Located in North Africa, one of the main tourist attractions is the Sahara, the second largest desert in the world. Some sand dunes can reach 180 meters in height.
This State has been a member of the World Tourism Organization since 1976, but tourism in Algeria i report of the World Tourism Organization published in 2014.
Algeria is the 4th tourist destination in Africa in 2013 with 2,7 million foreign tourists, and ranks 111st on the international tourism scene, according to the London-based World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC).
The tourism sector in Algeria accounts for 3.9% of the volume of exports, 9.5% of the productive investment rate and 8.1% of the Gross Domestic Product.
The main competitors are the Mediterranean countries, the majority of which have developed a strongly based economy in this sector.
The tourism sector is still underdeveloped in Algeria concerning accommodation and other services. For this reason, the government launched a strategic plan to boost this sector by 2025.
According to Gallup's Law and Order Index, which measures personal safety as well as personal experiences of crime and law enforcement, Algeria ranked 7th in the world's safest countries for 2017.
According to the U.S. News & World Report Algeria is ranked among the top 80 countries in the world in 2018.
In its Best Countries Ranking published each year, the weekly draws up a ranking based on several criteria such as business, citizenship, cultural influence, heritage, quality of life or the possibility of adventures.
USA Today, has ranked Constantine among the eleven cities to visit the world in 2018. The newspaper was based on the experience of Sal Lavallo, one of the youngest people to have visited all 193 member states of the United Nations.
A project developed during the National and International Conference of Tourism was born providing a new dynamics of reception and management of tourism in Algeria.
This project is called Horizon 2025. Foreign investors, mainly French, position themselves to dominate the market, focused mainly on a business clientele.
A first advertising campaign devoted to the industry was carried out to attract investors as well as foreign customers, as well as concrete measures such as conferences, trade shows or commissions.
The international footballer Zinédine Zidane of Algerian descent was also used for a new commercial carried out this time under the aegis of the telephony operator, Ooredoo Algeria, intended for an individual clientele.
A Quality Tourism Plan Algeria was adopted by the government but by the end of 2010, only 10% of tourist structures in Algeria have joined this program.
Investors remain interested in the potential of the country, as well as the high authorities.
The representative of the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), Frédéric Perret, praised Algeria Tourism at the conference of the International Tourism and Travel Exhibition held In Algeria in 2010.
As part of the tourism development policy, Eductour is regularly organized for the national and international visitors.
Beni Hammad Fort also called Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad is a fortified palatine city in Algeria. Now in ruins, in the 11th century, it served as the first capital of the Hammadid dynasty.
It is in the Hodna Mountains northeast of M'Sila, at an elevation of 1,418 metres (4,652 ft), and receives abundant water from the surrounding mountains.
Beni Hammad Fort is near the town of Maadid or Maadhid, about 225 kilometres (140 mi) southeast of Algiers, in the Maghreb. In 1980, it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, and described as an authentic picture of a fortified Muslim city.
The town includes a 7-kilometre (4 mi) long line of walls. Inside the walls are four residential complexes, and the largest mosque built in Algeria after that of Mansurah.
It is similar in design to the Grand Mosque of Kairouan, with a tall minaret, 20 metres (66 ft). Excavations have brought to light numerous terracotta, jewels, coins and ceramics testifying to the high level of civilization under the Hammadid dynasty.
Also among the artifacts discovered are several decorative fountains using the lion as a motif. The remains of the emir's palace, known as Dal al-Bahr, include three separate residences separated by gardens and pavilions.
Djémila in Arabic stands for the Beautiful one, formerly Cuicul, is a small mountain village in Algeria, near the northern coast east of Algiers, where some of the best preserved Berbero-Roman ruins in North Africa are found.
It is situated in the region bordering the Constantinois and Petite Kabylie (Basse Kabylie).
In 1982, Djémila became a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its unique adaptation of Roman architecture to a mountain environment. Significant buildings in ancient Cuicul include a theatre, two fora, temples, basilicas, arches, streets, and houses.
The exceptionally well preserved ruins surround the forum of the Harsh, a large paved square with an entry marked by a majestic arch.
Casbah of Algiers, qaṣba, meaning citadel or fortress is specifically the citadel of Algiers in Algeria and the traditional quarter clustered around it.
More generally, a kasbah is the walled citadel of many North African cities and towns. The name made its way into English from French in the late 19th century, and often is spelled kasbah, but also casbah.
M'Zab Valley, or Mzab, Mozabite Aghlan, is a natural region of the northern Sahara Desert in Ghardaia Province, Algeria. It is located 600 km (370 mi) south of Algiers and there are approximately 360,000 inhabitants (2005 estimate).
The Mozabites or at Mzab are a branch of a large Berber tribe, the Iznaten, which lived in large areas of middle southern Algeria. Many Tifinagh letters and symbols are engraved around the Mzab Valley.
After the Muslim conquest of the Maghreb, the Mozabites became Muslims of the Mu'tazili school. After the fall of the Rostemid state, the Rostemid royal family with some of their citizens chose the Mzab Valley as their refuge.
However, the Rostemids were Ibadi and sent a preacher Abu Bakr an-Nafusi who successfully converted the indigenous Mozabites.
Timgad, called Thamugas or Thamugadi in old Berber was a Roman-Berber town in the Aures Mountains of Algeria. It was founded by the Emperor Trajan around AD 100.
