Timia Oasis (Niger)

Timia Oasis (Niger)

Timia Oasis, located on the Aïr Mountains (northern Niger), is billed as the most beautiful oasis in the country for a reason. It is not quite the image of a pool of water amidst the sand-dunes with a couple of palm-trees on either side. Instead it is a rich network of lush gardens in the middle of some of the most hostile terrain on earth- as true an oasis as you’ll ever find. Oranges and pomegranates hang from branches and can be plucked (for a fee) and eaten on the spot. Date palms and citrus trees, and beneath the cool of the spreading leaves, any number of herbs, cereals and garden vegetables are grown. The Tuareg who tend the gardens export their produce all over the Air region- indeed in some cases all over Niger. After the searing heat of the Sahara, the Timia Oasis is the perfect rest-stop for a group of travelers, and time is well spent exploring the refreshing shade of the carefully-groomed orchards.