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Regarded once as the granary of Rome, Algeria offers to contemplate many vestiges of the Old Empire.

The Roman ruins
The Roman ruins of Djemila, Timgad, Tipasa and Cherchell are remarkably preserved and worth a visit depth. Tipasa, on the coast at 70 km west of Algiers, can combine the discovery of ruins and a bathing on the beach. Djemila, located 40 km south-west of Setif, is undoubtedly the most impressive site by its location in the mountains. Timgad, east of Constantine, applies to the incredible architectural plan of this Roman city founded by Trajan.

The cave paintings Ajjer
The mysterious carvings and rock paintings of tassili Ajjer, in the Djanet region, are pure and wonders come from the bottom of the ages. It will in particular sites Jabbaren, Tamrit and Sefar, accessible hiking with a guide from Djanet. Some paintings dating back to 8 000 years, a majority of nearly 5000 years. They show the daily lives of inhabitants of the region at a time when the Sahara was still wooded and crossed many rivers. It sees pastors leading their herds, hunters hippopotamus … Some paintings were works of art.

Pottery
In Algeria, pottery is different from one region to another, as a result of various influences it has been throughout history. If the manufacturing steps are substantially the same, the result is far from identical. In Kabylie, for example, pottery, decorated with motifs and dyed red. To the south of Adrar, there are objects of original forms and black. The pottery in Mountains of Nementcha are shaped in the clay-toned rose and decorated with brown drawings. Initially, the objects were made by family and exchanged between neighbours. Today you can find one for sale across the country.

The music
The music is of particular importance in the Algerian daily life. It accompanies every event of life, whether happy or unhappy. Among other things, you’ll find the Arab-Andalusian music and its derivative the Malouf, the Bedouin singing, music of Tuareg regions in Tamanrasset and Djanet and raï is particularly popular with young people.

Carpets
Each region has its style. They differ in their motives and their colours but their composition varies little. Generally, carpets are made with wool sheep, sometimes mixed with goat hair to obtain more robust thread. Each year in March, the town of Ghardaia, located 600 km south of Algiers, is organizing a big party of carpets. The opportunity for many weavers to meet, to present their works and participate in competitions. Other events about carpets take place especially in Ain El Hammam.

Compared to large number of animal species that inhabit Algeria a century ago, wildlife in the country seems very poor today. That said, you may still be lucky to see a sheep or storks if you visit the country in winter.

Hunting
The magnificent forests are home to a rich Algeria game, especially with wild boar hunting is one of the hobbies of people in the region of Algiers, Oran and Constantine. The Algerian national office of tourism and some private agencies can organize at request, the hunts in the woods

The flora
The Algeria has a Mediterranean climate in the North and a Saharan climate in the South. The same goes for vegetation. In the north, you will find mostly cedar, pine, heather, trees and several species of oak trees such as oak and cork oak. The highlands are covered with alfa, also known as grass and can be used in the manufacture of ropes. The Eastern Saharan has cypress, térébinthes and palm trees.

The fauna
The southern Algeria, largely desert, home to wildlife made up largely of gazelles, jerboas, sand cats, cheetahs, porcupines and lizards. On the hills, in the Hoggar cliffs, you encounter sheeps. The stagnant water points are infested with mosquitoes. In the north of the country are populated by striped hyenas, foxes, weasels, wild cats, hares, wild boars and jackals. The macaque monkey prefers forested areas. In winter, Algeria became the home of some migratory birds in Europe, like storks. Finally, the animals you come across most often in Algeria are the dromedary, locally known as camel (or méhari), sheep, goat and horse.

Algiers
The capital Algiers, (Al-Djazaïr its Arabic name), founded in 960, is among the most beautiful cities in the Arab world, even if the settlement has destroyed many of its former Moorish palace, replaced by a seafront which overlooks a beautiful bay. Algiers takes its incomparable charm of having pushed on hills interspersed with valleys, leaving prospects impregnable that one discovers the detour path switchbacks and alleys of stone stairs. Its labyrinthine although very dilapidated, retains all its originality and superb Ottoman houses. The Great Mosque of Algiers is a superb example of Islamic Almoravid architecture style, while the National Museum of Antiquities and the Ethnographic Museum of Bardo are places of interest.

Constantine
Constantine in the east, perched at the outlet of vertiginous gorges Rummel. It owes its name to the Roman Emperor Constantine who build many buildings. Traditional, austere, it is the bastion of Arab culture and Islam. Its mosque Abd El-Kader, headquarters of the University of Islamic Sciences, is one of the largest in Africa.

