"Ingall: Site of the Cure Salee Festival " a Ingal Travel Page by Bonobo2005

Note that I on purpose misspell some French names, since the VT server keeps problems recognizing the accents

It was collegue VT'er Ali (Sachara) who made me aware of a big festival that was going to happen in a small village some 150 km away from Agadez: the annual Cure Salee; it coincided with my approx. period of visiting Agadez, so it would be a very nice bonus if I could make it there in time!

And I made it, with a lot of luck and 1 day late (see my Timia page). Now I knew nothing of what this Cure Salee Festival was all about or what was going to happen.

I expected a small local festival near a remote village in the desert.
In reality it definitely had its charm and attraction, but sometimes also felt if Government had taken over and converted it into a big and important national event to promote Niger to the world!

The official part of the Festival in Ingall lasted 3 days and was highly tourist friendly; the spontaneous and real partying took place in the evenings, in Ingall and elsewhere, in the dark, with no officials from Niamey, with no photo clicking tourists or journalists...

I had a chance to be in Ingall at the right time. It turned out to be another unique and unforgettable experience during my Niger travels!