Southern Algeria travel

By “south”, what is really meant is the desert and everything stretching south of the Atlas Mountains, which covers the vast majority of Algerian territory – over 2 million km² (770,000 square miles). Two vast dune mountain ranges stretch out in a sweeping arc: the Grand Erg Occidental, along the edge of which lie the oases of Ghardaïa, El Goléa, Timimoun, Beni Abbès and Taghit; the Grand Erg Oriental, on either side of which are the rock formations that serve as hydrocarbon reservoirs (notably at Hassi Messaoud, In Amenas and Edjeleh). Further south, you reconnect with the Sahara and the Great South of Algeria: the desert, the real one, the legendary one. The vast sandstone plateau of Tassili n'Ajjer endlessly blends powdery sand, with its colossal formations and majestic rocks. Today, people travel more freely in southern Algeria, from the small oasis of Djanet to Essendilène and Iherir, passing through the Afara desert and the Erg Admer. In the desert, the night sky may be the most breathtaking spectacle of nature. Read more