7-Day Trans-Sahel Tour to Zinder and Lake Chad

• Arrive in Niamey and be picked up at the airport. Transfer to the tourist hotel.
• Dinner at Maki 2000, the best restaurant in Niamey for a newcomer.

• After breakfast, start the long trek to the old capital, stopping at Maradi and vital trade towns along the way, along with local villages famous for the earthen materials used to construct all aspects of town design and architectural structures.
• See mud mosques, adobe homes, huts with river-reed fronds, dug wells, and pastoral life. The best onions in the world, sought after by Europe and difficult to obtain, are grown here, along with peanuts. These are largely the only 2 main crops in Niger. Everything else is imported.

Arrive in the evening in Zinder and enjoy dinner. (B, L, D)

• Today, after a brisk breakfast and coffee, visit the magnificent and unique Sultan's Palace, still active and in use. See his ministers presiding over affairs and trials in the kingdom of Zinder.
• Examine doors with every metal plate forged in a different tribute area, a pedestal where an infamous Sultan killed his mother to usurp power, and the sultan's enormous car collection.
• Finally, gaze at the city's best view from atop the palace, overlooking the minarets and mud houses, as well as the intricately carved doors, glazed windows, and otherworldly architecture of Zinder's Nigerien tradition.
• In the afternoon, pay a visit to the Alternative Radio Station, Citizen Space, which gives voice to the poor people of Niger, draws attention to positive and salient development issues, and fills the airwaves with the true beats of Niger's local, innovative, and infectious music scene.

• In the morning, head east for a 5-hour drive to Diffa, the last remote desert outpost before the frontier with Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, and the lake that links all 4.
• Stop at a dune range near Maine, a small desert village.
• Spend the night on the dunes under a crystal-clear night sky.

• Drive throughout the morning to reach the shores of Lake Chad, one of Africa's most important and controversial lakes, which borders 4 countries and feeds millions.

Return to Diffa City for an overnight stay in an enclosed 3-star hotel and dinner.

• Spend the day in the villages, with a focused stop in the splendid town of Goure. Stop at the local markets and admire the architecture. Enjoy a meeting with the local store owners and chefs who preside over the local economy and pace of life.
• Make it to Zinder, where you will check into the Gamzaki Hotel and go out for a closing dinner.

• Transfer back to Niamey (700 km).