How Algeria wants to become a tourism powerhouse by 2030

Baba Atanof asks if everything is OK as a tourist struggles to swing her leg over a large rock on a steep climb in the Algerian Sahara Desert . With her legs shaking and fighting vertigo, she can barely answer.

The desert covers 83 percent of Africa's largest country. It is the focus of an ambitious Algerian government plan to develop tourism by 2030, with the goal of transforming Algeria into a major tourist destination after decades of isolation since the end of French colonial rule in 1962.

Atanof takes the tourist's camera bag — he was already carrying her backpack. Without any extra weight, and with a little help climbing, she regains her steady steps.

Meanwhile, 20 donkeys calmly transport all the camping equipment and supplies for the group of about twelve people. There are four tourists and eight team members, including guides, cooks and shepherds.

Wearing worn-out sneakers, a chèche (a scarf that covers the head and face, typical of Tuareg men) and a daraa (a long, loose tunic), as well as a backpack and a large solar charger, Atanof stabilizes the tourist.

The 57-year-old father of seven — “baba” means “father” in Arabic — has made the challenging climb countless times during his 30 years as a guide. As a Tuareg — a Berber people who are traditionally nomadic in the desert — he knows the vast, inhospitable terrain like few others.

Atanof works for Touareg Voyages , an accredited travel agency that facilitates visas for foreign visitors wishing to explore the Algerian desert.

In January 2023, the government began offering visas on arrival to foreign tourists visiting the Sahara — virtually everyone except citizens of the Maghreb countries, Malaysia and the Seychelles .

In December of the same year, an Air Algérie flight was inaugurated, connecting Paris to the oasis town of Djanet.

What was once a difficult visa to obtain is now practically guaranteed for up to 30 days, upon payment of a fee upon arrival (from US$38 to US$376 , or from R$214 to R$2,117, depending on the length of stay).

As a result, tourism is growing rapidly . In 2023, Algeria recorded a record number of nearly 3.3 million tourists — about 2.2 million of whom were foreign — an increase of 44% and 65%, respectively, compared to the previous year, according to the Algerian Ministry of Tourism and Crafts.

According to Reuters, the government aims to attract 12 million international tourists by 2030. To this end, it has drawn up a master plan that includes improvements in tourism services, expansion of infrastructure, and increased investment and hotel capacity.

There are also plans to expand air connections with European capitals, especially to facilitate access to the desert.

Stone forests

Atanof takes tourists to the top of the Tassili n'Ajjer National Park , a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its gigantic natural sandstone “sculptures” — veritable “stone forests” carved by erosion over seven million years.

Located near Djanet , in the southeast of the country, the park extends over almost 130,000 square kilometers and resembles a lunar landscape, on an elevated plateau that varies between 1,400 and 2,000 meters in altitude.

Among these rock formations are around 15,000 prehistoric paintings and engravings dating from 10,000 to 750 BC. Atanof is one of the few who knows where to find them.

Algeria's Ministry of Tourism and Crafts believes this could be the world's largest open-air museum — a place where the concave bases of the rocks served as "canvases" for paintings made with natural pigments such as red and yellow ochre.

The images depict scenes of everyday life and ceremonies such as hunting and dancing, as well as animals such as cattle, giraffes and camels. They are organized into five styles and chronological periods:

• Kel Essuf (over 9,875 years old, the oldest form of anthropomorphic rock art in the region);
• Round Head (7,575 to 4,575 years ago);
• Bovid (6,575 to 4,575 years ago, with emphasis on cattle and herders);
• Cabalino (3,575 to 2,075 years ago, known for depictions of horses);
• Camelino (from 750 BC, with emphasis on camels).

Among the stone sculptures, visitors see curious shapes. Atanof climbs a rock shaped like a gymnastic horse and pretends to be riding a motorcycle, inviting anyone to climb on the back of the bike.

Later, he shows black fossils in fragments of red stone, estimated to be a million years old, and demonstrates how to turn colored stones into pigment. “Makeup,” he jokes, as he dabs some on tourists’ cheeks.

The search for this prehistoric art is an adventure in itself: a walk of about 120 kilometers across a rocky plateau where there is nothing but nature.

In other words: a week without a shower, without a bathroom, without electricity, without a cell phone signal (although the guides carry a satellite phone for emergencies), without Wi-Fi, without media and without the comforts of the 21st century.

But tourists describe the experience as a “spa in the desert”: daily exercise, healthy food, no alcohol, fresh air, serenity and plenty of sleep. They even wear custom T-shirts that say, “It’s all about the journey.”

“Desert people are healthy,” notes the other guide, Sidi Baika , who grew up in a tent as a Tuareg but now lives in a desert town and works as a meteorological engineer at a global atmospheric monitoring station.

