page_title: Tibesti Mountains
section_title: Tourism
hierarchical_section_title: Tibesti Mountains / Economy / Tourism
caption_attribution_description: English: Landscape in the Tibesti mountains east of the village of Bardai
context_page_description: The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small extension into southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of 3,445 metres and is the highest point in both Chad and the Sahara. Bikku Bitti, the highest peak in Libya, is located in the north of the range. The central third of the Tibesti is of volcanic origin and consists of five volcanoes topped by large craters: Emi Koussi, Tarso Toon, Tarso Voon, Tarso Yega and Toussidé. Major lava flows have formed vast plateaus that overlie Paleozoic sandstone. The volcanic activity was the result of a continental hotspot that arose during the Oligocene and continued in some places until the Holocene, creating fumaroles, hot springs, mud pools and deposits of natron and sulfur. Erosion has shaped volcanic spires and carved an extensive network of canyons through which run rivers subject to highly irregular flows that are rapidly lost to the desert sands.
  Tibesti, which means "place where the mountain people live," is the domain of the Toubou people.
context_section_description: Tibesti has tourism potential, with its primary attractions being the palm groves, rock and parietal art, canyons, basalt spires, volcanoes and hot springs. However, the Zouar airfield cannot accommodate aircraft with more than a 20-seat capacity. This pushes the cost of air tickets from N'djamena up to 60 percent of the cost to fly from N'djamena to major European cities. Furthermore, tourist accommodations are virtually absent. As a result, the majority of tourists, most of whom are German, enter Libya, purchase all-terrain vehicles or caravans on the spot, and then cross the border into Chad. Thus, the economic benefits to Chad amount to only around 100 euros per tourist. The presence of numerous landmines is a danger to tourists, and thus hiking is generally limited to the southern end of the range. The ascent up Emi Koussi, around the Era Kohor, and then on to Yi Yerra hot springs generally takes about three days. The volcano has been climbed by 100 westerners since 1957.
caption: The Tibesti east of Bardaï
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