# Djanet & Ghardaïa — 6-Day Desert & Heritage > Six days pairing Djanet's desert with the M'Zab Valley: the red Tadrart, Tassili rock art, camps under the stars and the ksour of Ghardaïa. - Price: from €930 per person (private trip or small group) - Duration: 6 days · 5 nights - Starts: Algiers — Airport - Best season: November–February - Guides speak: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, German, Russian - Visa on arrival at Algiers airport possible: yes (the programme includes the Sahara) - Web page: https://algeriacompass.com/tours/djanet-ghardaia-desert-2-days/ - Book (request, no payment to enquire): https://algeriacompass.com/contact/?tour=djanet-ghardaia-desert-2-days ## Overview The definitive Algerian Sahara journey, pairing the country's two great desert worlds. Around Djanet you explore the sculpted red rock of the Tadrart, the prehistoric galleries of Tassili n'Ajjer, and nights in desert camps with a Tuareg team. Then you transfer north to Ghardaïa and the UNESCO M'Zab Valley, where fortified oasis towns have kept their medieval life intact. Two UNESCO Saharas in one trip, by 4×4 and under the stars. ## Highlights - Tadrart Rouge and its red rock formations - Prehistoric rock art at Tassili n'Ajjer (UNESCO) - Nights camping in the Sahara - Tuareg culture and a tea ceremony - The UNESCO M'Zab Valley villages - 4x4 desert driving and dune sunsets ## Day by day ### Day 1 — Arrival in Djanet Met at Djanet airport and transferred to a guesthouse or desert camp, with a sunset excursion to nearby dunes and a traditional Saharan dinner. - **Tiska Airport, Djanet**: Met at Algeria’s deepest-south airport and driven in through the palmeries — 30 km from tarmac to oasis. - **Djanet & sunset dunes**: A Tuareg oasis town under red cliffs, with a first sunset excursion to nearby dunes. - **A Saharan welcome dinner**: Taguella baked in the sand with a tagine and Tuareg tea, served at the camp or guesthouse on your first night in the south. ### Day 2 — Tadrart Rouge A 4x4 day into the Tadrart, exploring rock formations and ancient engravings, a desert picnic, sunset over the red dunes, and a night camping under the stars. - **The Tadrart Rouge**: Wind-carved orange sandstone canyons and arches — among the Sahara's most cinematic landscapes. - **Prehistoric rock art**: Paintings and engravings of herders, hunters and wildlife from a green Sahara up to ~10,000 years old — older than the pyramids. - **Red dunes & star camp**: A desert picnic, sunset over the red dunes and a night camping under the stars. ### Day 3 — Tassili n'Ajjer Discover the Tassili plateau and its cave paintings, walking through canyons and sandstone landscapes, with dinner and a night in camp. - **The Tassili n'Ajjer plateau**: A vast sandstone 'forest of rock', UNESCO-listed for one of the world's greatest concentrations of prehistoric art. - **Cave paintings of the Tassili**: Thousands of paintings of herders and wildlife from a wetter Sahara, walked to through canyons. - **Sandstone canyons & towers**: Eroded pinnacles and gorges that feel like another planet. ### Day 4 — Oases & desert culture Visit a local oasis and palm groves, meet a Tuareg community over a tea ceremony, and return to Djanet for the night. - **An oasis & palm groves**: Shaded gardens and irrigation channels in the desert. - **Tuareg tea ceremony**: The customary three glasses of Saharan tea with a Tuareg family — the living culture of the deep south. - **Djanet’s old ksour**: The three stacked mud-brick villages — Azellouaz, El Mihan and Adjahil — that the modern oasis grew up around. ### Day 5 — Transfer to Ghardaïa Travel to Ghardaïa in the M'Zab Valley, check in at a traditional guesthouse, and take an evening walk through the old town. - **The journey north to the M’Zab**: The long transfer out of the deep south, roughly 1,000 km, from the Tassili to the edge of the northern Sahara. - **A traditional M’Zab guesthouse**: A restored Mozabite house of thick walls, an internal courtyard and a roof terrace — inside the old town rather than out on the bypass. - **Ghardaïa old town walk**: An evening through the M'Zab's hill-town lanes after the journey north. ### Day 6 — M'Zab Valley & departure Visit Beni Isguen, El Atteuf and Melika, their mosques, souks and workshops, with lunch before the transfer to the airport. - **Beni Isguen**: The sacred walled town of the M’Zab, entered by its old gate, where dress and photography follow local custom. - **El Atteuf**: The oldest of the five M’Zab towns, whose simple Sidi Brahim mosque so struck Le Corbusier that it shaped modern architecture. - **Melika**: A hilltop M’Zab town of marabout tombs and long views over the valley. ## Included - Airport/hotel pickup and drop-off - Air-conditioned vehicle / 4x4 - Professional local guide - Accommodation as per program - Meals as mentioned (lunch & dinner) - Entrance fees to the sites - Desert excursion in Djanet ## Not included - Domestic and international flights - Personal expenses - Drinks not mentioned - Tips ## Questions **How do I reach Djanet?** By domestic flight from Algiers (flights not included); we advise on timings. **Are both areas UNESCO sites?** Yes — Tassili n'Ajjer (1982) and the M'Zab Valley (1982). **Where do we sleep?** Desert camps around Djanet and accommodation in or near Ghardaïa. **Is it physically demanding?** Moderate — mostly 4×4 travel with short walks and dune climbs at your pace. ## Booking & policies - Request to book: dates are held free for 72 hours with no payment while availability, permits and flights are confirmed; a 20% deposit paid before arrival then secures the trip, and the balance is paid on arrival in Algeria. Payment by bank transfer, card or PayPal. - 5% off when booked at least 60 days before departure. - Free cancellation up to 5 days before departure, full refund. Within 5 days, committed costs may not be recoverable; the rest is refunded. - If the visa is refused, everything paid to Algeria Compass is refunded. - Visa: Consulate route: invitation letter 25 USD for a programme of at least 3 days with airport pickup and drop-off. Visa on arrival at Algiers airport for organised programmes that include the Sahara: authorisation 45 USD, plus the arrival stamp paid at the airport (by length of stay).