Winter Walking - Loving Libya

Don’t know if we can mention the ‘c’ word at this stage, but for walkers hoping to spend the festive season (still can’t say it!) in warmer climes, Walks Worldwide emphasises the need to book early. Their 12-day Libyan Explorer guided walking holiday offers the exotic and unusual, plus with guaranteed winter sunshine and inspirational desert scenery, it will more than fill the bill. Tour departs London 19th December 08. (If you’re quick there are limited places on the 15th October departure too).

Towering sand dunes, shimmering palm-fringed lakes, volcanic mountains, prehistoric rock art, remarkable Roman remains and a long and fertile Mediterranean coastline are just fragments of what makes Libya such an inspiring destination. In Tripoli the welcome is warm, with smiling faces all around and streets lined with images of a triumphant (and sometimes smiling) Colonel Gaddaffi. Explore the city’s ancient medina, as charming as the one in Marrakech but without the usual hassles, allowing travellers to browse in peace. One of the highlights of Walks Worldwide’s tour is the remarkable UNESCO World Heritage Site of Jebel Acacus, in the south-west of the country. Comparable to Jordan’s stunning Wadi Rum, its Saharan landscapes, inhabited by the nomadic Tuareg, reveal sand and rock towers, many examples of rarely-seen rock carvings and paintings, and desert wildlife. Walks Worldwide spend five nights here trekking amongst the dramatic Acacus rock formations and sand dunes, stopping to camp in a different location each night. Other highlights include visits to the Roman cities of Sabaratha, boasting one of the finest theatres in antiquity, and magnificent Leptis Magna, without doubt the best Roman ruins outside of Italy. Here, explore the well-preserved colonnaded streets, baths, arches and amphitheatre of Africa’s greatest Roman cities.

The tour costs £1,515 p/p (December departure) and £1,395 p/p (October departure) including scheduled flights, transfers, hotel and camping accommodation, most meals and expert guiding.

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