Guelta d'Archei

The guelta d' Archei is a water body which is probably the most famous guelta in the Sahara. It lies on the Ennedi Plateau in the north- eastern Chad southeast of the town of Fada. The guelta is used by different animals, most amazing are probably still in 2001 sighted in the canyon five Nile crocodiles. Staewen reported at its Tibestireise in the spring of 1964 nor of 9 crocodiles, with the longest specimens measured up to 1.80 m. The number of sighted crocodiles from the years between 2008 and 2012 varies 6 to 9 remains from the middle Holocene, as well as petroglyphs give an indication that this species was once common well into the territory of the desert, as well as in swamps and rivers on the southern Mediterranean coast. The small group of surviving crocodilians in guelta is probably is the last in the Eastern Sahara still occurring population; the animals that lived near Tagant in the mountains are thought to be extinct in 1996. Also up in the late 20th century proven populations in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia are now extinct. Only in Mauritania occur ( Tagant, Assaba and Affole ) still crocodiles in three sub-Saharan areas.

The guelta d' Archei is remote and not accessible by roads or trails. The gorge itself is accessible by an all-terrain vehicle or a camel, which is typically chosen for photos viewpoint requires an additional one-hour walk through rocky terrain. To achieve the guelta of N'Djamena, the capital of Chad, one needs the SUV about four days.