Peer At The Pyramids Of Meroe

The adventure

Egypt gets the fame, but Sudan has more pyramids, and the royal cemeteries at Meroë are the most striking of all. Dozens of them crowd along low ridges in the desert, narrow and sharply pointed, their sides far steeper than Giza's, with small chapels at their feet carved with gods and kings.

There are no queues, no railings and no hawkers. Orange dunes drift against the stonework, and at sunrise the pyramids glow and throw long shadows over the sand. Many have flat, broken tops: in the 1830s an Italian treasure hunter, Giuseppe Ferlini, smashed his way into them looking for gold. For now it is a place to dream about, as Sudan's civil war has made visiting impossible.

Why it’s epic

• Built between roughly 300 BC and AD 350 as the burial ground of the kings and queens of Kush.
• Sudan has more pyramids than Egypt, though they are smaller and much steeper.
• The archaeological sites of the Island of Meroë have been on UNESCO's World Heritage list since 2011.
• Kushite queens, known as kandakes, ruled in their own right and are buried here alongside the kings.

What it is

Meroë has around 200 steep-sided pyramids built by the Kingdom of Kush, often with no other visitors around.

How to do it

Meroë is a few hours' drive from Khartoum.

Top tip

The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to Sudan, so this one is on hold.

Need to know

• The UK Foreign Office has advised against all travel to Sudan since war broke out in April 2023, and most travel insurance won't cover you while that stands.
• When it's safe again, go between November and February to avoid the fierce heat, with a specialist operator who arranges permits and registration.

My experience

Ticked off, but the full story is still to be written up.