Algeria

Algeria States

Authoritative travel guides to the states of Algeria — history, culture, food, attractions and how to visit.

Quick answer

Algeria is divided into 58 states (wilayas). This page lists all 58 with their capital, state number and region; 17 currently have a full travel guide on this site, with more in progress.

State travel guides

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Algiers

Algiers (El Djazaïr) is Algeria's capital and largest city — a Mediterranean port famous for its UNESCO-listed Ottoman Casbah, white tiered waterfront, French-colonial boulevards, the vast new Great Mosque of Algiers, and grand monuments like Notre-Dame d'Afrique and the Maqam Echahid. It's the country's main gateway and a city best explored on foot, with a guide for the Casbah.

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Annaba

Annaba is a Mediterranean port city in the far north-east of Algeria, near the Tunisian border. Built beside the ancient Roman city of Hippo Regius — where Saint Augustine was bishop — it is known for the hilltop Basilica of St Augustine, the ruins of Hippo, a string of turquoise coves and beaches below the wooded Edough massif, and a lively seafront and old centre.

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Batna

Batna is a highland state in eastern Algeria, the gateway to the Aurès mountains and the Chaoui Amazigh heartland. Its headline sight is the UNESCO Roman city of Timgad — the most complete Roman grid-city anywhere — alongside the ancient mausoleum of Imedghassen and the dramatic gorges and cedar forests of the Aurès.

kabylie

Béjaïa

Béjaïa is a coastal state in Kabylie where the Djurdjura mountains plunge straight into the Mediterranean. It's known for Gouraya National Park, the clifftop Cap Carbon lighthouse, the scenic Corniche beaches, deep Kabyle (Amazigh) culture, the dramatic Kherrata gorges, and a layered history — including its medieval role in transmitting Arabic numerals to Europe and the pivotal Soummam Congress of 1956.

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Blida

Blida is a state in north-central Algeria at the foot of the Tell Atlas, just south-west of Algiers. Long nicknamed the 'City of Roses', it sits between the fertile orchards of the Mitidja plain and the cedar forests of Chréa — a national park with winter snow and Barbary macaques — and is known for its orange groves, its Ottoman-era old town and the dramatic Chiffa gorges.

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Bou Saada

Bou Saada is an oasis town on the edge of the Sahara in M'Sila state, long nicknamed the 'City of Happiness'. A historic gateway between the High Plateaus and the desert, it is known for its palm grove and oued, the historic Ferrero Mill, its craft markets, the legacy of the painter Nasreddine Dinet, and the nearby Sufi shrine of El Hamel.

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Constantine

Constantine is a highland state in north-eastern Algeria built around one of the most dramatic city sites in the world — a rock plateau split by the deep Rhumel gorge and stitched together by soaring bridges. Ancient Cirta, a Numidian and Roman capital, it is known as the 'City of Bridges', with the Ahmed Bey Palace, the Cirta Museum and a strong tradition of malouf music.

sahara

Djanet

Djanet is a desert state in Algeria's far south-east, the Tuareg gateway to the Sahara at its most spectacular. It is the base for the UNESCO Tassili n'Ajjer plateau and its prehistoric rock art, and for the red sandstone and dunes of the Tadrart — a region of guided 4x4 journeys, desert camps and some of the clearest night skies on Earth.

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Ghardaïa

Ghardaïa is the gateway to the M'Zab Valley — a group of five fortified oasis towns built by the Ibadi Mozabites from around the 11th century and inscribed by UNESCO in 1982. Its tiered, pyramidal towns, palm groves and arcaded markets are among Algeria's most distinctive sights, and the easiest base from which to explore the valley.

Eroded sandstone pinnacles on the Tassili n'Ajjer plateau in southern Algeria

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Illizi

Illizi is a vast desert state in the far south-east of Algeria, covering much of the Tassili n'Ajjer — a UNESCO-listed sandstone plateau holding one of the greatest concentrations of prehistoric rock art on earth, alongside eroded rock forests, canyons and dunes. It is visited between November and February, with a licensed operator, a guide and permits.

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Mostaganem

Mostaganem is a coastal state on the western Mediterranean of Algeria, east of Oran. A historic port with an Ottoman past, it is known for its long sandy beaches, the old quarter of Tigditt, the Bordj Ettork fortress, a rich theatrical tradition, and the fertile farmland of the Dahra and the Chelif plain behind the coast.

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M'Sila

M'Sila is a highland state on the Hodna plain in central-eastern Algeria, holding two very different landmarks: Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad, the ruined 11th-century Hammadid capital inscribed by UNESCO in 1980, and Bou Saada, the classic oasis town on the northern edge of the Sahara. It is the natural bridge between the Tell and the desert.

