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The Mediterranean city of Oran west of Algiers

Palace in the Algerian Sahara not far from El Oued

Monumental arch in Djemila set against a blue African sky

Djanet in the south of Algeria, surrounded by desert

Picture: Algeria tour operator and travel agent

Customised Algeria UNESCO Tours

Algeria and UNESCO

UNESCO Algeria

Algeria is now proud to have seven sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, all of which can be visited on tours operated by Expert Algeria: Beni Hammad, Djemila, the M’Zab Valley, the Tassili, Timgad, Tipasa and the casbah of Algiers.

Algeria’s World Heritage Sites

Dr Peter Howard recently visited Algeria with Expert Algeria to take photos of Algeria’s World Heritage sites as part of an Africa-wide project to catalogue the continent’s UNESCO locations. You can see some of the photos Peter took here.

Ghardaia

“It was a Cubist painting, beautifully constructed: white and ocher rectangles, brushed with blue by the bright light, were piled on each other to form a pyramid”, so Simone de Beauvoir described Ghardaia, where the hill was crowned by a “giant, extravagant and beautiful mosque” that the French philosopher thought must have been “made by the hand of Picasso”.

Camus and Djemila

As Albert Camus pointed out, "It takes a long time to get to Djemila" but the ancient city "seems the symbol of that lesson of love and patience which along can lead us to the world’s beating heart. There is lies, among a few trees and some dried grass, protected by all its mountains and stones from vulgar admiration".

Algiers in the Independent

The British journalist Ed Vallance, who recently toured Algeria with Expert Algeria, has just had an article published on Albert Camus in the Algerian capital.

What makes the Algerian Sahara so unique?

The rock arches, gueltas and immense dunes of the Tadrart occupy the deep south of Algeria; the kingdom of the M’Zab, with the town of Ghardaia at its heart, lies hundreds of miles to the north… yet both belong to the great undiscovered Algerian Sahara.

Sahara Gardens

Sounds unlikely? Well, it’s true: Ali has been tending his garden in the furthest reaches of the Sahara – not far from Tamanrasset – for over thirty years.

Algeria’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Algeria has seven sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list, all of which can be visited on tours operated by Expert Algeria: Djemila ("one of the world’s great historical sights" according to the Lonely Planet), the M’Zab Valley, the Tassili, Timgad, Tipasa, the casbah of Algiers and Beni Hammad.

Expert Algeria plans, designs, executes and accompanies guided tours to all Algeria’s UNESCO destinations, ranging from three-day trips to Ghardaia to three-week treks through the virgin desert of the Sahara.

UNESCO: Ghardaia

Ghardaia is one of the pentapolis towns of the Saharan M’Zab Valley, one of Algeria’s UNESCO World Heritage sites. In the walled settlement of Beni Isguen – normally closed to foreigners – the local women, clad entirely in white, reveal only one eye to the outside world.

UNESCO: Djemila

Djemila – ancient Cuicul – is one of North Africa’s most monumental sites. Founded by Nerva, the wheel-rutted streets of this garrison time are lined with two fora and a clutch of elaborate houses, churches and temples. Equally impressive is Djemila’s stunning museum of mosaics.

UNESCO: Tipasa

Tipasa, nestling undisturbed amongst palm trees on the shores of the Mediterranean, once served as an inspiration to Albert Camus. Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine ruins vie for attention alongside the nearby Mauritanian mausoleum.

UNESCO: Timgad

Timgad, the “Pompeii of Africa”, was constructed under Trajan as a bulwark against the unruly Berbers. With its immense library, colonnaded streets, myriad temples and imposing arch of Trajan, Timgad embodies Roman urban planning.

UNESCO: Djanet and Tassili

Algeria’s mountainous Tassili region, bordering Niger to the south, is distinguished by its towering dunes of sand, its sheer-sided canyons, its beguiling “forests of rock” and over 15,000 rock carvings and paintings.

UNESCO: Algiers Casbah

The casbah of Algiers remains one of the world’s most mythical labyrinths: “a masterpiece of architecture and town planning” according to Le Corbusier, the Kasbah’s huddled houses tumble down the hill before seemingly spilling over into the sea.

UNESCO: Beni Hammad

Situated in a mountainous site of extraordinary beauty, the ruins of the first capital of the Hammadid emirs, founded in 1007 and demolished in 1152, provide an authentic picture of a fortified Muslim city crowned by one of North Africa’s largest mosques.