What is the most beautiful place in Algeria?
There is no single answer, but the shortlist is consistent: the Tassili n'Ajjer and the Tadrart in the deep Sahara, the M'Zab Valley's ochre hill-towns, Djémila and Timgad among the Roman cities, the Kabylie coast around Béjaïa, and Constantine on its gorge.
Ask ten Algerians and you get ten answers, usually starting with where they are from. These are the places that appear on almost every list.
The Tadrart, near Djanet. Red sandstone towers, natural arches and dunes the colour of embers, at their best in the first and last hour of light. Reached by 4x4 with a Tuareg team, and probably the single most photographed landscape in the country.
The Tassili n’Ajjer. A UNESCO site listed for both its geology and its rock art — thousands of paintings and engravings recording a Sahara that was once green, in a maze of eroded sandstone that looks like a ruined city.
The M’Zab Valley. Five fortified towns stacked in ochre, white and blue up desert hills, built by the Ibadi community from the 11th century and so coherently designed that Le Corbusier came repeatedly to study them.
Djémila and Timgad. Roman cities in the eastern highlands. Djémila for its setting in the folds of the hills; Timgad for the completeness of its grid, its arch and its library.
The Kabylie coast at Béjaïa. Where the Djurdjura mountains fall into the Mediterranean — Cap Carbon, the Gouraya national park, and a corniche road that ranks with anything in the Mediterranean.
Constantine. A city on a rock, split by the Rhumel gorge and stitched back together with bridges.
Also worth naming: Timimoun, the red oasis of the Gourara, and the Assekrem sunrise in the Hoggar. See our regions and destinations.
Key facts
| Deep Sahara | Tassili n'Ajjer and the Tadrart |
| Architecture | The M'Zab Valley |
| Roman | Djémila and Timgad |
| Coast & city | Béjaïa and Constantine |