Why Go?Africa’s largest country lies just a short hop from Europe and, with tourists still a novelty, offers attractions as unpeo-pled as they are varied. The capital, Algiers, is one of the Maghreb’s most urbane and charismatic cities, with a heady, nostalgic mix of colonial and modernist architecture, and a traditional medina at its vertiginous heart. Across the north are stunning coastlines, lush rural hinterland and a number of well-preserved Roman cities.

Algeria’s trump card is, though, its extraordinary Saharan region. Whether it’s a glimpse of the sand seas that surround Timimoun, or a plunge headlong into the far south from Tamanrasset, these are the desert landscapes of dream and legend.

Perhaps best of all, Algerians welcome visitors with warmth and a genuine curiosity. For accessible adventure and a complex, enthralling cultural odyssey, head for Algeria now.

Algeria POP 37.4 MILLION

When to Go

Nov–Apr Less fierce tempera-tures = high sea-son in the Sahara (the autumn date harvest a bonus).

Mar–Jul The north literally blooms in spring; warm, dry days for exploring sprawl-ing Roman sites.

Aug Oran’s an-nual Raï festival and Ramadan.

F DNOSAJJMAMJ

Algiers°C/°F Temp

0/32

10/50

20/68

30/86

40/104

Rainfall inches/mm

0

4/100

8/200

12/300

16/400

20/500

Best Places for History¨¨ Algier’s Casbah (p47)

¨¨ Beni Isguen (p50)

¨¨ Tipaza (p49)

¨¨ Djanet (p51)

Best Places to Stay¨¨ Residence des Deux Tours

(p50)

¨¨ Hotel Ksar Massine (p51)

¨¨ Royal Hotel (p49)

Algiers ......................... 45Northern Algeria ......... 49Central Algeria ............ 50Southern Algeria ..........51Understand Algeria ..... 52Survival Guide ............. 54

©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd

ALGIERS%021 / POP 5 MILLION

Algiers (Al-Jazair) never fails to make an impression. This is a city of rare beauty and of thrilling, disorientating, and sometimes brutal, contrast. The country’s turbulent his-tory is writ large in the city’s richly textured architecture: wide French-built boulevards and elegant apartments and villas, Socialist-era monuments and public buildings, and an enduring Islamic heart secreted in the steep,

hillside Casbah. Labyrinthine streets spill down to the big blue of the Bay of Algiers, sea and sky and green ravines glimpsed at every step. Though people often spend just enough time in Algiers to organise an on-ward journey, it’s a fascinating place well worth at least a couple of days’ exploration.

1¨SightsMuch of the enjoyment to be had in Al-giers comes from clambering up its steep streets, strolling in the parks and taking in

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M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A

A T L A N T I C

AlkoumTin

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Hazoua

AbbèsBeni

Skikda

Illizi

AssamakkaTessalit

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Souq Ahras

In Guezzam

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Ghadhames

MessaoudHassi

Tébessa Sousse

AnnabaJijelBéjaïa

Mostaganem

ZaouataniazDjanet

Oujda

MessaoudaBordj

In Amenas

El-Goléa

Figuig

El-Bayadh`Ain Sefra

Beni OunifBéchar

Taghit

Adrar

Reggane AoulefIn Salah

Borj Mokhtar

Amguid

Arak

In Eker

Tamanrasset

Nefta Tozeur

BatnaSétif

Constantine

Bou SaadaBiskra

El-OuedTouggourt

Ouargla

Laghouat

Djelfa

Oran

Tlemcen

Tindouf

Casablanca

DjemilaTimgad

MountainsHoggar

S a h a r a n A t l a s

T e l l A t l a s

Tassili N'Ajjer

Grand ErgOriental

OccidentalGrand Erg

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ALGIERS

Assekrem

Timimoun

Ghardaïa

0 400 km0 250 miles

1 experience ‘la Blanche’, the country’s fascinating capital, Algiers (p45), where modern, traditional and colonial Algeria meet.

2 Strike out into the dunes of the Grand erg Occidental

from the red oasis of Timimoun (p50).

3 Watch the sun set beyond a sea of mountains and sleep under the stars in Assekrem (p51).

4 Bargain for a boldly patterned carpet in the main square of Ghardaïa (p50), peek at a pristine medieval town then swimming in the shade of date palms.

Algeria Highlights