Treasures of Algeria

Fly from London; transfer to your hotel.

Spend your day sightseeing in the capital of Algeria. Visit the Casbah – Algiers’ labyrinthine medina and a UNESCO World Heritage Site – and the landmarks of the city centre, including the NotreDame d’Afrique, the Bardo National Museum and the seafront promenade. This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner at your hotel.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Early morning transfer to Algiers airport for your flight to Timimoun, the “Red Ochre City” in the Sahara, with its striking neo-Sudanese architecture. Visit the abandoned citadel of Ksar Draa and a local artisan market.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Full-day excursion around Timimoun, including the ancient foggara irrigation network, the Sebkha salt lake, the village of Aoulef and surrounding ksour (fortified villages), finishing with the sunset over the Grand Erg Occidental dunes.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Over 90 per cent of Algeria is covered by the Sahara Desert, and today you continue across this vast expanse, through the dunescape of the Grand Erg Occidental, to the city of Ghardaïa. En route, stop briefly at a ksar village and the tomb of Saint Charles de Foucauld. The journey time is seven hours, excluding stops.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Explore Ghardaïa and the surrounding M’zab Valley, including the city’s distinctive Ibadite architecture, market and minaret; and the fortified towns of Beni Isguen and Mélika.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Visit the last two of the M’Zab Valley’s “Pentapolis” towns, Bou Noura and El Atteuf, including a five-minaret mosque, troglodyte cemeteries and craft workshops. Afternoon at leisure.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Drive to Bou Saâda (six hours, excluding breaks), stopping en route in Laghouat for lunch and a visit to the town’s medina and mosque. Upon arrival, visit the old ksar and the Etienne Dinet Museum, dedicated to the eponymous 19th-century Orientalist painter.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Today, explore Bou Saâda’s palm grove, artisan workshops and lively local market, with your afternoon at leisure.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Pass through the Aurès mountains to Timgad, the UNESCO-listed ruins of an ancient Roman city, and its archaeological museum. Continue with a drive through the Ghoufi Canyon, whose rugged slopes are strewn with Berber cave dwellings, before arriving in Constantine.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

Named after the fourth-century Roman emperor, Constantine is considered the capital of eastern Algeria. Spend the day sightseeing, with visits to the gorgespanning El Kantara and Sidi M’cid bridges, the Palace of Bey Ahmed, the medina and covered markets, and the Cirta Museum – dedicated to the city’s Roman period.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Morning excursion to the Roman ruins of Tiddis, which perch over the Oued Rhumel gorge and feature baths, a temple, a necropolis and Latin inscriptions. Your afternoon is at leisure.

Meals: breakfast, dinner

Visit the UNESCO-listed Roman ruins of Djemila, including its forum, triumphal arch and archaeological museum. Continue west to Algiers, arriving in time for your farewell dinner.

Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner

After a morning at leisure, transfer to the airport for your flight.

Meals: breakfast