“The life of nomads is very simple and healthy — better than in the city,” he says. “On this trip, I’m going back to my primitive life… It’s a wonderful feeling.”

“Sweet as love”

Meals are prepared by a professional chef using a gas stove installed in a cardboard box. At night, there are campfires, lanterns and headlamps.

Even fresh bread is baked over hot coals. Every lunch and dinner ends with three cups of tea per person: the first “bitter as life,” the second “sweet as love,” and the third “light as death,” as the Tuareg say.

A dedicated tea maker mixes green tea with powdered sugar, pouring it back between the teapot and a metal cylinder until it creates a foam — which even helps to remove grains of sand.

“Without tea, it’s a big problem,” says Baika, explaining that tea time is for storytelling — a fundamental part of the Tuareg’s oral culture.

“Tea is very important in the desert. News spreads among people around the fire,” he says.

Baika shares stories, including about the “jinn” (genies in Arabic mythology), invisible spirits that can do good or evil.

Tourists huddle around campfires to keep warm — it's February, and desert temperatures drop from an average of 15°C during the day to below freezing at night.

Covered with woolen blankets, they observe the constellations with the help of an offline astronomy app on Baika's cell phone.

The Tuaregs traditionally use the sun and stars to orient themselves, and time to measure distance. Based on the hours they have been walking, Baika estimates that the group is only 50km from the Libyan border.

Security and operational controls in this region are being strengthened by new agreements between Algeria and Libya . The Algerian government has also invested in securing its borders with Tunisia, Niger, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco and the territory of Western Sahara.

These actions are part of a broader effort to position tourism as a sustainable development strategy and gradually open the country to the world.

“In the desert, you have more time… with yourself, with your thoughts,” Baika says. “In a week, you can review your whole life.”

The Tuaregs who accompany the journey have an evident inner peace. They never show stress or irritation and speak in a calm, philosophical and good-humoured manner. The visitors are completely disconnected, in another world. There are no cars, buildings or signs of modern civilization — except for a few other tourists who cross the path.

Trees older than time

Tassili n'Ajjer holds spiritual and cultural significance for the Tuareg. It is home to Saharan cypress trees that are over 4,000 years old, according to Baika, as well as medicinal plants and other natural resources used to treat various ailments. Who would have thought that steam from dried camel dung could help relieve colds?!

Sefar, one of the most impressive regions of the park, has a name that means “medicine” in the Tuareg language Tamahaq.

To the surprise of tourists, there is a kind of natural pharmacy among the plants , as well as some freshwater lakes — and even rain, on one of the dry winter nights. “It is a myth that the desert has no water,” says Baika. “If that were the case, nothing would live here. But it rains, on average, five days a year.”

The Algerian Sahara is also home to desert foxes, wild sheep, jackals and gazelles – their tracks are everywhere. But the group only sees donkeys and birds, whose sounds echo in the silence of the landscape.

Every dawn, tourists hear the donkeys returning to camp and the beautiful Muslim prayers chanted by the Tuaregs.

They become more sensitive to sounds: the wind blowing through tents, the banging of pots, the crackling of firewood, the whistling of wind through aluminum poles. And they learn to listen to silence too—and to communicate without words.

“If you’re looking for peace, if you want to rest your mind, if you want to get rid of stress… go to the desert,” says Baika. “It’s a truly magical place. Every time you go, you discover something new.”

A magical place

This applies to the whole of Algeria , a country that bears traces of many civilizations: Neolithic, Numidian (Berber), Roman, Arab, Ottoman and French.

The northern coastal region, called Tell, is home to the port capital Algiers, Mediterranean beaches, vineyards, mountains — and spectacular Roman archaeological sites such as Djémila, Timgad and Tipasa, all recognized by UNESCO.

To the south of the Tell are the Saharan Atlas Mountains and their oases. The rest of the country is occupied by the Sahara, with lunar landscapes, volcanic formations, rocky plains and vast fields of dunes.

After descending a steep canyon from Tassili, vans take tourists to the Erg Admer “sand sea,” where they hike through epic golden dunes. Three inselbergs (isolated sandstone mounds) stand out from the vast expanse—one with prehistoric cow carvings. The group’s colorful scarves and Baika’s bright blue tunic contrast with the beige of the rocks and sand.

From the top of the dunes, visitors see themselves as small dots surrounded by infinite grains of sand, shaped by the wind — and they realize how small they are compared to the grandeur of nature.

As the sun’s rays gently filter through the ethereal landscape, from the top of a 300-foot dune, someone calls out, “Salam alaikum,” which means “Peace be with you.”

Beyond its majestic landscapes, the magic of the desert lies in living simply—and simply being. In the end, it all comes down to the journey.

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