Azalaï is the name given to the caravans that transport salt from Bilma to Agadez. The route is strenuous and dangerous even for the dromedaries, as proved by this skeleton in the foreground.

Salt caravan (Azaleï) moving through the Ténéré – 600 km of desert until Agadez!

In the midday heat
Piton and landscape with a camel skeleton of which only the skull remains.
Algeria - Tadrart - Tin-Merzouga - 1993

The legends are only available in German or Spanish
Von der argentinischen Stadt Salta führt ein alter Saumweg, heute eine schlechte Autopiste, über den Pass von Huaitiquina nach San Pedro de Atacama in Chile. Früher trieb man Viehherden über diesen Pass, um die chilenische Hafenstadt Antofagasta mit argentinischem Fleisch zu versorgen. Wenn der gefürchtete Viento Blanco – der «weisse Wind» - weht, überzieht sich die in 5000 Meter gelegene Hochfläche innerhalb weniger Stunden mit einer meterhohen Schneedecke, und nicht selten kamen in solchen «Blizzards» Mensch und Tiere um. Davon zeugen die in der Sonne gebleichten Rinderskelette in dieser trostlosen Einöde mit ihren Salzseen, überragt vom hohen Kegel des Vulkans Lascar. - 1975

Horse skeleton in the pampas north of Río Turbio on the way to Calafate. - Santa Cruz Province - 1973

The Arbre du Ténéré from a distance! This tree was an umbrella thorn acacia (Acacia tortilis) that was considered the most isolated tree on earth - supposedly the only one within a radius of 400 kilometres, other data mention 150 km. It was probably the last surviving tree of a group of trees that grew up when the desert was less dry than at present. The tree stood alone for several decades. - Ténéré - Niger - 1966

And the caravan moves on, untouched, it seems, by fatigue, thirst and sandy winds. Never does the leader lose his way, of which he knows every dune, every bend. But sometimes, consumed by his too great efforts, a camel falls as if struck by lightning. It will not rise again. Often, not only must the animal be abandoned, but also its burden left behind if no replacement camels follow the train. And all along the track, white skeletons, slowly buried by the sand, mark the harsh ordeal of the peaceful "desert ships". - Ténéré - Niger - 1966

In the midday heat. Rocks and landscape with a camel skeleton of which only the skull remains. Algeria - Tadrart - Tin-Merzouga - 1993

When the vital water of a well dries up, only death remains - Aïr - Niger - 1992

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