Eden Lodge — Hotel in Arrondissement de Ndande

This experience was a very pleasant surprise. I've now visited this Ecolodge three times. Although not on the grand scale of a desert visit like Wadi Rum in Jordan or the vast dunes of Dubai, it offers an introductory taste of Bedouin style camping. The logistics are fairly well managed and you can call from Kébémer on your mobile phone to advise them of your arrival, which takes about another 20+ mins. You can safely leave your vehicle parked in the Lompoul Village, which costs 1000 CFA. The slight catch is that they ask for payment when you return in order to give the ladies who have small craft stands set up next to the parking to "drag" you in to make sales. It's perfectly understandable that visitors offer a means of income but they and other ladies and children are just a tad too persistent to push sales or outright beg for money. It puts a bit of a damper on an otherwise nice time.

Back to the Ecolodge. The tents are wind resistant and are fairly warm or hot during the daytime, but being a desert, temperatures can drop off significantly at night. So bring warm pajamas or even sweats and a hoody if you have small body mass. There's a separate area separated by a cloth wall for the toilet, shower, and sink. Don't expect warm water from the shower! Wooo! Meals are basic but satisfactory. Breakfast is the most basic but they ask you if you want an omelette, which is a good choice and included in the meal plan.

The best part of the trip is just walking off over the dunes. Easier to have good strap on sandals but bare foot is safe. There's also fairly cheap camel rides with varying durations and costs. Only disappointing aspect is the heavier folks ride on a "pillow" tied atop the camel's bum (not hump). Wear long pants as the rope used to tie off the pillow chafes the inside of your thighs. Ladies usually get the saddle, which is much better. Time the ride to coincide with the setting sun. You can rent ATVs but I found them overpriced. But you can even go to the ocean and explore the beach on the ATVs. It takes about 20 mins one-way, so really you need two hours but again, somewhat expensive. You can sand surf down the dunes but the boards are homemade and sand heavy, so you don't really slide very far.

Lastly, if you can, try to visit when it will be a new moon. Walk away from the camp onto the dunes beyond the minimal camp lighting and with a moonless sky and hopefully no clouds, you will be rewarded with a spectacular view if...

I emailed and WhatsApped more than 7 times to arrange ATV rides and a stay and got 1 tepid response where it was clear the responder hadn't comprehended my message. I still decided to go for a day trip because I was interested in the ATV ride to the beach. When I arrived I was the only client yet was forced to wait for the driver's friends before I was taken to the lodge. The truck was overburdened by other passengers. ||||Once there the employees were demanding - go here come here no please or s'il vous plait. I resisted and said they could come to me. I was hungry at that point but excited to ride the ATV and said that I wanted to have lunch afterwards. The manager Amadou was there and I largely avoided him as he was unwelcoming and uncommunicative. I paid 29,000 cfa for the ride which was interesting especially at the beach. The guide could not answer in depth questions about flora or fauna, needed a belt and a breath mint and hurried me when I wanted to spend more time on the beach. I am so glad I skipped the stop at the village and I saw a camel with its two front feet tied together. |||| The problem started when I arrived back at camp. I noticed already that a table setting was done for me. I was then asked if I was ready for lunch and I said no that I wanted to have a beer instead. I was pressured into ordering food and again I resisted. I called for a second beer and again the bartender would not leave the hut. After my 2nd beer, I decided against ordering food and was ready to leave. At that point the bartender insisted that I had to order lunch and I said no. He called the manager who then said that they had already prepared lunch for me. I was shocked. I hadn't ordered anything yet I was being was being forced to get food I neither wanted or ordered. After further argument, I said there was no way I was paying for lunch and asked for the check for the 2 beers. ||||As I was paying Amadou sad that I could not get a ride back to town unless payed 10000 cfa . That is extortion. I said that I would not pay and would rather walk to town. My tour guide paid and we left. Again the truck was overburdened by random men who were going to town. Why was the ride that we were paying for burdened by other passengers? I messaged Amadou about how terrible and unprofessional he was a got two thumbs up emojis as his response. Juvenile, unpleasant, uncommunicative, horrible. DO...

this is a lodge/tent set up in the middle of the sand dunes so travellers do have to adjust the expectations vs normal hotels in built up cities ||In my one night stay the set up was adequate to cater for guest travel needs despite the challenging conditions ||The tent was spacious, clean with lights mirror, toilet, bathroom and dressing area |There was no hot water but they use solar panels and it’s middle of the sand dunes so I can live with cold water for a night ||There were plenty of activities to keep us busy - sand board , ATV with 2 safety guides, walking around the sand dunes or just chilling on the lounge area. I liked the fact the atv guides stopped to talk to local villages along the way and helped to pass items from one place to another and saying hi - we didn’t want to seeM as if we were just a bunch of tourists zooming by with noisy machines ||They also took us on a short tour to see how they grew their crops in this Arid landscape |||In the evenings there was a really nice entertaining band and fire performance before dinner ||Dinner was fast and efficient - crabs and warm vegetable soup for starters , chicken and rice for main course and orange chocolate cake. You can choose to eat indoors or outdoors |Stars at night were amazing |How much joy from simplicity ||All the staff were accommodating, attentive and check on us regularly |I didn’t speak much French but they took the effort to make sure I was ok even with the language barrier ||Everyone was cheerful and smiley and I do recommend as a nice weekend getaway ||Just don’t expect tv, bathrobe, bathtub and...