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Oran

Oran is Algeria's vibrant second city — a Mediterranean port on the west coast with a strong Spanish and Andalusian imprint, the birthplace of raï music, the Spanish-built Santa Cruz fort above the bay, a lively seafront, and easy access to the Andalusian heritage of Tlemcen and the western beaches.

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Sétif

Sétif is a highland state in north-eastern Algeria, best known for Djémila — one of the world's best-preserved Roman cities and a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1982. It sits at around 1,100 m on the High Plateaus, has a cool four-season climate, the cedar forests of Babor, the landmark Ain El Fouara fountain, and a defining place in Algeria's road to independence.

sahara

Timimoun

Timimoun is a Saharan state in south-western Algeria, the 'Red Oasis' at the heart of the Gourara. It is famous for its red Sudanese-style architecture, vast palm groves watered by the ancient foggara channel system, fortified ksour, a great salt lake (sebkha), and the Ahellil — a polyphonic Gourara song recognised by UNESCO as intangible heritage.

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Tipaza

Tipaza is a coastal state on the Mediterranean just west of Algiers, best known for its UNESCO World Heritage Roman ruins set right on the sea. It pairs ancient sites — Tipaza's archaeological park, the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania and the Roman capital of Cherchell — with beaches, fishing harbours and an easy day-trip distance from the capital.

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Tlemcen

Tlemcen is a western highland state near the Moroccan border, the cultural capital of Andalusian Algeria. Once a great medieval royal city, it preserves the Great Mosque, the Mansourah minaret, the El Mechouar palace and the shrine-complex of Sidi Boumediene, set among cool plateaus, the El Ourit waterfalls and a living tradition of Andalusian music.

All 58 states of Algeria

Every one of Algeria's 58 states, grouped by region, with its capital, official state number and what the state is known for. States with a full travel guide are outlined in gold.

North-Central Tell 7 states

The Mediterranean heartland around the capital — Algiers, the Mitidja plain and the central coast.

9 Blida Capital: Blida The 'City of Roses' at the foot of the Blideen Atlas, with the cedar forests and ski slopes of Chréa National Park rising directly above the Mitidja plain. Full guide ↗

10 Bouira Capital: Bouira Southern Kabylie beneath the Djurdjura massif, with the peaks and cedar forest of Tikjda, deep gorges, and Amazigh villages on the mountain slopes.

16 Algiers Capital: Algiers The white Mediterranean capital — the UNESCO-listed Casbah above a great bay, French colonial boulevards, the Great Mosque, and the country's museums, port and political centre. Full guide ↗

26 Médéa Capital: Médéa The Titteri highlands south of Algiers: an Ottoman-era town on a plateau, surrounded by vineyards, cork oak and the rugged country of the Tell Atlas.

35 Boumerdès Capital: Boumerdès The coast immediately east of Algiers — beaches, the old Ottoman port of Dellys, and the wooded hills where the Kabylie mountains begin.

42 Tipaza Capital: Tipaza UNESCO-listed Roman ruins on the Mediterranean shore, with the Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania on the ridge above and the museum of ancient Caesarea at Cherchell.

44 Aïn Defla Capital: Aïn Defla The middle Cheliff valley beneath the Zaccar mountains, an agricultural heartland with thermal springs and forested slopes on either side of the river.

Kabylie 3 states

The Amazigh mountain-and-coast region east of Algiers: the Djurdjura, Tizi Ouzou and the Béjaïa–Jijel coast.

6 Béjaïa Capital: Béjaïa Where the Kabylie mountains fall into the Mediterranean: Gouraya National Park, the cliffs of Cap Carbon, the Corniche beaches and a port city with Hammadid and Andalusian layers. Full guide ↗

15 Tizi Ouzou Capital: Tizi Ouzou The heart of Kabylie beneath the Djurdjura: Amazigh villages on the ridges, olive groves and pottery workshops, and the strongest living centre of Kabyle language and song.

18 Jijel Capital: Jijel A dramatic Kabyle coastline of limestone cliffs and coves, with the Corniche road, the caves at Ziama Mansouriah and the forests and beaches of Taza National Park.

Eastern Algeria & the Aurès 13 states

The Constantinois and Aurès: Constantine, Sétif, Annaba and the Roman north-east.

4 Oum El Bouaghi Capital: Oum El Bouaghi High plateau country of grain fields and salt lakes in the east, including the Garaet et-Tarf saline depression, with scattered Roman remains across the plain.

5 Batna Capital: Batna The gateway to the Aurès mountains and the Chaoui Amazigh heartland, and home to Timgad — the most complete Roman grid-city anywhere — and the Numidian mausoleum of Imedghassen. Full guide ↗

12 Tébessa Capital: Tébessa A frontier state of the eastern highlands built on Roman Theveste — its Arch of Caracalla, Temple of Minerva and one of the largest early Christian basilica complexes in North Africa.

