Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Algiers — The White City
Welcome to Algeria! Arrive at Algiers international airport and transfer to your hotel. Afternoon orientation walk through the UNESCO-listed Casbah of Algiers — the historic citadel quarter with its maze of narrow alleys, Ottoman palaces, whitewashed houses, and hidden courtyards. This is one of the world’s most atmospheric old quarters, where the scent of jasmine mingles with the sound of calls to prayer and the distant hum of the Mediterranean. Welcome dinner at a traditional restaurant with panoramic bay views. Overnight in Algiers. (D)
Day 2: Algiers Casbah, Cherchell & Tipaza
Morning deeper exploration of the Casbah — visit the 17th-century Ketchaoua Mosque, the Dar Aziza palace with its ornate wooden ceilings and ceramic tile work, and the Museum of Popular Arts housed in a former Ottoman mansion. Then drive west along the coast to Cherchell (ancient Caesarea), the capital of the Mauretanian kingdom under King Juba II. The Cherchell Museum holds one of Africa’s finest collections of Roman and Greek statuary — marble Apollo, Venus, and stunning mosaics. Continue to Tipaza, a UNESCO World Heritage site where Roman ruins meet the Mediterranean. Walk among the forum, amphitheater, and Christian basilica, all with the turquoise sea as backdrop. Sunset drive back to Algiers. Overnight in Algiers. (B, L)
Day 3: Fly to Ghardaia — M’Zab Valley
Morning flight south to Ghardaia, capital of the M’Zab Valley — a UNESCO World Heritage site of five fortified 11th-century towns built by the Ibadi community. The M’Zab represents one of humanity’s most remarkable examples of desert urban planning — self-contained, defensible towns organized around central mosques, with architecture perfectly adapted to the extreme Saharan climate. Spend the afternoon exploring Ghardaia, the largest of the five ksour, with its distinctive cubic houses, narrow shaded streets, and the legendary Mozabite souk where centuries-old trading traditions continue. Climb to a panoramic viewpoint for sunset over the valley — the five ksour glowing golden in the dying light. Overnight in Ghardaia. (B)
Day 4: M’Zab Valley — Beni Isguen & Palm Groves
Full day in the M’Zab. Visit Beni Isguen, the most traditional and strictly preserved of the five UNESCO towns, where ancient rules still govern daily life — the gates close at sunset, and the ancient stone market operates according to customs unchanged for centuries. Explore the sophisticated irrigation system that diverts the seasonal Oued M’Zab into thousands of garden plots in the palm groves below each ksar — an engineering marvel that has sustained life here for a millennium. Visit the Mozabite Museum to understand the unique Ibadi culture, their history of seeking refuge in this remote valley, and their deep commitment to community self-governance. Afternoon: walk through the palm groves, meeting date farmers and learning about the hundreds of varieties of dates grown here. Overnight in Ghardaia. (B, L)
Day 5: Fly to Djanet — Gateway to Tassili n’Ajjer
Morning flight from Ghardaia to Djanet, the oasis town at the edge of Tassili n’Ajjer National Park. The flight crosses some of the most spectacular desert scenery on Earth — vast sand seas, black volcanic mountains, and the sheer immensity of the central Sahara. In Djanet, meet your Tuareg guide team and transfer by 4×4 into the Tassili plateau. The landscape is immediately surreal — eroded sandstone formations in fantastic shapes, glowing orange and red in the late afternoon light. Set up camp in a sheltered location among the rocks. First Saharan sunset, first dinner under the stars, first Tuareg tea ceremony. Overnight in desert camp. (B, L, D)
Day 6: Tassili n’Ajjer — Prehistoric Rock Art & Sand Dunes
