Tour guides Algeria

5 ideas for guided tours in Algeria

• Algiers

  

  Algeria’s capital is a city full of charm, which smells good the sea air of the Mediterranean ports. In the alleys of its kasbah, which spreads out along the hill, you will discover, enchanted, beautiful white houses through its numerous small alleys, which made the reputation of the city. At the seaside, the Martyrs square is lined with old buildings in Haussmann style, where Algerians come to walk and take a break on the shaded terraces.

  Go and visit its beautiful monuments such as Notre-Dame d’Afrique, one of the last basilicas of the African continent, the Ketchaoua Mosque, often remodeled (its construction dates back to 1436), or one of its palaces, truly joyful, such as the Dar Aziza house or the Palais des Raïs complex. To admire the whole panorama of the bay of Algiers, you will be able to climb on the Saint-Raphael balcony in El-Biar.

• Kabylia

  

  Kabylia is a region in the north of Algeria, located at the foot of a mountain range that runs along the sea. Its population is mainly composed by the Berber people. It is usually divided into two large areas.

  – The great Kabylie: around Tizi Ouzou, you will go on beautiful outings to reach the crests of the Djurdjura, where the mountains sometimes exceed 2 000 meters. You will pass by lakes and forests, and discover small villages that still practice an authentic craft. However, be careful: ask for information before going through this part of Kabylia, or have an Algerian tour guide accompany you for maximum safety.

  – Little Kabylia: visit the beautiful city of Bejaia, on the Mediterranean coast. You will quickly reach the Place du 1er Novembre (ex Place Geydon), from where you will enjoy a view on the sea front, and where everyone likes to come and have a drink.

  From there, you will reach the fort Moussa, then the kasbah. From Bejala, there is no shortage of hikes. The National Park of Gouraya, with the diversity of its landscapes, attracts each year more than one million visitors, who come to recharge their batteries in the middle of an incomparable diversity of flora and fauna. One can observe macaques, lynx and jackals. Less known, the Park of Taza will also seduce the greatest number with the fairy beaches of Jijel.

• Tlemcen

  

  The capital of Arab-Andalusian music has known how to mix, through its history, all kinds of cultures. Located near the Moroccan border, the pearl of the Maghreb has a multitude of possible visits. The citadel of El Mechouar Palace is of great renown. The building, which dates from the 13th century, is a jewel of the Zianides constructions, Berber dynasty which reigned on the region during this time.

  To appreciate all the beauty of the city, go to the plateau of Lalla Setti, which dominates the city of Tlemcen. Here, at the top of a hill 800 meters high, which can be reached by cable car or bus, a beautiful space has been created, with gardens for children and a small forest, called “the forest of the little partridge”.

  On the way down, visit the ruins of Mansourah, which was a real city built by the Sultan of Fez at the end of the 13th century, who came to take over the city. There are still some ramparts, and a famous minaret. A little outside the city is a natural site of beauty: the waterfalls of El Ourit, and just next door, the caves of Ain Beni Add, which contain stalactites and stalagmites that are 65 000 years old.

• Anaba

  

  Anaba — Algeria’s fourth largest city, once known as Hippo Regius — sits in the northeast, not far from Tunisia. People say it dates back to 1300 B.C., maybe earlier. But what you see now is something else. A mix. Fragments of the past folded into a living city. Streets alive with noise. Open squares where people linger. And beyond, flat plains drifting down to the sea.

  The coast is close, always. Quiet, too. Beaches like Sidi Salem, Vedro, Ain Achir — mostly locals. Above it all, Mount Edoughune rises. The trail isn’t easy, but it doesn’t rush you either. At the top, the view unfolds. The whole city, almost still. And if you’re drawn to old stories, the Basilica of Saint Augustine waits on a hill. He lived here once, between 396 and 430. The building came much later. The silence, though — still here.

• Tamanrasset

  

  For something wilder, head south. Tamanrasset, deep in the Hoggar Mountains, right where the Sahara begins.

  Out here, the desert spreads without end. Dunes that go on for hours. Stones shaped by wind, by time. Tracks that only 4x4s can follow, all the way to small, green pockets — the oases. You don’t find them, exactly. You reach them.

  There’s a lot to take in. The Atakor massif, for one — highest volcanic range in the region. Strange shapes, colors that don’t always make sense. You walk through canyons, past carvings cut into stone. As if the place were telling its story in bits and pieces. Like an open-air museum that never needed walls.