19 Sétif Capital: Sétif A high plateau city on Roman Sitifis, known for the Ain El Fouara fountain and its grain plains, and the nearest base for the UNESCO Roman city of Djémila. Full guide ↗

21 Skikda Capital: Skikda An eastern Mediterranean port on Roman Rusicade, with a Roman theatre, the fishing village of Stora, and a coastline of beaches and cork-oak hills.

23 Annaba Capital: Annaba The north-eastern port beside Hippo Regius, where Saint Augustine was bishop — its basilica on the hill above the Roman ruins, with beaches and the Edough massif behind. Full guide ↗

24 Guelma Capital: Guelma An eastern highland state built on Roman Calama, with a well-preserved Roman theatre and the terraced hot cascades of Hammam Debagh, among the hottest springs in the world.

25 Constantine Capital: Constantine The 'City of Bridges', built on a rock split by the Rhumel gorge and stitched together by spectacular spans — ancient Cirta, the Ahmed Bey Palace and the home of malouf music. Full guide ↗

34 Bordj Bou Arréridj Capital: Bordj Bou Arréridj A highland state between the Hodna and the Bibans, on the historic route through the 'Gates of Iron' pass linking Algiers to the east.

36 El Tarf Capital: El Tarf Algeria's wet north-eastern corner: the lakes, cork-oak forest and dunes of El Kala National Park, a UNESCO biosphere reserve of internationally important wetlands.

40 Khenchela Capital: Khenchela The eastern Aurès, Chaoui mountain country of gorges and forest, with Roman Mascula and the still-functioning Roman thermal baths at Hammam Essalihine.

41 Souk Ahras Capital: Souk Ahras Ancient Thagaste, the birthplace of Saint Augustine, in the wooded border hills of the Medjerda where the eastern highlands meet Tunisia.

43 Mila Capital: Mila An eastern highland state on Roman Milev, with a walled old town, Byzantine and Roman remains, and the vast Beni Haroun dam in its gorges.

Western Algeria (Oranie) 9 states

The west around Oran and Tlemcen, heartland of Algeria's Andalusian heritage.

2 Chlef Capital: Chlef An agricultural state on the lower Cheliff, Algeria's longest river, between the Dahra and Ouarsenis ranges; the Roman town of Castellum Tingitanum stood on the site of its capital.

13 Tlemcen Capital: Tlemcen The cultural capital of Andalusian Algeria: the Great Mosque, the ruined minaret of Mansourah, the El Mechouar palace, the shrine of Sidi Boumediene and gharnati music. Full guide ↗

20 Saïda Capital: Saïda Highland country on the edge of the western steppe, known for its springs and mineral water, forested slopes and a long tradition of horse breeding.

22 Sidi Bel Abbès Capital: Sidi Bel Abbès A planned city of the western plains laid out on a grid under French rule, at the centre of a rich agricultural region between the Tessala hills and the Mekerra valley.

27 Mostaganem Capital: Mostaganem A western Mediterranean coast of long beaches and cliffs, with an Ottoman port, the old Tigditt quarter, the Bordj Ettork fort and a celebrated theatre tradition. Full guide ↗

29 Mascara Capital: Mascara The western highlands where Emir Abdelkader built his resistance state, in vine country that once supplied much of the wine of French Algeria.

31 Oran Capital: Oran Algeria's second city and great western port — Santa Cruz fort above the bay, Spanish and French architecture, a lively seafront, and the birthplace of raï music. Full guide ↗

46 Aïn Témouchent Capital: Aïn Témouchent A western coastal state of vineyards and beaches, with the Roman and Numidian site of Siga and the island of Rachgoun off its shore.

48 Relizane Capital: Relizane An agricultural state on the Cheliff plain in the west, between the Ouarsenis foothills and the Dahra range, with a long tradition of irrigation farming.

High Plateaus & Steppe 7 states

The semi-arid Hauts Plateaux and Hodna between the Tell and the Sahara.

3 Laghouat Capital: Laghouat A steppe and oasis city where the High Plateaus give way to the Sahara — a historic caravan stop on the road south, ringed by palm gardens and the Djebel Amour range.

14 Tiaret Capital: Tiaret High plateau horse country, known for the Jedars — monumental pre-Islamic Berber royal tombs on the hilltops — and for Tagdempt, once a capital of Emir Abdelkader.

17 Djelfa Capital: Djelfa Steppe country at the centre of the High Plateaus, framed by the Ouled Naïl range, with prehistoric rock engravings in the surrounding hills and a long pastoral tradition.

