Day 1: Arrive Algiers
Arrive Algiers. Afternoon: Casbah walking tour, Ketchaoua Mosque, Dar Aziza. Evening: seafood dinner on the waterfront. Overnight Algiers.
Day 2: Algiers to Djanet — Gateway to Tassili
Morning flight to Djanet (2.5 hours) — a palm-shaded oasis town in southeastern Algeria, the gateway to Tassili n’Ajjer. Afternoon: explore Djanet’s old town, visit the local market where Tuareg traders sell silver jewelry, leather goods, and tagelmusts (indigo-dyed head wraps). Meet your Tuareg guide team and 4×4 drivers. Briefing on the desert expedition. Overnight in a simple hotel or camp near Djanet.
Days 3-7: Tassili n’Ajjer — 5-Day Desert Expedition
Five immersive days exploring the Tassili plateau by 4×4 and on foot. Day 3: drive through Erg Admer — vast orange sand dunes rising 200m, with Tuareg guides who have known these paths for generations. First rock art sites: see the famous ‘Crying Cows’ — Neolithic paintings (6,000-4,000 BC) depicting cattle with exaggerated horns, evidence that the Sahara supported pastoral societies when it was a green savanna. Camp under the stars. Day 4: explore the Sefar region — the ‘City of Stone,’ a labyrinth of sandstone pillars, arches, and canyons so vast it’s considered the largest open-air museum of prehistoric art in the world. Paintings here include the ‘Great God of Sefar’ — a 6m-high figure that is one of the most enigmatic works of prehistoric art. Day 5: Tadrart Rouge — the ‘Red Mountains’ of southern Tassili, with dunes the color of burnt orange lapping against black volcanic peaks. More rock art: giraffes, elephants, rhinoceros — animals that disappeared from the Sahara 5,000 years ago. Day 6: canyon hikes through gueltas (permanent water holes) where you might spot the last remaining Saharan crocodiles — relic populations that have survived here since the Wet Sahara period. Day 7: return to Djanet. Afternoon at leisure in the oasis. Farewell dinner with the Tuareg team. Overnight Djanet.
Day 8: Djanet to Algiers
Morning flight to Algiers. Afternoon: visit the Bardo National Museum (Roman mosaics and Tuareg artifacts), followed by the Museum of Modern Art. Evening: farewell dinner in Algiers. Overnight Algiers.
Day 9: Departure
Transfer to Algiers Airport.
