The Sabaloka Gorge

An hour north of Khartoum the Nile meets an old volcanic ring and saws through: the Sabaloka gorge - the sixth cataract - narrows the great river between basalt hills, rapids riffling where the flow squeezes, fishing villages tucked into coves and eagles working the thermals off the rims. Boat trips from the gorge villages run the classic outing: upstream through the narrows, tea on a sandbank, the geology explaining itself in dark walls and river-polished stone. It is Khartoum's traditional escape - picnic culture included - and the Nile's most dramatic hour below Ethiopia.

What you actually see

• The narrows - the Nile squeezed between basalt walls.
• The cataract riffles - the sixth of the great river's stairs.
• The fishing coves - villages and nets in the gorge's pockets.
• The rim views - river bends from the volcanic hills.

When to go

November to February for cool boating. Check current travel advice before planning, and arrange the trip through specialist local operators.

Honest expectations

The frame first, always. At the gorge: boat arrangements are informal village economies - agree terms clearly; lifejackets are a requested courtesy, shade a carried one. Currents are the river's business - swim only where boatmen bless.

Nearby

Khartoum's confluence and the Meroe road north.