28 M'Sila Capital: M'Sila The Hodna plain between the Atlas ranges, holding the UNESCO site of Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad — the ruined 11th-century Hammadid capital — and the oasis town of Bou Saada. Full guide ↗

32 El Bayadh Capital: El Bayadh Steppe and Saharan Atlas country in the west, with pastoral traditions, high plains grazing and prehistoric rock engravings in the surrounding djebels.

38 Tissemsilt Capital: Tissemsilt Mountain and forest country in the Ouarsenis massif, a green highland pocket of the western Tell with deep valleys and cedar and pine slopes.

45 Naâma Capital: Naâma Western steppe and Saharan Atlas country, including Ain Sefra where the writer Isabelle Eberhardt died, and where snow occasionally falls on the dunes.

Northern Sahara & Oases 8 states

The northern desert and its oases — the M'Zab, the Ziban, the Souf and Ouargla.

7 Biskra Capital: Biskra The classic gateway to the Sahara, where the Aurès drop to the Ziban oases — a belt of palm groves famous for deglet nour dates, and the point at which northern Algeria ends.

30 Ouargla Capital: Ouargla A major northern-Sahara oasis and the capital of Algeria's energy industry, with a historic ksar, vast palm groves and the buried medieval city of Sedrata nearby.

39 El Oued Capital: El Oued The Souf — the 'City of a Thousand Domes', where vaulted architecture rises above a sea of dunes and date palms grow in ghout, hollows dug down to the water table.

47 Ghardaïa Capital: Ghardaïa The M'Zab Valley: five UNESCO-listed Ibadi hill-towns of ochre, white and blue, built from the 11th century to a design that Le Corbusier came repeatedly to study. Full guide ↗

49 El M'Ghair Capital: El M'Ghair A northern Sahara oasis on the Oued Righ chain, sustained by artesian water and date palms, on the road between the Souf and the Ziban.

50 El Meniaa Capital: El Meniaa A green oasis on the Trans-Saharan route, its palm gardens and gardens-within-walls set against the sand of the Grand Erg Occidental.

51 Ouled Djellal Capital: Ouled Djellal Steppe and oasis country on the southern edge of the Ziban, known for its date palms and for the Ouled Djellal sheep breed that carries its name.

55 Touggourt Capital: Touggourt A historic oasis city of the Oued Righ, once the seat of a Saharan sultanate, surrounded by one of the densest concentrations of date palms in Algeria.

The Great South 11 states

The deep Sahara: the Hoggar, the Tassili, and the Saoura and Touat oases of the south-west.

1 Adrar Capital: Adrar The heart of the Touat oases in the deep south-west, where red-earth ksour and centuries-old foggara water channels sustain vast palm groves on the edge of the Tanezrouft.

8 Béchar Capital: Béchar The Saoura country of the south-west: the dunes and rock art of Taghit, palm oases along a dry riverbed, and the hamada plateaus running toward the Moroccan frontier.

11 Tamanrasset Capital: Tamanrasset The Hoggar: a volcanic massif of black basalt spires in the far south, with the hermitage and celebrated sunrise at Assekrem, and the cultural capital of the Algerian Tuareg.

33 Illizi Capital: Illizi The Tassili n'Ajjer: a UNESCO plateau of eroded sandstone in the far south-east, holding one of the greatest concentrations of prehistoric rock art on earth. Full guide ↗

37 Tindouf Capital: Tindouf The far south-west, a vast hamada plateau near the Moroccan and Mauritanian frontiers, historically a Saharan trading crossroads.

52 Bordj Badji Mokhtar Capital: Bordj Badji Mokhtar The extreme south, on the Malian frontier at the edge of the Tanezrouft — one of the emptiest and most remote inhabited places in the Sahara.

53 Béni Abbès Capital: Béni Abbès A white-sand oasis in the Saoura where a great dune meets a palm grove, long a Saharan research station and one of the classic oases of the south-west.

54 Timimoun Capital: Timimoun The 'Red Oasis' of the Gourara — red Sudanese-style architecture, foggara channels, ksour among the palms, and the UNESCO-listed Ahellil sung poetry. Full guide ↗ 56 Djanet Capital: Djanet The Tuareg town at the gateway to the Tassili n'Ajjer rock art and the red sandstone and dunes of the Tadrart — the base for the deep Algerian Sahara. Full guide ↗

57 In Salah Capital: In Salah The Tidikelt oases at the centre of the Sahara, fed by ancient foggara channels and known for the slow-moving dune that has been crossing the town for generations.

58 In Guezzam Capital: In Guezzam Algeria's southernmost frontier post on the Niger border, a Trans-Saharan crossing point in the open desert of the far south.

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