A British ‘dangerous tourist’ who travels to the world’s most dangerous countries spent a month in Libya and was held at gunpoint for seven hours at an army checkpoint.
Daniel Pinto, 26, likes to visit places that are considered “dangerous” to explore areas that tourists are never able to see and show what life is like in those places.
He has previously been to Iran, Iraq and Syria.
Daniel left for Libya on May 29, 2024 and spent 21 days traveling around the country – because it was a “mysterious” place he wanted to see.
He traveled on his own to Tripoli, Leptis Magna, Ghadames and the Nafusa mountains – on a budget of $10 (£7.62) a day.
Daniel hitchhiked around the country, staying with the locals and “eating a lot of good food.”
He had “a close call” where he was held for seven hours at gunpoint by the military.
Daniel, a professional traveller, from Lambeth, south London, said: “I’ve been very lucky, I don’t know if it’s because I’m tall and have tattoos.
“The worst situation I’ve been in is Libya – I was hitchhiking.
“Libya is very new for tourists – we arrived at a checkpoint and were held for seven hours.
“We were handcuffed and had a gun to our faces.
“That was disturbing, it’s scary to be handcuffed to the wall by a group of militia.”
On May 29, 2024, Daniel left for Libya from Tunisia – where he was traveling – as the country had just opened a new e-visa system in March 2024.
An e-Visa is an electronic visa that allows travelers to enter Libya for a specified period for tourism or business purposes.
The UK Foreign Office advises against any travel to the country, but Daniel wanted to take the opportunity to see what it was like.
He said: “I entered Libya with the new E-Visa system that started in March 2024 and costs $63.
“I made my first application without a sponsor and after two weeks it still hadn’t been approved.
“Then I applied again with a sponsor and got the visa within two working days.”
He entered via Wazin, Libya, after leaving Dehiba, Tunisia – after hitchhiking for two days.
Daniel said: “I got there at 10pm and was told to wait by the head of police from Tunisia.
“He called Libyan immigration to verify my visa before he sent me away.
“This took two hours as they had to call the immigration office in Tripoli.
“The only person who tried this before me said it took eight hours, so it’s definitely getting better.
“From the border, we drove straight to Tripoli and that took six hours with about five checkpoints with only one asking to see my passport.”
Daniel arrived in Tripoli after a seven-hour journey and explored the city.
He said his highlight was the old town with its architecture and “random” Roman artefacts.
Daniel said: “Tripoli is a fantastic city and probably my favorite city in North Africa.
“Some of my highlights were just the old town.
“Epic Italian architecture mixed with Islamic architecture and the occasional Roman artifact.
“The black market is very interesting – the men meet every night in front of the bank and it’s a real stock exchange.”
During his 21 days in the country, Daniel visited as many places as he could – including Nalut, Ghadames, Dirj, Misrata, Houn, Waddan, Benghazi, Cyrene and Susa.
Daniel said: “The Nafusa Mountains – this region is home to the Libyan Berbers and it is interesting to visit their villages.
“Yafran was a cool old town, but nothing too crazy.
“Qasr El Hajj is an old barn which was impressive and much better than the ones in Tunisia.”
Daniel is sharing his travels on TikTok and Instagram at: @dnzh.travels
Daniel’s itinerary includes:
- Hitchhiking to Libya
- Tripoli (old city and football)
- The old city and Al Khoms
- Leptis Magna and Tripoli
- Sabratha and Nafusa mountains
- Attempt to go to Ghadamis (arrested)
- I reached Ghadamis and explored the old town
- Ghadamis (night bus to Tripoli)
- Tripoli
- Attempted flight from Tripoli and Benghazi
- misjudged
- Misrata and Hun
- Waddan/Hun
- Benghazi/Cyrene
- Cyrene plus other points
- Benghazi
- Benghazi and fly to Misrata
- Misrat
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Image Source : nypost.com