Oran
Oran is the second largest city. Active and dynamic, focused around its port with multiple commercial and industrial activities. The influence of Spanish, who occupied the city for nearly three centuries, is visible in many buildings in the Spanish-Moorish style. If the promenade on the seafront is not unpleasant, it nevertheless preferable to stay in Tlemcen, 90 km away. Nestled at the foot of the highlands of the Saharan Atlas, belted with a bucolic vegetation, this ancient Muslim city, founded by the Almoravids, is a particularly attractive old city dotted with numerous mosques in refined style, where it is good place to stroll.

Tamanrasset
Called Tam, a single syllable well summarizing the sweetness of life of this city buried in the infinite blond Algerian Sahara. And those who are left to surprises: Tamanrasset is no longer the small town of yesterday. The city and its 70,000 souls has expanded into the arid Hoggar, through the process of irrigation, far beyond the oasis. The first urban crossroads in Algeria where the Nigerian border bears the rank of administrative capital of the region. Also military reserve, it is inhabited by officials and central areas are a garrison base.

For the traveler, Tam is the first gateway to the Tassili of the Hoggar and the starting point for excursions to Assekrem. The city deserves two-day visit. Taste the old-fashioned charm and ambiance who wins the streets at any hour. Tam is the lair of Hitzit, “those who hold the walls” mischievous expression designating inactivity. The curious could visit the hermitage of Brother Charles de Foucauld and the monastery of Little Brothers of Jesus.

The Algerian coast, stretching nearly 1,200 km along the Mediterranean, is home to beaches that are both smiling and busy, such as the club holiday Tipaza, built by the architect Le Corbusier, or that of Zeralda , which also includes a replica of nomadic village.

The Turquoise Coast
To the east of Algiers, the “Turquoise Coast” is home to beautiful rocky coves and sandy beaches lined with vegetation typically Mediterranean cypress, cork oaks and olive trees. A thirty kilometres from Algiers, Sidi Ferruch peninsula has a marina and offers great opportunities for underwater fishing. At the moment, this is an area where access is guarded by the military, a veritable enclave of peace and gentleness where young lovers spend quiet moments.

The Coast of Oran
In the region of Oran, there are several resorts with hotels well-equipped, in terms of water sports and where you can dance to the sound of traditional orchestras.

The Sahara, which covers 90% of the total land area, is one of the most beautiful deserts in the world. Neither flat or monotonous, it offers multiple and changing landscapes. This is the area of Tuareg, nomadic tribes of Berbers with mixed african blood that have haughty look and roam the desert.

The M’Zab
In the region M’Zab, gateway to the Grand Sud, Mozabites, the puritans of Islam, founded the holy cities of Beni Izguen, El Ateuf, Bou Noura, Melika and Ghardaia.

Major ergs
Features, the deserts of golden dunes that undulate to infinity in the Western Grand Erg oases around Beni Abbes, Timimoun and El Golea, or the dunes of the Eastern Grand Erg , in Souf region, accessible from El Oued.

The Tassili of Ajjer
A very popular, Tassili of Ajjer, vast plateau strewn with rocky canyons in lunar landscaped. It can be reached by trekking, 4 x 4 or camel from the oasis of Djanet.

The Assekrem
Perched at 2180 metres altitude, the summit of Black Hoggar mountains, Assekrem could have been an eagle’s nest. Fate has chosen to make it a hermitage. For nearly 30 years that two brothers Alain and Edouard, discreetly share this wonderful landscape, offering their visitors, at best, when weather permits, a panorama unbeatable on Tahat, the highest peak of Algeria, with a glass of tea and some biscuits. This bracket hospitality in a world of drought where temperatures are extreme. Their monastic life is dedicated to Charles de Foucauld, the founding father of their congregation, who spent five months in Assekrem before being murdered by looters in Tamanrasset, 80 km away.
To reach Assekrem, 4×4 will easily climb to the summit where you can spend the night. It takes five hours by road. From there a trail carved into the rock leads to the chapel (15 minutes of ascent easy). Hours most frequented by a few handfuls of tourists, are those from sunrise and sunset.

The northern mountains
The mountains, forests and villages of Kabylie and Aures are best to see in spring or fall, when vegetation is full of vivid colors. The Kabylie, accessible from Tizi Ouzou, is home to the bulk of the Djurdjura, where some ski run in winter. The Aures, south of Constantine has magnificent gorges, particularly in the region of Batna.