Photo: Hemis

It contains one of the world’s largest concentrations of prehistoric art, yet is barely known to the rest of the world.

Source: Ennedi Massif: Africa’s remote geological wonder

These are the best under-the-radar UNESCO sites to add to your bucket list.

Source: 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites To See in Your Lifetime, According to T+L’s Travel Advisors

Sophy Roberts travels to the spectacular desert heart of a long-troubled state…

Source: Splendid isolation: a trip to remotest Chad

In some of the most desolate areas on earth there are astonishing natural features and geological wonders. The Ennedi geological features in the African country of Chad are a prime example.

Source: The Isolated Ennedi Geological Formations Are Rarely visited But Never Forgotten

Chad – Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape

LIBREVILLE, Gabon — Almost 8 million euros ($10 million) of European funding has been pledged to restore and protect a UNESCO world heritage site in Chad, said NGO African Parks on Tuesday.

The stunning mountainous landscape of the sandstone Ennedi nature reserve in northeastern Chad, near the border with Sudan, is a water-rich island of biodiversity on the southern fringes of the Sahara desert.

It is home to hundreds of species of wildlife including crocodiles, hyenas and gazelles.

The European Union and the Dutch national lottery jointly pledged 7.7 million euros ($9.5 million) for the administration of Ennedi, according to African Parks.

The NGO said it signed an agreement with the Chadian government to “manage and restore” the nature reserve.

“Ennedi represents another extraordinary commitment by the government of Chad to the long-term protection of its wild landscapes,” the NGO said.

The reserve supports a plethora of life, including more than “525 species of flora and at least 199 bird species which pass through on their transcontinental migratory routes”, African Parks said.

Source: EU pledges cash to protect nature reserve in Chad

Chad – Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape

Ancient cave paintings at a world heritage site in the Sahara desert have been defaced with graffiti, Chad’s minister of culture has told the BBC.

The graffiti drawn on the paintings, which are about 8,000 years old, was “a tragedy… offensive to the whole history and memory of Chad,” Mahamat Saleh Haroun said.

Vandals scrawled their names on top of the artworks in French and Arabic.

The Ennedi plateau was declared a Unesco world heritage site in 2016.

“It’s an African story and they wanted to destroy that.

“That’s why I’m talking about a tragedy, because it’s a part of us,” said Mr Haroun, who is also an award-winning filmmaker.

Local youths are suspected of being behind the vandalism.

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Chad – Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape

Cave paintings at a UNESCO world heritage site in Chad have been defaced by unknown vandals, the central African nation’s culture minister told AFP on Sunday.

The cave paintings are located at Archei in the stunning landscape of the sandstone Ennedi Plateau in northeast Chad, which is near the border with Sudan.

“We discovered inscriptions left by some visitors. They wrote on top of the cave paintings,” said the minister Mahamat Saleh Haroun, also a Chadian filmmaker.

The natural and cultural landscape of the Ennedi Massif was declared a world heritage last year by the UN cultural agency UNESCO.

The writing consists of “some names” of visitors and the last messages date from January of this year, said Haroun who has seen photos of the damage.

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Chad – Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape

Ennedi’s sandstone massif has provided a home for a diversity of wildlife and seen remarkable rock art through the ages.

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