Where the Nile bends through the Nubian desert in northern Sudan, the land goes flat and brown and then suddenly there is Jebel Barkal, a sandstone butte standing alone above the river bank at Karima. The ancient Egyptians believed it was the home of Amun, and when the Kushite kings of Napata conquered Egypt in the eighth century BC and ruled as the twenty-fifth dynasty, they built temples at its foot.
The Nuri pyramids are the larger royal cemetery here, with more than twenty steep-sided tombs, including that of Taharqa, the best-known of the Kushite pharaohs. They are smaller and steeper than the pyramids of Giza, built from sandstone blocks that have weathered into rough stepped shapes, and they rise from the desert like ragged teeth. A few have collapsed into piles of rubble. What makes the visit unusual is that you often have the place to yourself, apart from the wind and the sand drifting between the stones.
The riding is simple desert riding: a paved road along the river, with date palms and fields on one side and open sand on the other, broken by villages of mudbrick houses and the occasional checkpoint. Dust and heat are the main challenges. From November to February the days are manageable, and from April to September they are brutal. Fuel is only available in the larger settlements, such as Merowe, so carry a reserve and plenty of water, and plan to refuel whenever you can.
Please note that Sudan has been through serious conflict in recent years, and many roads, towns and sites have been affected. Anyone thinking about riding here should check government travel advice and local conditions carefully before making plans. If you are reading this at home, these pyramids and the butte are still a remarkable chapter of African history: a black Nubian dynasty that ruled Egypt and built its own tombs, in the same style, beside the Nile.