Afrinkong
Nature & LandscapesHoggar and Tassili
Volcanic spires in the Hoggar, and a sandstone plateau at Tassili n'Ajjer eroded into streets.
ALGERIA · Tourism
The Sahara Begins Here
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.
North AfricaRegion
27Tourism experiences
The largest country in Africa, and the emptiestKnown for
01
Featured destinations
Where the country actually takes you.
Nature & Landscapes
The Djurdjura and the Hoggar
Snow on the Djurdjura above Kabylie in winter; Mount Tahat at 2,908 metres in the far south.
WaterfallsWater in a Dry Country
The falls at Kefrida in Bejaia, in a green fold of the coast that surprises everyone.
Lakes & RiversChotts and Oases
Salt lakes that mirror the sky at Chott Melrhir, and the palmeraie at Timimoun.
Photo Fati Ma / Unsplash
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.
Photo Moaz Tobok / Pexels
02
Wildlife & safari
What lives here, and how you see it without disturbing it.
Wildlife
What Lives in the Sand
Fennec fox, addax and the last Saharan cheetah, all of them nocturnal and all of them rare.
SafariDesert Watching, Not Game Driving
There is no safari circuit here. You go out at dawn with somebody who reads tracks.
The Case for Going Now
Algeria takes very few visitors for its size, and everything about it is the better for that.
Photo Ondrej Bocek / Unsplash
03
Culture & heritage
The part of a country you cannot photograph from a vehicle.
Culture
Three Languages Before Lunch
Darija, Tamazight and French, and a coastline that has been argued over for three thousand years.
Traditional PeopleThe Kabyles and the Tuareg
Berber-speaking Kabylie in the north, and the Tuareg of the Hoggar in the far south.
Couscous on Friday
Chorba, m'hadjeb, and the Friday couscous that stops the whole country.
Festivals & CelebrationsYennayer and the Sufi Moussems
The Amazigh new year in January, and the moussems that fill desert towns for a week.
Photo Yetkin Ağaç / Pexels
Silver, Wool and Pottery
Kabyle silver with coral and enamel, Beni Isguen weaving, and the pottery of Maatkas.
Photo COPPERTIST WU / Pexels
Historic SitesTimgad and Djemila
Two Roman cities the desert kept: Timgad's grid is complete, Djemila's forum still stands.
Photo Yamine Kettal / Unsplash
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.
04
Cities & everyday life
Where people actually live between the landmarks.
CitiesAlgiers, White on the Bay
The Casbah stacked above the harbour, and the boulevards the French cut below it.
ArchitectureThe Casbah and the M'zab
Ottoman houses on top of each other in Algiers, and five fortified towns in the M'zab built to one plan.
Photo Ãbdøû Mâïstrø / Unsplash
Local LifeCoffee and Argument
The cafe is the institution. So is the argument in it.
Family & CommunityBeaches and Roman Stones
Tipaza has a Roman city on a beach, which solves most family arguments at once.
05
Adventure & outdoors
For travellers who would rather walk it than watch it.
Adventure
Crossing the Tassili
A week on foot with Tuareg guides among the sandstone towers, sleeping out.
Outdoor ExperiencesWalking the North
The Chrea forest above Blida, the Gouraya cliffs at Bejaia, and the Djurdjura ridge.
Photo Nandakumar R / Pexels
Rare, and Getting Less So
Restored Ottoman houses in the Casbah, and desert camps in the Hoggar run to a standard.
Photo Miguel Cuenca / Pexels
06
Travel inspiration
The frames people come home with.
Photography / Scenic ViewsLight on Sandstone
Tassili at either end of the day, when the rock goes from ochre to red to purple.
Hidden GemsGhardaia
Five towns in a valley, built by the Mozabites in the eleventh century and still run their way.
Photo mido art / Unsplash
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.
Why Algeria
The Roman cities of Tunisia, the Sahara of Libya and the Atlas of Morocco, with almost nobody in them.
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