Top Things To Do
Discover Algeria’s Top Sights with Expert Algeria
According to the
Washington Post, Algeria is a "continent all in itself" – and
Expert Algeria devises cultural
and historical tours and holidays the length and breadth of the country,
from the Mediterranean to the Sahara.
The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is a vast country – the world’s tenth largest nation, and although we have an extensive Mediterranean coastline, 90 per cent of our land is desert.
There are the towering dunes of the
great eastern sand sea, the Grand Erg Oriental;
the ochres, greens, blues and whites of the pentapolis town of
Ghardaia and the "one-eyed women" of Beni
Isguen; the thousand-domed city of El Oued
with its extra-ordinary camel market; and the isolated, intoxicating
tranquility of the deep south – whether its Djanet
and the Tassili or Tamanrasset and the Hoggar.
But we are equally proud of the cultural treasures of our towns and cities… and perhaps even prouder of our UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Most of Expert Algeria’s circuits, which last from three days to three weeks, are made to measure – and are accompanied by expert, English-speaking guides.
One of the Mediterranean’s most mesmerising cities, a
captivating fusion of faded French grandeur and neo-Moorish
folly crowned by a legendary casbah.
Annaba is famed for its colonial architecture, the rugged
headland of Cap de Garde and the extensive ruins of Hippo Regius, home to the great St
Augustine.
Set
in a mountainous site of extraordinary beauty, the ruins of
the first capital of the Hammadid emirs provide an authentic
picture of a fortified Muslim city.
Beni
Isguen is a highly religious settlement that has keenly
preserved its ancient mores and architecture, which
foreigners are kindly asked to respect.
Constantine, "Capital of Arab Culture", boasts an excellent
museum as well as the delightful Palace of Ahmed Bey and a
handful of undiscovered mosques.
The oasis town of Biskra, famous for its Tolga dates, gives
a first taste of the Sahara desert and was once a fortified
outpost of the Roman empire.
Djanet lies in the extreme south of the Sahara, a land of
scarcely credible rock formations, huge dunes, ksars, oases, palm
groves, gueltas and natural springs.
One of the world’s most beautiful Roman ruins, the streets
of Djemila are lined with two fora and a clutch of elaborate
houses, churches and temples.
The "city of a thousand domes" is one of the most bustling
and colourful towns to be found anywhere in the Algerian
Sahara – especially on market day!
A remote canyon in the heart of the Sahara with sheer-sided
cliffs, dense vegetation… and the crystal-clear waters of
a desert stream.
Four hundred miles south of Algiers, in a hostile natural
environment, the Mozabites have managed to construct a
society that is strict but close-knit, devout but not
fundamentalist.
The ruins of ancient Hippo Regius are among the most
evocative in Algeria, stretching across a rolling site and
overlooked by the colonial Basilica of St Augustine.
To climb to the peak of Assekrem in the Hoggar desert as
night falls is to witness one of the Algerian Sahara’s most
beautiful sunsets.
Ancient
Lambaesis boasts a Temple of Aesculapius, a fine Capitolium,
a set of baths, an Arch of Severus and the praetorium of the
Third Augustan Legion
The M’Zab, located nearly four hundred miles south of the
capital Algiers and 750 miles north of Tamanrasset, capital
of the Hoggar, is the absolute centre of the desert.
The little-known ruins of Madauros were once the home of
Apuleius, author of the bawdy Golden Ass, include a Roman
mausoleum and a vast Byzantine fortress.
A canyon between the mountains and desert lined with gardens
of fruit and palm trees, a wadi and houses built into the
rock face.
From the rock arches, gueltas and immense dunes of Tadrart,
to the ancient kingdom of the M’Zab, the vast expanses of
the Algerian Sahara intoxicate every visitor.
Once visited by the explorer Isabelle Eberhardt and the
naturalist Théodore Monod, the Tadrart is dotted with
gueltas, pre-historic rock paintings, strange rock
formations and virgin dunes.
The desert town of Taghit is known for its mountainous dunes
and 11th century ksar. Close by are the rock carvings of
Tahtania, perhaps up to 20,000 years old.
The Tuareg capital of "Tam" is close to the massive volcanic
field of Atakor, the jagged Saharan peak of Tizouyag and the
guelta of Afilal.
Algeria’s mountainous Tassili region is distinguished by its
towering dunes of sand, its sheer-sided canyons and its
beguiling "forests of rock".
The frontier town of Tebessa boasts some impressive Roman
ruins as well as a colourful old French market and a warren
of animated streets.
Roman Tiddis clings in splendid isolation to the side of an
ochre mountain just outside Constantine, and boasts all the
trappings of a Roman town in miniature.
Timgad, the "Pompeii of Africa", was constructed under
Trajan as a bulwark against the Berbers and still represents
the epitome of Roman urban planning.
Deep in the Grand Erg Occidental, an enchanting oasis of red
mud buildings studded with wooden spikes and surrounded by
ancient villages.
Mediterranean Tipasa, once such an inspiration to Albert
Camus, houses Phoenician, Roman, paleo-Christian and
Byzantine remains.
The People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria is a vast country – the world’s tenth largest nation, and although we have an extensive Mediterranean coastline, 90 per cent of our land is desert.
