert of Sudan beautiful.

The people of Sudan are absolutely the beating heart of the country. The people are warm and very welcoming. You are welcome everywhere and at all times they will offer you a bed where an extensive meal is not missing. When you are a guest they will do everything they can to make you feel comfortable without being intrusive. For the Sudanese it is 'their duty' to take care of you and you notice that on all sides. The people are honest and calm which is very nice to travel.

Sudan is an Islamic country with Sharia law. In practice you hardly notice this. A few times we have experienced that as a woman you have to eat with the women, very nice! It is striking that the women simply work and participate in daily life. In Egypt this was much less and the women were mainly at home.

Because it is strictly Islamic, we recommend that you adjust your clothing. Isa has cycled with a skirt over her leggings and always with long sleeves. Shorts and tight cycling shorts are also very inappropriate for men. Alcohol is prohibited and not available in the country. When you eat with people, don't use your left hand (!) They use it for other purposes.

The food is very tasty in Sudan. Simple but very pure and tasty. Along the way you can always get foul (brown beans with onion and herbs). You wouldn't think so, but with 47 degrees it's really nice. You get bread with it and sometimes an egg. Because you are often near the Nile, we also regularly ate fish. When you eat at people's homes, it is very tasty and varied. They conjure up the tastiest dishes on the table. In poorer people it is often beans or khorasa (a kind of pancake). When people have a little more to spend, you also get meat, fish and some vegetables (not much). Fruit and vegetables are only available in the cities, so bring enough if you like it. Fruit is mainly; orange and grapefruit. You can get coffee and tea everywhere and it is very tasteful (they put ginger in it).

Drinkable water

You cannot drink the water in Sudan. You can easily get water along the way, but take a water filter or steripen with you. In some places the water is better than others (it comes from the Nile and sometimes there is a lot of mud and sand in it). As soon as you see good water, immediately stock up and top up everything. Another solution is to ask cars on the road.

If you do a bit of 'water planning', that's no problem. Together we always had 13 liters with us and that was more than enough (meant for drinking and cooking). We washed dishes with sand and ourselves with baby wipes.

In the cities you can buy bottled water. In small villages sometimes yes and sometimes not, depending on the stock. A steripen / water filter is therefore really necessary!

For the water on the west side of the nile just above Khartoum see the detail information at: http://www.ithaka.im/worldbiking/route-sudan-wadi-halfa-dongola-karima-bayuda-barra-khartoum

Best time to cycle

Sudan is actually always warm and hot in the summer. The best period is therefore from November to February. However, we cycled the route in September / October and that was doable with some adjustments. Cycling from 06.00 – 11.00 and from 16.00 – 19.00. In that period, count on temperatures from 36 to 48 degrees. The peak (melting point!) was in the Bayuda desert where the mercury rose once to 54 degrees.

Spare parts

It's better not to count on finding suitabel spare parts here.

Nice routes

Isa-Youri: "We have cycled the following route with great pleasure; Wadi Halfa – Dongola – Al Goled – Al Dabbah – Karima – Ad Damar – Shendi – Khartoum – Wad Madani – Gondar. Because shade and water are essential, we have kept an extensive route with distances, water and shadow spots. For the detailed description, see http://www.ithaka.im/worldbiking/route-sudan-wadi-halfa-dongola-karima-bayuda-barra-khartoum.