Algeria

We crossed the border at Oujda and followed the beautiful Mediterranean coast from Oran to Algiers.

From Algiers, we turned south towards and into the Sahara; passing through Ghardaïa – five ancient walled towns built on five hills –

and El Golea (now known as El Menia);

with its 9th Century, fortified Berber ‘Ksar’.

By now, we were in the heart of the Sahara.

Continuing south,

we crossed the Plateau de Tademait,

and drove through the Arak Gorge;

on our way to the Hoggar Mountains;

where we camped (and swam) at a small oasis.

In prehistoric times, the Sahara was not a desert. Near Tazrouk, there are rock engravings of the animals that roamed the area c8,000 years ago.

The neolithic arrowheads and stone tools that the Tuareg find scattered on the surface of the desert are further proof of the dramatic change in climate.

Today in Tazrouk, the Tuareg’s desert gardens only bloom at an oasis fed by an underground aquifer.

The road ended after Tamanrasset, and we continued south on rough pistes – following vehicle tracks and the occasional marker post.

Every now and then we got bogged in soft sand.

Fortunately, when our shovel and sand ladders didn’t do the job, the locals arrived to help us out.

We camped in dunes close to the Niger border; where we were visited by the Algerian border police.