 Center of Wadi Halfa | ||
| Wādī Ḥalfā · وادي حلفا | ||
| State | Shamālīya | |
|---|---|---|
| Residents | around 16,000 (as of 2007) | |
no value for residents on Wikidata:  | ||
| height | 187 m | |
| no tourist info on Wikidata: | ||
| location | ||
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Wadi Halfa (Arabic:وادي حلفا, Wādī Ḥalfā) is a city founded in 1970 in the north of the Sudan in the state ash-Shamālīya on the east bank of the Lake Nubia. Its predecessor town, which was expanded to a modern level at the beginning of the 20th century, was flooded when the artificial lake was dammed.
getting there
Entry formalities
For entry you need a valid passport and a valid visa, which is available e.g. in Aswan and in Cairo for a 30-day stay. As a rule, proof of the means of travel for the intended duration of the trip is not required.
The entry process is carried out on the ferry or at the road crossing from the direction of Abu Simbel (Egypt) and consists of filling out similar forms several times as well as a time-consuming, although superficial customs control.
Within three days, foreigners have to register at the Immigration Office in the main street of the town (green police building). Cost in 2017: approx. 500 SDG. Open Sun. - Thu. Required: Copy of the main passport page, the visa with entry stamp, passport photo. Copy shops right next to the authority. It takes about 1 hour if not too many tourists register at the same time.
In the street
The road border crossing from Abu Simbel with car ferry across the Nile is stable open during the day as of 2017 every day except Friday.
From the direction of Khartoum there is a road through the desert and along the Nile (several travel options). A travel permit is not required for this route (2017).
By bus
There is a cross-border bus connection between Wādī Halfā and Abu Simbel, as well as buses to Khartoum.
With the ferry
A passenger ferry runs once or twice a week between Wādī Ḥalfā and the Egyptian one Aswan. The ferry also takes cargo and bicycles, but no motor vehicles when the border crossing is open. Departure days are Monday (seasonal) and Thursday, each around 6 p.m., check-in in the afternoon. The ferry reaches Aswan the following noon. Attention time difference -1 hour! The ticket office in Wādī Halfā is a multi-storey yellow building near the Cleopatra Hotel south of the main street, open Sat.-Thurs -Office in the city on the main street (Police).
The visa for Egypt for German citizens is not available when entering Aswan High Dam Port! Alternatively (as of 2017) it can be issued upon departure if the entry in the passport took place at a border crossing without issuing a visa (make sure that the stamp is legible) Cost: $ 25 payable in cash only in USD. Otherwise, the visa for Egypt must be applied for in advance, e.g. in Khartoum.
By train
Wādī Ḥalfā is via a railway line with the capital Khartoum connected. However, there are only a few trains per month.
By plane
There are no scheduled flights to this small airport. Served from time to time Sudan Airways the airport.(21 ° 48 ′ 10 ″ N.31 ° 31 ′ 19 ″ E)mobility
A vehicle is not required within the 'old' core. If necessary, a large number of Bajaj taxis (tuktuks) are available.
Tourist Attractions
activities
shop
kitchen
nightlife
accommodation
In Wādī Halfā there are now a surprisingly large number of simple and very simple hotels. Many of them are on a side street from the 'old' city center towards the Nile. The accommodations have running water in shared toilets, whereas the better hotels have rooms with showers and (not always working) hot water. Paying is often per bed, but tourists usually have to rent a complete room with several beds.
- 1 Cleopatra Hotel (pink building, south of the main street in the village on a large sand square, small lettering Hotel at the entrance). Triple and larger rooms, some with shower, newly expanded, simple standard, are one of the better hotels in the area. Example price: 3 people with shower (occupancy 1-3 people): SDG 200.(21 ° 47 '59 "N.31 ° 21 ′ 1 ″ E)
- 2 El Harm Hotel (Conspicuously located on the main street from the train station). newly built hotel in a small shopping mall.(21 ° 48 '14 "N.31 ° 19 ′ 22 ″ E)
- 3 Nubian Hotel (at the end of a side street from the center of the village to the Nile with many hotels, outermost edge of the village, conspicuously marked). Newly opened hotel of better quality, rooms with 2 beds or more, some with bathroom, sample price 2017: 3-person with bathroom (whole room) SDG 300.(21 ° 47 '47 "N.31 ° 20 ′ 58 ″ E)