A day of wonder. Explore the Tin Merzouga area — red sand dunes sweeping against sandstone towers, and thousands of prehistoric paintings covering the rock shelters. The art spans 10,000 years of human history: the mysterious Round Head figures of the earliest period (12,000-8,000 BC), the vivid pastoral scenes of cattle and shepherds from the Bovidian Period (6,000-2,000 BC) when the Sahara was a green paradise, and the Horse and Camel periods showing the introduction of domesticated animals. Your Tuareg guide leads you to the best-preserved galleries and explains the rich symbolism — astronomical references, spiritual beliefs, and the story of human adaptation to climate change written on rock. Picnic lunch among the paintings. Afternoon hike through the “Forest of Rock” — corridors of sculpted sandstone. Sunset at a panoramic dune. Overnight in desert camp. (B, L, D)
Day 7: Djanet → Fly to Constantine — City of Bridges
Final Saharan sunrise in camp. Breakfast, then break camp and return to Djanet for the morning flight back north. The transition is dramatic — from the hyper-arid Sahara to the green Mediterranean climate. Arrive in Constantine, one of the world’s most spectacularly situated cities, built on a limestone plateau 200 meters above the Rhumel Gorge. Afternoon walk across the Sidi M’Cid Bridge — the 164-meter suspension bridge that spans the gorge, offering dizzying views straight down to the river. Visit the Ahmed Bey Palace, the most beautiful Ottoman palace in North Africa, with exquisite tile work, painted wooden ceilings, and a magnificent hammam. Sunset from the Monument aux Morts, perched on the edge of the gorge. Overnight in Constantine. (B)
Day 8: Timgad — Pompeii of Africa
Full-day excursion to Timgad (ancient Thamugadi), a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the most perfectly preserved Roman cities anywhere. Built by Emperor Trajan in 100 AD, Timgad was laid out on a perfect orthogonal grid — the quintessential Roman city plan. Walk under the 12-meter Trajan’s Arch, explore the 3,500-seat theater where performances still take place, visit the forum, the Capitoline Temple, and the public library — one of only a handful of known Roman libraries. The Cardo Maximus (main north-south street) is flanked by the remains of shops and houses with intact mosaic floors. Unlike so many Roman sites that have been built over, Timgad was simply abandoned and buried by Saharan sands for 1,300 years — emerging as the “Pompeii of Africa.” Return to Constantine. Overnight in Constantine. (B, L)
Day 9: Djemila — Mountain-Top Roman City
Morning drive through the Tell Atlas mountains to Djemila (ancient Cuicul), a UNESCO World Heritage site perched on a mountain spur at 900 meters elevation. Djemila means “beautiful” in Arabic, and the name couldn’t be more fitting. This is arguably North Africa’s most beautiful Roman site — a complete city with forum, temples, theater, markets, and Christian quarter, all set against a backdrop of mountains and olive groves. The mosaic museum houses some of the finest Roman mosaics ever discovered — vivid hunting scenes, mythological tableaus, and geometric patterns in colors that remain brilliant after 1,800 years. Explore the Temple of Septimius Severus, the Arch of Caracalla, the basilica and baptistery of the Christian quarter, and the house of Bacchus with its famous mosaic of the god of wine. Afternoon drive back to Constantine. Overnight in Constantine. (B, L)
Day 10: Return to Algiers — Jardin d’Essai & Farewell
Morning flight from Constantine back to Algiers. Afternoon: visit the Jardin d’Essai du Hamma, the magnificent 58-hectare botanical garden created in 1832 and modeled after the Jardin des Plantes in Paris. Stroll among tropical plants from around the world with views of the Bay of Algiers. Visit the Museum of Fine Arts adjacent to the garden, housing an impressive collection of Algerian and French Orientalist paintings. Late afternoon walk through the colonial center — the Grande Poste, the Boulevard architecture, and the waterfront. Farewell dinner at a fine restaurant featuring the best of Algerian cuisine — a celebration of the country’s staggering diversity you’ve experienced: Mediterranean, Saharan, Roman, Ottoman, and Berber. Overnight in Algiers. (B, D)
Day 11: Departure
After breakfast, transfer to Algiers international airport. You leave having experienced the full spectrum of Algeria — the Ottoman Casbah, the M’Zab Valley’s medieval towns, the prehistoric art of Tassili, Constantine’s bridge city, Tipaza and Djemila’s Roman grandeur. Few countries on Earth offer this breadth. (B)
