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Hotel and palm tree in the Algerian Sahara

Algeria Top Sights

Dr Philip Kenrick is an Oxford archaeologist who has been a frequent visitor to Algeria with Expert Algeria. Philip has recently published a new book Classical Antiquities of Algeria: A Selective Guide, in which he rightly points out: "Algeria is not yet in the grip of the mass tourism which is engulfing better known destinations; now is therefore the time to explore its beautiful landscapes and rich cultural heritage. The Roman sites rank among the most impressive anywhere in the Mediterranean and represent an important aspect of the nation's past".

UNESCO ALGERIA

Algeria now proudly boasts seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, all of which can be visited on guided tours devised by Expert Algeria: Djemila, the M'Zab Valley, the Tassili, Timgad, Tipasa, the casbah of Algiers and Beni Hammad.

GUIDED TOURS TO ALGIERS

One of the Mediterranean's most mesmerising cities, Algiers - the Algerian capital - is a captivating blend of faded French grandeur and neo-Moorish folly crowned by a legendary casbah.

SAHARAN TADRART

Set within the deepest reaches of the Algerian Sahara, Tadrart is dotted with gueltas, pre-historic rock paintings, the most unlikely rock formations and lofty dunes of virgin sand.

DJEMILA VACATION

"Put simply", declares the Lonely Planet, "Djemila is one of the world's great historical sights". Djemila's forum, temples, basilicas, triumphal arches and houses delight even the most seasoned traveller.

M'ZAB AND GHARDAIA

Surrounded by desert, Ghardaia has retained the primitive flavor of a land unpolluted and even spurned by tourism. But it is here that the Algerian Sahara begins its march southwards.

DJANET AND TASSILI

Whitewashed Djanet, encircled by desert mountains, is the gateway to a Saharan landscape of towering sand dunes, sheer-sided canyons and beguiling "forests of rock" - the Tassili.

VISIT ORAN

Relaxed, dynamic and welcoming, the sites of Mediterranean Oran include the Bey's Palace, the 14th century fort of Merinid Sultan Abou Hassan and some fine French colonial architecture.

Group photo of an Expert Algeria ciruit of the Sahara desert

Giraffe cave engraving in the Sahara, southern Algeria

Downtown Algiers with huge Algerian flag

Algerian Sahara: a loneome tree, 4X4 and sand

Oran overlooking the Med under a blue sky

ghardaia: the market square in this small desert town

The Algerian Sahara

Algerian Sahara with Expert Algeria travel agency

The Sahara amazes the first-time visitor with the variety of its landscapes.

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 it’s Djanet and the Tassili or Algerian Sahara with Expert Algeria travel agency

Tamanrasset and the Hoggar.

For much more information on holidays and vacations in the Algerian Sahara, please take a look at some our sample tours listed opposite, and visit our Spotlight on the Sahara pages.

Tamanrasset & The Hoggar

Tamanrasset is the remote Tuareg capital of the Hoggar (or Ahaggar) region of the Algerian Sahara, close to the massive volcanic field of Atakor, the jagged peaks of Taguerguiste and Tizouyag and the guelta of Afilal. To climb to the peak of nearby Assekrem as night falls is to witness one of the Sahara’s most beautiful sunsets.

Djanet & The Tassili

Algeria’s mountainous Tassili region, bordering Niger to the south, is distinguished by its towering dunes of sand, its sheer-sided canyons and its beguiling “forests of rock“. The Tassili – “plateau of the rivers” in Arabic – is also an open-air treasure-trove of more than 15,000 rock carvings and cave paintings.

Ghardaia & The M’Zab

Ghardaia is one of the pentapolis towns of the M’Zab Valley, about 60 minutes by plane from Algiers. Our Ghardaia itineraries visit the sites of the UNESCO World Heritage M’Zab, including the walled town of Beni Isguen – normally closed to foreigners – where the women, clad entirely in white, reveal only one eye to the outside world.

El Oued

El Oued – “city of a thousand domes” is one of the most bustling and colourful towns to be found anywhere in the Sahara.

Palace in The Sahara

The Palace at El Oued presents four-star luxury in the middle of the Sahara, an oasis of tranquility and colour, with grounds so rich and fertile that there is even an English-style garden! The dunes surrounding El Oued are home to verdant date oases, enormous sand roses and – believe-it-or-not – plantations of potatoes.

Timimoun

According to the Lonely Planet to Algeria, “If you can stop at only one of the oases around the Grand Erg Occidental, make it Timimoun. It’s an enchanting place, full of distinctive red mud buildings studded with wooden spikes, and surrounded by ancient villages”.