Wadi Methkandoush and Murzuk Sand Dunes or Idehan Murzuq

The Idehan Murzuq is one of the world's greatest sand dune deserts covering an area almost the size of Switzerland, where few people ever venture. Dune after dune rise 100 or 200 metres above the flat-bottomed valleys of white sand. Sharp sand ridges lead to elegant summits. Venturing into the Murzuq Sand Sea is a serious proposition to be undertaken only by experienced groups with local knowledge. Many dips once entered may well be impossible to get out of. A good knowledge of the area is of critical importance. However the crossing of the dunes is one of the great Saharan experiences. See below for scenes of the crossing of the dunes.

The edges of this great sea of sand offer good campsites and bases for visiting the unique Wadi Methkandoush that lies just 30km. north of the Murzuq Dunes.

The sandy Murzuq dunes give way to a stony desert that appears like an endless, flat sea of black rock. Wadi Methkandoush is about 12km long and contrasts sharply to the barren stone desert surrounding it. It winds gently amongst cliffs of sandstone out of which have been carved numerous fine animals, some carvings as old as 12,000yrs. and depicting elephant, hippopotamus, crocodile, giraffe and ostrich all suggesting a much more hospitable climate existed in the past with water was abundant.