Landscapes in Niger

Landscapes

The Aïr mountainsThe Aïr Mountains stand in the desert zone of Tenere; the highest peak rises to 2,022 metres. In the photo, camels in the Aïr Mountains. © San Bughet/Hoa Qui

A day will come when Niger will be nothing more than an immense desert as each year, the sand gains more and more land over the Sahelian savannah in the south. It is a crucial area for the locals as it is some of their more fertile land and where almost 90% of the population lives, trying as best as they can to rise above the economic chaos created by devastating draughts in the 1970s. The desert starts properly in Agadez, where, a long time ago, the caravans used to start their long crossing of the Ténéré, transporting their salt loaves.