What is "azalai"

alt. A salt caravan route through the Sahara. n. A salt caravan route through the Sahara.

The Azalai ( Tamasheq, var. Azalay) is a semi-annual salt caravan route practiced by Tuareg traders in the Sahara desert between Timbuktu and the Taoudenni salt mine in Mali, or the act of traveling with a caravan along that route.

The other major West African salt caravan route, heading from around Agadez to Fachi and Bilma in Niger, is called Taghlamt (in Tamasheq, or Taglem or Tagalem in Hausa language).

Both are some of the last caravan routes in the Sahara that are still in use. Both caravans have largely been replaced by unpaved truck routes.