sudan

area
population
capital
head of state
official language
currency
exchange rate

(source: lonely planet)

2,505,820 sq km
29 million
khartoum
omar hassan ahmad al-bashir
arabic
sudanese dinar
check out oanda.com
for current exchange rates

ithis information comes from a visit to the country in july 2004. things might have changed since then. these are my personal impressions and it's well possible that other travellers will not share my views.

from addis abeba, ethiopia:

the visa costs usd 61 and takes two to three days to process. you need two passport photos and a letter of recommendation from your embassy. (at the time or writing it was no problem for US citizen to obtain visas).

GPS: N 09*00,397' / E 038*44,697'

give them a copy of your carnet de passage. they'll forward it to the border at gallabat which makes the entry into sudan easier and faster.

from dar es salaam, tansania:

you can get a sudanese visa in dar es salam, but the process of the application will take at least two weeks. for applying you have to fill in two froms, give two passport photos, but you can keep your passport until the visa is granted. you only have to pay fees if the visa is granted

the embassy is located on plot 64 AH, mwinyi rd, upangatel: 211 7641 / 211 5811

GPS: S 06*48, 130' / EO39*17,100'

getting in and out

from ethiopia (metema/gallabat border):
formalities are quick, easy and friendly.
at immigration you have to pay 5000 sudanese dinar and they want one passport photo
at customs you will have to declare your lap top and video camera. you'll have to pay US$ 5.--
there is a last stop at the security office where they want one passport photo.

check registration / travel permit section (below)

to egypt (wadi halfa to aswan on lake nasser):
(click here for overland travel info to wadi halfa)
formalities as an endless mess of running around. nothing really makes sense but you'll get on board eventually. you have to pay the followoing fees going with one bike:
- immigration 1750 dinars
- customs 1600 dinars
- port fees 1950

- the ferry to aswan costs 7800 dinars for a seat and 13000 per person for a double cabin
- the price to ship the bike is 26400 dinars

places to stay

gedaref:
the amir hotel on the way out of town (direction khartoum) is not the best place on earth but it's cheap and clean (the ower is a grumpy fellow, trying to make money for assuring the safety for you bike. a guard for any amount of bikes should not cost more than 1000 dinar for the night).

khartoum:
the blue nile sailing club, close to the blue nile bridge is a good option for camping. (US$ 5.-- per tent, including parking for a motorbike). it can be a bit noisy in the evening and morning as it's popular with locals.
GPS: N 15*36.707' / E 32*32.090'

northern sudan (nubia): stop in any village and wait. chances are that you'll be swiftly invited to someones house and treated like a royalty. or you can camp at police stations or simlpy out in the desert. it's one of the most hospital regions in the world.

other

registration:
you have to re-registrate with the "aliens registration office' in khartoum, even if you already did registrate near the point of entry. you'll get a blue sticker in your passport wich you apparently need to leave the country.
the office is on nile road, near the presidential palace (N 15*36.499 / E 32*31.436 ).

you need to fill in a form, obtain a stamp from the hotel/camping you're living at and hand it in with one passport photo, a photocopy of your passport (they have a copy mashine), and pay 500 dinar.
the office is supposed to be open 24 hours/day.

travel permits:

you will need a travel permit from khartoum for travelling around sudan. at the time of writing you did not need a permit to go north to wadi halfa. for travels to gallabat, and on to ethiopia, the rules seem to change frequently (check with midhat (below) before paying a lot of money for such a permit). you'll need a permit to go anywhere south or west, including mount nuba.
you apply for permits from the 'alien registration office' (GPS: N 15*36.499 / E 32*31.436).
there you have to fill in a form, attach one passport size photograph and make four photocopies.
get four photo copies from your passport (they have a copy mashine) and hand it in with your passport.
from the 'aliens' office they'll then send you to the 'humanitarian office', and on to the security police.
and back to the 'alien's' office you'll recieve your permit.
the whole procedure costs 6'600 dinar

permits for tourist sites: you can get permits for visiting the old royal city and the pyramids of meroe on arivel. for all other sites, such as the pyramids at karima you have to obtain permits in khartoum. you can get them at the national museum for usd 10.-- per site. (try to bargain, i got four permits for 10.--)
GPS: N 15*36,399' / E 32*30,501'

photo permits: officially you need a permit to take photos in sudan. the permit is free and procedures take less than 10 minutes. the office is open from 08:30 to 14:30. bring a copy of you passport and a passport size photograph.
GPS: N 15*36,121' / E 32*31,941'

al shifa factory: you can visit the chemical factory the americans bombed in 1998, claiming that it had been manufacturing chemical weapons. it's in the industrial zone of northern khartoum, behind the coca cola factory. for a little tip to the security you can enter and take photographs.
GPS: N 15*38,770' / E 32*33,720'

contact in khartoum: for information of all kind contact midhat. he's got a travel agency: globe tours at the safari palace hotel, near the meridian (GPS: N 15*35.933' / E 32*31.499'). he is very helpful, knows where to get chash on a credit card and had GPS coordinates in the north. phone: 09 122 53 484, email: midhatmahir@hotmail.com / globtours_sudan@yahoo.com.

egyptian embassy: GPS: N 15*36,265' / E 32*31,405' (two photos, 6000 dinar, 24 hrs)

travelling overland to wadi halfa and the egyptian border:
there are several ways to drive to wadi halfa, some including a fair bit of soft sand. i was quite happy with our route:
khartoum - abu dom: asphalt (get fuel in abu dom)
abu dom - debbe: corrugated dirt road. hard surface with a few patches of soft sand (20 - 50 m in length). there should be fuel in debbe
debbe - al ghaba: corrugated dirt road with soft sand patches (like before). just before al ghaba there is a tar road for about 20 km. there is a checkpoint on the road, in al ghaba.
al ghaba - el goled bahri: follow the tar road until the end, then keep left and follow the piste all the way to bahri. the piste is mostly on compact hard sand, beautiful drive. there are some softer parts (50 - 100) metres in length. there is fuel in bahri (GPS: N 18* 30,.505' / E 30* 38.208').
el goled bahri - dongloa: follow the nile on the little roads that connect the villages. beautiful views on the nile, pleasant villages and wonderful people. the road is mostly gravel and hard, compact sand, very easy to drive. there is a tarroad to the west of the villages and small towns, starting 40 km before dongola. cross over when you feel you're close enough.
dongola: the ulla hotel has self-contained rooms with air-con for 2750 dinars and simple rooms for 1500 dinars (GPS: N 19* 10,660' / E 30* 28,553')
dongola - argo: don't cross the river at dongola, unless you're very fond of soft sand. the road on the west side is hard surfaced and easy driving. the ferry to argo costs 500 dinar for bike with passenger. at argo you can sleep at the police station.
argo - ferrek: the road from argo to kerma is quite sandy. after kerma don't follow the nile, the road is very sandy! take the road through the desert to ferrek (ask locals where to turn off). there are many roads branching off, all end up at the main road around ferrek. there is some sand, mostly quite compact, the rest is gravel, great driving.
ferrek - delgo: the road is quite corrugated, hard surface. there are little side pistes, smoother
delgo - wadi halfa: corrugated. sometimes so badly corrugated that you can't make up for it with speed. very frustrated. some sandy side pistes offer unstable relief. you'll approach wadi halfa wich is visible for some time. just before reaching it the road takes you out into the desert for a ten kilometre detour, stay on the main road, it really ends up in wadi halfa.