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Many old Algeria hands will fondly remember what I called the 470-km Graveyard Piste from Hassi bel Guebbour (‘HbG’) to Illizi, just before the epic Fadnoun plateau crossing to Djanet. We first did it in 1990 and, with a combination of dunes, jebels, nomads and wells, it added up to the best 1000km of off-roading […]
Exped 233; a 700-km walk from the Eye of the Sahara to Nouakchott by Simon Cope December 2025-January 2026 The Richat Structure, often called the ‘Eye of Africa’ is a prominent circular geological feature at the northwestern edge of the Taoudeni Basin, on the Adrar Plateau of the Sahara. The structure gained international attention in the 1960s when astronauts spotted it from […]
Part of the Sahara A to Z series See also:Mysterious circlesInteresting academic documentNick Brooks’ photos (Western Sahara)Archeoland / Sahara loads of images and downloads As on previous occasions, the route of our camel trek through the Immidir will rest a day at Aguelmam Rahla, a reliable waterhole at the mouth of the Oued Tafrakrek canyon (blue line on […]
Algeria country page ALGERIALonely Planet, 2026 336pp £14.99Buy discounted on amazon Eighteen years after the first edition (review), original author Anthony Ham returns with new co-authors to give this huge country another sweep. In that time guidebook sales have collapsed, but by all means knock yourself out online trying to collate the broad spread of […]
See also:Trans Sahara Highway Over the span of some 2300km, along Algeria’s southern perimetre two largely straight lines (below) radiate northwest to Tindouf and northeast to the Salvador-Anai border tripoint. They mark Algeria’s desert frontier with Mali and Niger. For decades as porous as a string vest, they’re crossed by the original trans Sahara routes […]
High Atlas Traverse page The 900km High Atlas Traverse is now online with the maop getting 1000 views a day. Download the gpx files at the link above. The H.A.T is like the TMT: quiet backroads and mostly easy trails – but it follows the mountain watershed via the highest motorable passes. Only about 15% […]
For centuries camels were the way to go in the Sahara. Introduced from Arabia around 0AD, they proved to be ideally adapted to transporting heavy loads without needing water (providing they was daily herbage or straw). A couple of centuries ago huge caravans numbering thousands of camels would transport salt, slaces or sold from the […]
In early 2025 we pulled off a deserted new road and headed across the sands to camp at the foot of Mt Tiska. I’d been looking forward to this moment for nearly 40 years. My first view of Tiska’s distinctive but distant conical form was from Djanet’s old aerodrome way back in 1987. As I […]
Part of the Sahara A to Z series For travellers who don’t expect to be making a lifetime of Sahara travel and haven’t got limitless funds, jerricans provide the simple answer to increasing your vehicle’s range. Available sometimes still unused from military surplus outlets for around £10, they make reliable and robust fuel containers. The standard steel […]