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Algeria - With the Tuareg trough the Desert

15 days in the Sahara (December 2022 / January 2023)

By Beyond All Maps - Portraits of our Planet by Thorsten Mehret

December 27^th, 2023

Motivation

Well, Algeria was honestly not a country I was very curious about. Although being the 10th biggest country in the world - but off the beaten tourist track -, not much is known about it. Generally, this is exactly what attracts me, but in this case, it just stayed under my radar. Nevertheless, in Jordan, Oman and Chad I learnt to love the desert - and Algeria has a lot of desert to offer! About 85% of its surface is covered by the Sahara, and the Hoggar Mountains are considered as one of the most beautiful desert areas on earth. Unfortunately, the area was still closed for tourist due to some disputes with the local Tuareg. Nevertheless, when I stumbled over a tour to the nearby but open Tassili n'Ajjer & Tadrart area, close to the Algerian borders to Libya and Niger, my interest aroused. The pictures were stunning, the tour operator desertreisen.de a specialist in desert tours and the owner Abdelkader Touhami even a Tuareg from the area, now living in Germany. A good omen, I decided, and booked for the first time ever a pure desert group tour. 15 days of exploring the area with the jeep, camping in the desert ... looked like a real adventure!

Facts

Inhabitants: around 45m
Size: 2.4m km² (10th biggest country on earth)
Capital: Algiers
Biggest City: Algiers, 4.5m inhabitants
Main Languages: Arabic, Tamazight, French
Currency: Dinar (DA)

Note: For a long time, the country had been almost sealed off from independent tourism. Getting a visa without a travel agency was almost impossible. Nevertheless, it seems this has slightly changed recently, so looking for the latest status is recommended.

Algeria - With the Tuareg trough the Desert

Itinerary

Well, the itinerary is rather simple: flying to Algiers, having a city tour, then in the evening flight to Djanet (via Tamanrasset), where the desert tour starts. Around one week exploring the Tassili n'Ajjer, then another week the Tadrart. Camping in tents, every day at another spot. Back from Djanet to Algiers, overnight in a hotel and then back to Frankfurt am Main the next day.

The Group

Who is crazy enough to book a desert camping tour, in the middle of winter, over Christmas time? Well, at least four Swiss, two Austrians and two Germans, including myself. Together with our well-travelled Austrian guide Martina and the local team, 13 people and 4 Toyota Landcruisers. In the picture below:

Muhammad, Christel, Ibrahim, Abdelkader, Molay, Lahssen, Pia, Doris

Thomas, Anita, Martina, Thomas

(Not myself, as I took the picture :)

Day 1 - Algiers

It's the first time I receive my passport with arranged visa right at the airport, before the flight, as it was organised by the travel agency. It was planned that way, but still a big relief, holding it finally in my own hands.

The flight to Algiers from Frankfurt am Main is without problems, and our local guide is already waiting for a city tour. But first we have lunch at a fish restaurant before we make our way to the city centre. It’s a long drive with many slow cars in front of us - much to the annoyance of our driver. No need to understand a word of Arabic to know his mood while driving.

Algeria had been colonised by France for 132 years, becoming independent only in 1962. Algiers, also called the White City, is still full off colonial buildings in the centre. It's unfortunately only a quick look we have due to the time available.

Day 2 - Stucked in Tamanrasset

Our flight to Djanet starts an hour late, and the planned short stop at Tamanrasset becomes a much longer one when there is a technical problem with the plane's engine. We have to leave the plane by 3:30 a.m. and wait in the lobby. It takes a while until it’s clear how it will go on: our flight will not go before the evening. Well, at least that gives us the chance to explore Tamanrasset.

You know that you are in the desert area when you are suddenly overtaken on the road by a Tuareg on a camel. We visit the local market and the livestock market a bit outside the city, a dusty but interesting experience.

We are glad when we get the message that the flight is finally scheduled for the late afternoon. It's already dark when we arrive at Djanet Airport, where our local team is already waiting for us, bringing us to the overnight camp outside the town. Fortunately, the tents are already set up.

