Afrinkong
Nature & Landscapes
Hoggar and Tassili
Volcanic spires in the Hoggar, and a sandstone plateau at Tassili n'Ajjer eroded into streets.
North Africa · Afrinkong
Algeria
The largest country in Africa, and the emptiest.
Four-fifths Sahara, a Mediterranean coast of Roman cities, and the Hoggar and Tassili massifs in the deep south — rock art nine thousand years old on a plateau the size of Britain.
Where it is
Africa · North Africa · Algeria
The land in brief
- Spans
- 1,800 km E–W, 1,960 km N–S
- Latitude
- 37°N to 19°N
- Borders
- 6 countries
- Sea
- Has a coast
- Best time
- October to April. The Sahara is unvisitable in summer and the Tassili needs cool nights.
Also in North Africa
EgyptThe Nile, and five thousand yearsLibyaLeptis Magna, and the sand sea behind itMoroccoAtlas, Sahara and the medinasSudanMore pyramids than EgyptTunisiaCarthage, the Sahel and the desert south
Compare Algeria with another countryAll fifty-four, worked through the same twenty-seven categories.When to come
JFMAMJJASOND
October to April. The Sahara is unvisitable in summer and the Tassili needs cool nights.
01Highlights
What Algeria is known for.
Six of the twenty-seven, and the ones most people come for. The rest are below — and none of them is filler.
Nature & Landscapes
What Lives in the Sand
Fennec fox, addax and the last Saharan cheetah, all of them nocturnal and all of them rare.
The Djurdjura and the Hoggar
Snow on the Djurdjura above Kabylie in winter; Mount Tahat at 2,908 metres in the far south.
A Thousand Kilometres of Mediterranean
The Turquoise Coast west of Algiers, and the coves at Jijel under limestone cliffs.
The Kabylie Cedars
Atlas cedar on the Djurdjura ridge, some of it four hundred years old.
Culture
Three Languages Before Lunch
Darija, Tamazight and French, and a coastline that has been argued over for three thousand years.
02Experiences
25 ways to spend the time.
Every country we cover works through the same twenty-seven categories, so you can hold two of them side by side and compare like with like rather than one brochure against another. Compare Algeria with another → The two not listed here are the hero picture and the case for going, which has a section of its own below.
Landscapes
- Hoggar and TassiliVolcanic spires in the Hoggar, and a sandstone plateau at Tassili n'Ajjer eroded into streets.
- The Djurdjura and the HoggarSnow on the Djurdjura above Kabylie in winter; Mount Tahat at 2,908 metres in the far south.
- Water in a Dry CountryThe falls at Kefrida in Bejaia, in a green fold of the coast that surprises everyone.
- Chotts and OasesSalt lakes that mirror the sky at Chott Melrhir, and the palmeraie at Timimoun.
- A Thousand Kilometres of MediterraneanThe Turquoise Coast west of Algiers, and the coves at Jijel under limestone cliffs.
- The Kabylie CedarsAtlas cedar on the Djurdjura ridge, some of it four hundred years old.
Wildlife
- What Lives in the SandFennec fox, addax and the last Saharan cheetah, all of them nocturnal and all of them rare.
- Desert Watching, Not Game DrivingThere is no safari circuit here. You go out at dawn with somebody who reads tracks.
- The Case for Going NowAlgeria takes very few visitors for its size, and everything about it is the better for that.
- Walking the NorthThe Chrea forest above Blida, the Gouraya cliffs at Bejaia, and the Djurdjura ridge.
People and culture
- Three Languages Before LunchDarija, Tamazight and French, and a coastline that has been argued over for three thousand years.
- The Kabyles and the TuaregBerber-speaking Kabylie in the north, and the Tuareg of the Hoggar in the far south.
- Yennayer and the Sufi MoussemsThe Amazigh new year in January, and the moussems that fill desert towns for a week.
- Silver, Wool and PotteryKabyle silver with coral and enamel, Beni Isguen weaving, and the pottery of Maatkas.
- Couscous on FridayChorba, m'hadjeb, and the Friday couscous that stops the whole country.
- Beaches and Roman StonesTipaza has a Roman city on a beach, which solves most family arguments at once.
- Coffee and ArgumentThe cafe is the institution. So is the argument in it.
Places
- Algiers, White on the BayThe Casbah stacked above the harbour, and the boulevards the French cut below it.
- The Casbah and the M'zabOttoman houses on top of each other in Algiers, and five fortified towns in the M'zab built to one plan.
- Timgad and DjemilaTwo Roman cities the desert kept: Timgad's grid is complete, Djemila's forum still stands.
- Seven Sites, Nine Thousand YearsTassili's rock art records a Sahara with rivers in it, and the M'zab valley is still lived in.
Ways to travel
- Crossing the TassiliA week on foot with Tuareg guides among the sandstone towers, sleeping out.
- Rare, and Getting Less SoRestored Ottoman houses in the Casbah, and desert camps in the Hoggar run to a standard.
- Light on SandstoneTassili at either end of the day, when the rock goes from ochre to red to purple.
- GhardaiaFive towns in a valley, built by the Mozabites in the eleventh century and still run their way.
03Why go
The case for Algeria.
Why Visit This Country
Why Algeria
The Roman cities of Tunisia, the Sahara of Libya and the Atlas of Morocco, with almost nobody in them.
Hidden Gems
Ghardaia
Five towns in a valley, built by the Mozabites in the eleventh century and still run their way.
Eco Tourism
The Case for Going Now
Algeria takes very few visitors for its size, and everything about it is the better for that.
Heritage
Seven Sites, Nine Thousand Years
Tassili's rock art records a Sahara with rivers in it, and the M'zab valley is still lived in.
04Go deeper
All of Algeria, four ways in.
Who would take youAfrinkong
The ground is ours right across Africa: your vehicle, your driver for the whole journey, and the days shaped around what you came for.
In Cameroon, Uganda and Namibia you travel with companies of our own as well.
Plan your journey →
Begin
Your Algeria starts here.
Tell us the month, or simply the thing you want to see, and a guide who works there will answer.