Africa Cycling - Cairo to Cape Town

Cairo · Egypt

Expedition Grade120 daysAfrica~£6,000 est.

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Overview

Pedalling away from the Giza pyramids with Cape Town four months ahead is Africa's defining ride: roughly 12,000 kilometres through ten countries, from the Nile's date-palm villages to the Cape of Good Hope. The route builds like a symphony - desert tailwinds past the Meroe pyramids in Sudan, where roadside hospitality is among the warmest on Earth, then the brutal 3,000-metre climbs of the Ethiopian highlands, Rift Valley lake camps in Kenya and Malawi, and the long open gravel of Botswana's elephant country before the vineyards of the Western Cape roll you into Cape Town. Most riders copy the organised expeditions and leave Cairo in January, so Sudan comes before the furnace months and southern Africa arrives in autumn. The variable that breaks schedules is not legs but paperwork and politics: visas shift constantly and route security must be re-checked country by country before you commit, with reroutes (occasionally by bus or flight) part of the game. Self-supported riders should budget about £6,000 for four months plus a serious contingency fund. Malaria prophylaxis from Ethiopia southwards is non-negotiable.