Day 3 - Djanet

Not bad, waking up in the desert being greeted by the soft morning sun. For breakfast, we have even Nutella, vegetarian spread and "Leberwurst" from Germany. Together with fresh baguette and coffee from a French press, a good start. I didn’t expect that. After the tents are disassembled, we have a morning walk for about 45 min. to give the team some time to arrange everything in the car, before we are picked up on the way. This becomes our morning routine during the whole trip.

Djanet, with its 15,000 inhabitants, mostly Tuareg, is a pleasant desert oasis, especially compared to the ones in Chad I’ve experienced not long ago. We have a look around, also visiting the local market, before we set off to the desert.

Lunch, mostly some kind of salad and always delicious.

Our overnight camp today lies in a very scenic rocky area. I love how the late afternoon sun and the sunset constantly change the colours of the rocks.

Once the sun is down, it quickly gets cold, so after dinner we all gather around the fire, by far the best place - except for one's own sleeping bag. Temperatures around the freezing point are not uncommon during this time of the year.

Day 4

Yesterday, I already started feeling sick... but today it's worse: I have the classical symptoms of a strong cold. I'm worried that I caught a Covid infection... what would that mean for the trip, the whole group and me? A nightmare! Fortunately, the test is negative and we guess it came from the cold floor at the airport, on which I had slept for some hours. The crew collects some herbs which I should put in hot water. Cool, I think, some secret herbal desert tea... but Ugh! ... it tastes disgusting, extremely bitter. If medicine is the better the worse it tastes, this is the ultimate stuff! Although there's sufficient place in the four cars, Cristal decides to stay in "my" car. Ibrahim, our driver, anyway has no choice. I decide to wear a FFP2 mask inside the car, in order to limit the risk for the others to get infected. Still, Anita and Thomas in the other car, also start feeling symptoms.

The day is full of variety. We visit the rock art the area is famous for, some up to 12,000 years old. It can be separated into five periods: early rock art, round head period, pastoral period, horse period and camel period, the latter being the youngest one. In total, more than 15,000 paintings and engravings are recorded. Furthermore, we drive through different desert landscapes in an area called "Immouroude", and explore rock arches and slot canyons.

Day 5

For the ultimate desert adventure, I decide to sleep outside the tent tonight. A pretty cool feeling - and for scorpions and snakes it's too cold during the night, at least that’s what I hope for. Today, our mobile toilet seat shows up the last time, as none of us has had the intention to make use of it. Well, at least I have to pose on it for a photoshoot before it gets stored in a dark, lonely corner of one of our Landcruisers until the end of the trip.

More rock formations, arches and canyons.

We see several of these round structures during our trip. According to Martina, not much is known about them, but some say they indicate graves.

Today, we have one of the few slightly longer hikes during the trip to visit a Guelta, a narrow rock valley that contains a source of water. The green around stands in stark contrast with the yellow, reddish rocks in the area. On the way, we walk through a field of huge oleander scrubs. They are poisonous for the animals, which saves them from being eaten by the goats and camels in the area. Recalling a similar walk in Chad, when for the first time in my life I felt what real thirst means, I carry plenty of water this time. Fortunately, it get's by far not as hot.

A very intrusive visitor, we had good fun with.

Today, we camp for the first time in the dunes. I love the scenery, especially in the late afternoon and morning light.

Day 6

Enjoying a gorgeous morning atmosphere and walk through the desert.

After several days in the Tassili n'Ajjer with only a lick and a promise, we all long for a shower. To our delight, the route to Tamaraset leads right through Djanet. We seize the opportunity, and Muhammad arranges a visit in a bath house. Bath houses are not uncommon, as locals still use them. What a fantastic warm shower! Clean and refreshed, we are ready for the second part of the trip.

On the way to our overnight place, we visit some famous carvings from the pasture period.

Another gorgeous overnight place!

Day 7

Morning briefing.

Thomas with some of his countless sun and sand protection attempts. There was hardly a style he didn't try and I'm sure he invented several new styles during this trip.

