We decide to start with the trekking in two days from now. It gives us the possibility to explore Ghat, including its old city. On the day of departure, we first visit together with the driver and the cook the local market, to buy food and water for the trip. The English language is not common in Ghat. We did not manage to arrange an English speaking guide in Ghat for our trekking, making it necessary to speak with “hands and feet” and a smile on you face.

The Akakus Mountains is a combination of a yellow desert landscape (including sand dunes) and rough rock formations. The area is completely desolate, giving you the feeling that you are a real explorer. During our trekking we did not see any other tourists. Once in a while we pass a military checkpoint that guard the border with Algeria. However, the area is so extensive and rough that it is impossible to watch over all border traffic in this area. There are no roads in this area. The tracks that will originate after jeeps pass by will vanish when the next desert storm arrives.

The trekking through the Akakus Mountains is fabulous. We travel by a Toyota Landcruiser (from the 1970’s). The car is in really bad conditions. This is the result of the economical boycott ton Libya. It is not possible anymore to import spare parts for cars. For this reason it is also very foolish to travel by air within Libya, because also the airplanes are in bad condition. Travelling through the desert area is an attack on the car. Especially the crossing of the sand dunes in a temperature of more than 40 degrees Celsius is bizarre. After the driver managed to reach the top of a sand dune, he prepares himself to reach the following one. The tactic is quite simple. Just drive as fast as possible down the sand dune to reach a maximum speed, in the hope to reach the next sand dune in one time. The loose sand and high temperature makes this exercise horrible for the car. In case the car does not reach the top of the next sand dune, the driver drives backwards as fast as possible to get back on the previous sand dune as high as possible. After that, the same tactic is repeated. Sometimes it takes more than five approaches to reach the next sand dune. We do not dare to think about what happens if the jeep breaks down. A radio to ask for help is no standard equipment in the jeep. We reassure ourselves with the idea the driver has everything under control and does not want to die in the middle of the desert. During the trip we pass a wreck of an old jeep that did not survive the trip in the desert. The driver tells us that a two French people did not survive their individual trekking in the Akakus a couple of years ago. Their mistake was the idea that they wouldn’t need a guide.

Besides the absolute beauty of the area, also the absolute quietness impresses us. The fact that there is no wind, no trees and no birds, make this area completely quiet. We never visited a place before where it was absolutely quiet. Also impressive are the old rock paintings from prehistoric times that you will fin don several places in the Akakus Mountains. The fact that these rock paintings are not behind fences makes it extra special to visit them.

The nights are spent in the open air. Before the sunset, the driver starts looking for a good place to spend the night. He wants to be sure that we are away from possible smuggling tracks that are used at night, and that we have a sheltered spot in case of a desert storm. After we found the right spot, the cooks start cooking and the driver is doing some maintenance activities on the jeep. For us, this is the time to climb some rock formations to enjoy the beautiful sunset over the Akakus area. After dinner, the day ends and everybody heads for his sleeping bag to enjoy the spectacular starry sky.