Sudan
Advisory - travel not recommended · checked 5 Aug 2026
Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Every foreign ministry advises against ALL travel, most embassies have suspended operations, commercial flights to Khartoum have stopped and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. There is no consular assistance inside the country. Standard scores are suspended while this alert is active.
Official advisory →“More pyramids than Egypt, and a war that has made them unreachable.”
Sudan has around 250 pyramids, more than Egypt, built by the Kushite kings of Napata and Meroë whose dynasty ruled Egypt itself for a century. The Meroë site — steep, narrow pyramids rising straight out of yellow dunes with almost nobody present — was one of the most extraordinary and least visited archaeological landscapes on earth. The Nile's Blue and White branches meet at Khartoum, and the Red Sea coast has reefs that divers rated among the world's best.
Since April 2023 the country has been at war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Khartoum has been fought over street by street, the national museum was looted, millions have been displaced, and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. Every government advises against all travel. This guide is a record of what is there, written for the point at which it becomes reachable again, not an invitation to go now.
Highlights
Meroë
Around 200 steep-sided Kushite pyramids in dunes on the east bank of the Nile — the royal necropolis of a kingdom that ruled Egypt as its 25th dynasty. UNESCO-listed, and until 2023 almost entirely empty of visitors.
Jebel Barkal and Napata
The sacred mountain at Karima with the Temple of Amun at its base and pyramids at El-Kurru and Nuri nearby — the earlier Kushite capital, also UNESCO-listed.
The Nile confluence
Where the Blue Nile from Ethiopia meets the White Nile from Uganda at Khartoum, with a visible colour line between them at certain seasons.
The Red Sea reefs
Sanganeb atoll and Sha'ab Rumi, where Cousteau ran the Conshelf II underwater habitat in 1963 — among the least-dived world-class reefs anywhere.
Entry requirements for Sudan
Advisory - travel not recommended · checked 5 Aug 2026
Sudan has been at war since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. Every foreign ministry advises against ALL travel, most embassies have suspended operations, commercial flights to Khartoum have stopped and famine has been declared in parts of Darfur. There is no consular assistance inside the country. Standard scores are suspended while this alert is active.
Official advisory →Checking your passport…
We don't hold entry details for this passport group yet.
Before you fly
The detail
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Health
- The health system has largely collapsed, with cholera outbreaks and famine reported. Yellow fever certificate was required from endemic countries. Malaria is present in the south and along the Nile.
- Money
- The pound has collapsed and the banking system is severely disrupted. Cash only, and international sanctions have long made card use impossible. Before the war, hard currency and the parallel market were how everything worked.
When to go
AvoidJan–Dec.
Weather is fine; the country is at war.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
What it costs
A day in Sudan
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $81
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
Pre-war reference points only. No current market exists to price against.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — pre-2023 published tariffs, retained for the record · confidence low
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Khartoum
The tri-city capital at the Nile confluence, the National Museum and Omdurman's souq — heavily damaged since 2023.
The Nile north
Meroë, Karima, Jebel Barkal, Old Dongola and the desert road to the Egyptian border.
The Red Sea
Port Sudan, Suakin's coral-block ruins and the Sanganeb and Sha'ab Rumi reefs offshore.
Kordofan
The Nuba Mountains and the gum arabic belt — a region with its own long history of conflict.
Darfur
The far west, Jebel Marra's volcanic highlands and a region where famine has been declared.
Practical guide
Getting there
Khartoum International has been closed to commercial traffic since April 2023. Port Sudan has served as the de facto point of entry for humanitarian and government traffic. Land borders with Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Chad have operated intermittently, largely for displaced people.
Getting around
Not applicable under current conditions. Before the war, buses connected the main cities on good desert roads and the Nile route north to Wadi Halfa was straightforward.
Money & costs
The pound has collapsed and the banking system is severely disrupted. Cash only, and international sanctions have long made card use impossible. Before the war, hard currency and the parallel market were how everything worked.
Safety
Active armed conflict, aerial bombardment, artillery in urban areas, ethnic violence in Darfur and famine conditions in parts of the country. There is no safe route and no consular support. This is the whole of the current safety picture.
Health
The health system has largely collapsed, with cholera outbreaks and famine reported. Yellow fever certificate was required from endemic countries. Malaria is present in the south and along the Nile.
SIM & internet
Zain, MTN and Sudani. Networks have been repeatedly cut during the fighting, with nationwide blackouts lasting weeks.
Driving
Not applicable while the war continues. Before 2023, the paved desert highways north from Khartoum were good and travel permits were required for movement outside the capital.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Become ExplWorld Verified →Itineraries through this country
Before you go
SudanFrequently asked questions
Can anyone travel to Sudan now?
No. The war that began in April 2023 has made the country inaccessible to visitors. Every government advises against all travel, most embassies have suspended operations, commercial flights to Khartoum stopped, and there is no consular assistance. Humanitarian staff enter under agency security protocols, which is a different thing entirely.
What has happened to the heritage sites?
The National Museum in Khartoum was looted and its collections damaged or removed. Reports of damage to archaeological sites elsewhere have emerged, though the Meroë and Napata sites are remote from the main fighting. A full assessment is not possible while the war continues.
Why keep the guide up at all?
Because the record matters, because Sudanese readers and the diaspora exist, and because a country under advisory does not stop being a country. Every score on this page is suspended while the alert stands, and nothing here should be read as saying the trip is available.