Libya or Niger, which way to go?

Not the first and not the last flat tyre on the trip... but always quickly solved by the crew. For some wind protection in the cold desert nights, we camp today close to a rock wall.

Day 8

More engravings and I'm astounded by the good condition of the several thousand years old art.

Some of the rare vegetation in the area. Who would expect mushrooms in the desert? Well, who would expect sunbathing tourists in the desert? It's surprisingly fresh in the shade, even around lunchtime. It feels a bit like skiing holiday, enjoying the sun outside the ski hut.

Another stunning but bitterly cold night. The hot Tuareg tea we have every night, morning and at lunchtime is more than welcome. It's a strong green and sweet tea, brewed in a special way which includes several times pouring it from one pot into another. This way, it even becomes a kind of white froth like a beer. Typically, the tea is used for three brews. The Tuareg say: "The first brew is bitter like life, the second strong as love and the third soft as death." Who gets offered three cups is under the protection of the Tuareg. We get three cups every time and accordingly feel well protected.

Day 9

More rock art. The figures look really funny, like aliens, Minions or potato heads.

Burger Rock.

I loves the sand structures created by the wind, especially in the late afternoon sun, when the light and shadows emphasise the structures and ripples wonderfully. The area looks completely pristine. Neither footsteps nor car tracks.

Day 10 - Happy New Year

Probably one of the most remote places to celebrate New Year's Eve, one would assume. Yet Muhammad has changed the route slightly in order to avoid the crowds celebrating at Tin Merzouga, one of the most scenic places in the area and a local hot spot for New Year's Eve. I wonder why, as according to the Islamic calendar the New Year starts only in July 2023.

Today and the following days, we do lots of sand driving... to the delight of our drivers.

Occasionally, one of the cars gets stuck, but it never takes long to get it out again.

Finally, we reach Tin Merzouga, famous for its red sand dunes. Indeed, the area is stunning, and we decide to camp right in the dunes. Not too far from us, there is the camp of an Italien group, and we also see two expedition mobile homes. Indeed a busy place, considering the days before.

Day 11

Breakfast in the morning sun.

The area also offers some nice arches and stone sculptures.

Like liquid gold.

Day 12

Photo shooting in a slot canyon. Perfect light.

Day 13

Today, we leave the Tadrart, driving towards Djanet, where we have to catch our flight tomorrow back to Algiers. It will be our last desert camp.

Well, the flat, wide scenery was very tempting for a special photo shoot, reminding me on the Uyuni desert in Bolivia. There, such pictures are a standard event for every traveller group. It only requires some funny ideas about how to make use of the missing distance scale.

Day 14 and 15

After a pre-farewell with the crew, in the morning we drive to Djanet, to cover the time until our flight in the afternoon to Algiers. We visit the rather boring local museum, walk around the market and have a coffee while watching the busy street scene. In Algier, we spend our last night in a hotel, enjoying a pleasant and urgently needed shower, before we finally take our flight home.

Final Verdict

Definitely a great trip for all desert lovers, like myself. The scenery is spectacular and the different lightning conditions during the day and changing desert landscapes offer plenty of photo opportunities. I also enjoyed exchanging stories with my fellow travellers during the daily morning walk or the evening campfires. Yet the unmercifully cold after sunset creeped into our bodies, and by 8 p.m. or at the latest 9 p.m. everyone was longing for the warm sleeping bag waiting in the tent. One of my favourite moments was creeping out of the tent every morning, enjoying that beautiful morning atmosphere. The first sunrays bath the epic desert landscape in a golden glow, giving this pleasant feeling of warmth on one's skin, despite the surrounding cold morning air, while the camp slowly springs to life.

Nevertheless, after ten days I started to feel a bit bored, as compared to my other trips -including the desert stays in Oman and Chad - there was very limited diversion. So for an exclusive desert trip I would opt next time for a shorter variant, like eight or nine days, or combine it with some other sightseeing or cultural activities like in the trips mentioned above. Well, let’s see where my next desert trip goes to!

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