There are the towering dunes of the
great eastern sand sea, the Grand Erg Oriental;
the ochres, greens, blues and whites of the pentapolis town of
Ghardaia and the "one-eyed women" of Beni
Isguen; the thousand-domed city of El Oued
with its extra-ordinary camel market; and the isolated, intoxicating
tranquility of the deep south – whether its Djanet
and the Tassili or Tamanrasset and the Hoggar.
But we are equally proud of the cultural treasures of our towns and cities… and perhaps even prouder of our UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Most of Expert Algeria’s circuits, which last from three days to three weeks, are made to measure – and are accompanied by expert, English-speaking guides.
Algiers
One of the Mediterranean’s most mesmerising cities, a
captivating fusion of faded French grandeur and neo-Moorish
folly crowned by a legendary casbah.
Annaba
Annaba is famed for its colonial architecture, the rugged
headland of Cap de Garde and the extensive ruins of Hippo Regius, home to the great St
Augustine.Beni Hammad
Set
in a mountainous site of extraordinary beauty, the ruins of
the first capital of the Hammadid emirs provide an authentic
picture of a fortified Muslim city.Beni Isguen
Beni
Isguen is a highly religious settlement that has keenly
preserved its ancient mores and architecture, which
foreigners are kindly asked to respect.
Constantine
Constantine, "Capital of Arab Culture", boasts an excellent
museum as well as the delightful Palace of Ahmed Bey and a
handful of undiscovered mosques.
Biskra
The oasis town of Biskra, famous for its Tolga dates, gives
a first taste of the Sahara desert and was once a fortified
outpost of the Roman empire.
Djanet
Djanet lies in the extreme south of the Sahara, a land of
scarcely credible rock formations, huge dunes, ksars, oases, palm
groves, gueltas and natural springs.
Djemila
One of the world’s most beautiful Roman ruins, the streets
of Djemila are lined with two fora and a clutch of elaborate
houses, churches and temples.El Oued
The "city of a thousand domes" is one of the most bustling
and colourful towns to be found anywhere in the Algerian
Sahara – especially on market day!
Essendilene
A remote canyon in the heart of the Sahara with sheer-sided
cliffs, dense vegetation… and the crystal-clear waters of
a desert stream.Ghardaia
Four hundred miles south of Algiers, in a hostile natural
environment, the Mozabites have managed to construct a
society that is strict but close-knit, devout but not
fundamentalist. Hippo Regius
The ruins of ancient Hippo Regius are among the most
evocative in Algeria, stretching across a rolling site and
overlooked by the colonial Basilica of St Augustine.Hoggar
To climb to the peak of Assekrem in the Hoggar desert as
night falls is to witness one of the Algerian Sahara’s most
beautiful sunsets.
Lambaesis
Ancient
Lambaesis boasts a Temple of Aesculapius, a fine Capitolium,
a set of baths, an Arch of Severus and the praetorium of the
Third Augustan LegionM’Zab
The M’Zab, located nearly four hundred miles south of the
capital Algiers and 750 miles north of Tamanrasset, capital
of the Hoggar, is the absolute centre of the desert.
Madauros
The little-known ruins of Madauros were once the home of
Apuleius, author of the bawdy Golden Ass, include a Roman
mausoleum and a vast Byzantine fortress.Oran
Relaxed, dynamic and Mediterranean, Oran is the home of Rai, Yves Saint Laurent and a strong Spanish population, with some fine colonial architecture.Rhouffi
A canyon between the mountains and desert lined with gardens
of fruit and palm trees, a wadi and houses built into the
rock face.Sahara
From the rock arches, gueltas and immense dunes of Tadrart,
to the ancient kingdom of the M’Zab, the vast expanses of
the Algerian Sahara intoxicate every visitor.
Tadrart
Once visited by the explorer Isabelle Eberhardt and the
naturalist Théodore Monod, the Tadrart is dotted with
gueltas, pre-historic rock paintings, strange rock
formations and virgin dunes.Taghit
The desert town of Taghit is known for its mountainous dunes
and 11th century ksar. Close by are the rock carvings of
Tahtania, perhaps up to 20,000 years old.
Tamanrasset
The Tuareg capital of "Tam" is close to the massive volcanic
field of Atakor, the jagged Saharan peak of Tizouyag and the
guelta of Afilal. Tassili
Algeria’s mountainous Tassili region is distinguished by its
towering dunes of sand, its sheer-sided canyons and its
beguiling "forests of rock".
Tebessa
The frontier town of Tebessa boasts some impressive Roman
ruins as well as a colourful old French market and a warren
of animated streets.Tiddis
Roman Tiddis clings in splendid isolation to the side of an
ochre mountain just outside Constantine, and boasts all the
trappings of a Roman town in miniature.
Timgad
Timgad, the "Pompeii of Africa", was constructed under
Trajan as a bulwark against the Berbers and still represents
the epitome of Roman urban planning.
Timimoun
Deep in the Grand Erg Occidental, an enchanting oasis of red
mud buildings studded with wooden spikes and surrounded by
ancient villages.
Tipasa
Mediterranean Tipasa, once such an inspiration to Albert
Camus, houses Phoenician, Roman, paleo-Christian and
Byzantine remains.