Tassili Desert Adventure, Algeria

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Tassili n'Ajjer is a mountain range in the Algerian section of the Sahara Desert. It is a vast plateau in south-east Algeria covering an area of 72,000 km2. The Tassili N’Ajjer UNESCO world heritage site covers a vast area of desert landscape, stretching from the Niger and Libyan border area, north and east of Djanet, as far as Illizi and Amguid. The Tassili is the biggest museum in open sky in the world, it is UNESCO World heritage, and the Tassili civilization was inhabited 5000 years before Egypt pharaohs.

The region, with Djanet at its heart, is distinguished by its towering dunes of sand, its sheer-sided canyons and its beguiling "forests of rock" - not to mention its old ksars, oases, palm groves, gueltas and natural springs
The Tassili n'Ajjer mountain range gained world fame after the discovery of ancient rock art in the 1930s. Over the years, more than 15000 petroglyphs and paintings were identified, as were a great number of archeological remains. With numerous stone tools and artifacts, ceramics, burial mounds, enclosures and general habitational remains, Tassili n'Ajjer has provided archeologists with a wealth of information about life in the region in Neolithic times. Therefore, it is considered one of the most important sites of prehistoric cave art in the world.

This six-days adventure uncovers the very best that Sahara offers. You'll travel into the heart of the desert where fertile oases contrast with vast sand dunes before flying back to the white capital Algiers and the chilled-out coastal city of Tipaza.

Highlights:
- The 15000 drawings and engravings in Tassili n'Ajjer, dating back to 6000 BC – UNECO world heritage site
- The white city of Algiers and its Casbah (UNECO world heritage site)

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrival in Algiers
Arrival and welcome at the Algiers airport. Panoramic tour of the city. Visit of the center of the town-The Martyr's Monument and the grand post office. Dinner and overnight in Algiers (B/L)

Day 2: Alger – Tipaza – Djanet
Visit the Kasbah (ancient part of the city in the center of the town), declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage. It is an architectural landmark with its narrow streets and jewels of Moorish art. Departure towards Tipaza ( 70 km from Algiers ) visit the site Tombs of the Christian "Tombaeu de la Chretienne" and the Roman site, another UNESCO World Heritage site. The Phoenicians founded their settlement there at the fifth century BC approximately. After being under the influence of Carthage, it became the Roman Tipaza, a city of art and home to the Greco-Roman civilization in North Africa. A magnificent Roman site, located around a promontory at the foot of capricious Jebel Chenoua. Dinner in Algiers and transfer to the airport for flight to Djanet AH6292 22h00 00h15. Arrival and transfer to hotel for a rest. ( B/L/D )

Day 3: Djanet – Tin Resou – El Berdje
Late wake up and departure to El Biredj. On the way with amazing views, we pass by Tin Resou with its famous painting depicting a lion hunt. You will be surprised to discover a universe of fantastic shapes in the landscape. Erosion has sculpted a wonderful landscape of columns and palaces, an incredible and diverse world of rock and sand formations. Dinner and overnight in a tent.

Day 4: El Berdje – Tinmerzuga
Starting from Tadrart plateau, today we will discover sandstone landscape, shapes carved by the time, with the huge sand dunes of different colors, visiting other traces of the prehistoric man and paintings from the Neolithic period. Dinner and overnight in tents at the food of the great dune in Tinmerzuga. ( B/L/D )

Day 5: Tinmerzouga – In Djaren
This diverse landscape will surprise us again. Today we will travel among rocky cliffs, valleys and caves, where the prehistoric man lived. On the walls of the caves are to be seen paintings of fauna and lifestyle of the early times.
We visit several places of rock painting and engravings while traveling along the left bank of the canyon. Dinner and overnight at the camp site around a large fire. ( B/L/D )

Day 6: In Djaren – Tighargharet – Djanet
After an amazing way in defferent land we have lunch and visit the changing landscape of Tighargharet, also the site known as "the crying cow". Visit the city center with the market. Transfer to the hotel. BBQ dinner with traditional music. Overnight at a hotel. ( B/L/D )

Day 7: Djanet - Dider - Ihrir
Breakfast and leave for Dider, visit a great site where prehistoric man lived and where he engraved many works of art on the rocks, lunch and continue to Ihrir, a Tuareg authentic village. Visit the gueltas (lakes) where crocodiles once lived «whether they are still among us, the mystery remains. Overnight in tents near the village in the Tassili National Park, declared as a World Heritage by UNESCO. ( B/L/D )

Day 8: Ihrir – Issendilen – Tikoubawine – Arg Admer – Djanet
In the early morning we leave for Issendilen, visit the canyon and gueltas (lakes) of Issendilene. In one of these valleys you will probably see a nomad camp. Lunch and visit Tikoubaouine, a fabulous setting in a maze of rocky peaks. We end our day in Arg Admer where we can enjoy the sand dunes. Dinner and overnight in the hotel. During this short stage you will already see some of the many different faces of the desert. ( B/L/D )

Day 9: Djanet – Algiers
About midnight transfer to the airport for a flight to Algiers AH6311 03h10 5h25. Arrival to Algiers and transfer to the hotel for rest. Lunch and panoramic visit in Algiers. ( B/L/D )

Day 10: Departure
Shopping time and Transfer to the airport, assistance to check in. ( B/L )

Visa: All European and North American citizens need a visa to visit Algeria. Please, contact the local Algerian Embassy in your country for visa application procedure and price. We will provide visa invitation. In order to issue this invitation, please, send to us a scanned coloured copy of your passport when ordering the trip.
Practical information: Bring cash EUR or USD as credit card facilities are almost non-existent. However few ATMs can be found in some of the major cities. Taking pictures of government facilities such as police, military, and government buildings is strictly prohibited. Also avoid taking pictures of people (especially women and including children) unless you have asked for permission. Women tourists should dress modestly.

Price Includes:
Accommodation according to itinerary in 3***&4**** hotels, 3 nights camping in individual tents
meals according to programme cook and camping equipment from day 3 to day 5
one bottle of mineral water per day, transportation according to the program in AC buses/mini-vans/cars or minivans and 4x4 vehicles in Djanet
entrance fees
English speaking local guide
Domestic flight round trip Alger-Djanet-Alger
visa invitation

Not Included:
international flight tickets
insurance
tips and personal expenses
drinks and meals not mentioned in the program
visa

Additional Services:
additional night at the hotel in Algier: on request

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