The full name of the town was Colonia Marciana Ulpia Traiana Thamugadi. Trajan commemorated the city after his mother Marcia, eldest sister Ulpia Marciana, and father Marcus Ulpius Traianus.
Located in modern-day Algeria, about 35 km east of the town of Batna, the ruins are noteworthy for representing one of the best extant examples of the grid plan as used in Roman city planning.
In the former name of Timgad, Marciana Traiana Thamugadi, the first part - Marciana Traiana - is Roman and refers to the name of its founder, Emperor Trajan and his sister Marciana.
The second part of the name - Thamugadi - has nothing Latin about it. Thamugadi is the Berber name of the place where the city was built, to read Timgad plural form of Tamgut, meaning peak, summit.
Tipasa, was a colonia in Roman province Mauretania Caesariensis, nowadays called Tipaza, and located in coastal central Algeria. Since 2002, it has been declared by UNESCO a "World Heritage Site". There was another city with the same name: Tipasa in Numidia.
Sometimes Tipasa is called Tipasa in Mauretania, because there was another Tipasa in Roman Africa.
Indeed, another town called Tipasa was located in the Roman province of Numidia, the reason why it is referred to as Tipasa in Numidia, is in order to distinguish it from Tipasa in Mauretania.
This second Tipasa is located in what is now Constantine Province, Algeria, 88 km (55 mi) due south of Annaba, 957 m above the sea: it is now called Tifesh. The chief ruin is that of an extensive fortress, the walls of which are 3 metres thick.
Tassili n'Ajjer, is a heavily eroded sandstone rock formation in the Algerian section of the Sahara Desert, situated on a vast plateau, that encompasses south-east Algeria, western Libya and northern Niger.
It features over 300 rock arches, dense clusters of eroded sandstone rock pillars and steep cliffs and gorges where water pools permanently at the surface. Tassili n'Ajjer covers an area of over 72,000 km2 (28,000 sq mi).
Religion in Algeria is dominated by Muslims at about ninety-nine percent of the population. The vast majority of Muslims in Algeria adhere to Sunni Islam of Maliki school of jurisprudence.
There are also almost 100,000 Christians, mostly Pentecostal Protestants. There are nearly 2,000 Jews still living in Algeria, according to the US department of State.
This is a list of the most famous mosques and churches in Algeria:
Djamaa El Djazair or Mosque of Algeria, in Arabic; or Great Mosque of Algeria Is a mosque in the process of completion, located in Mohammedia in Algiers. 7
It is the largest mosque in Algeria and Africa and the third largest mosque in the world in terms of the total area after each of Great Mosque of Mecca in Mecca and Al-Masjid an-Nabawi Mosque in Medina.
Ketchaoua Mosque is a mosque in Algiers, the capital of Algeria. It is located at the foot of the Casbah, which was built during the Ottoman rule in the 17th century, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The mosque that stands on the first of the Casbah's many steep stairways, was logistically and symbolically the cynosure of the pre-colonial city of Algiers. The mosque is noted for its unique fusion of Moorish and Byzantine architecture.
Notre-Dame d'Afrique or Our Lady of Africa is a Roman Catholic basilica in Algiers, It was Louis-Antoine-Augustin Pavy, who served as the Bishop of Algiers from 1846 to 1866, who paved the way for its construction.
The basilica was inaugurated in 1872, after fourteen years of construction. It was founded by Charles Lavigerie. Its architect, Jean-Eugene Fromageau, who had been appointed the chief architect for ecclesiastical buildings in French Algeria in 1859, employed a Neo-Byzantine style
Its floor plan is unusual as the choir is situated on the southeast instead of the usual east side of the building.
1st November of 1954 Great Mosque is considered to be the largest mosque in Algeria and the second in Africa It is located in the town of Batna. This imposing religious building has been open to the faithful since 2003 and is one of the great architectural achievements of the city.
The Basilique Saint Augustin (Basilica of St Augustine) is a Roman Catholic basilica and Pro-cathedral dedicated to Saint Augustine of Hippo located in Annaba, Algeria.
The basilica is under the circumscription of the Diocese of Constantine. Construction of the basilica began in 1881 and finished on March 29, 1900, though the church was not dedicated until April 24, 1914.
The statue of St. Augustine in the basilica contains one of his arm bones. It was built not far from the remains of the Basilica Pacis built by Saint Augustine, where he died while the city was besieged by Vandals.
Cathedrale du Sacre-Cœur d'Oran is a Roman Catholic church located on the Place de la Kahina, on Boulevard Hammou-boutlelis, in Oran.
Djama'a al-Djedid, also referred to as the Jamaa al-Jadid, Jamaa El Jedid, or the New Mosque, in Turkish: Yeni Camii, meaning New Mosque, is an Ottoman mosque located in Algiers, the capital of Algeria.
It was built in 1660 in accordance with the traditions of the Hanafi school. During the French colonial rule, the mosque was called the Mosquee de la Pecherie and in English the Mosque of the Fisherman's Wharf.
Great Mosque of Tlemcen was first built in Tlemcen, Algeria in 1082. It is one of the best preserved examples of Almoravid architecture. It was built under sultan Yusuf ibn Tashfin, but substantially reconstructed and enlarged by his son Ali ibn Yusuf.
An inscription dates this reconstruction to 1136. Sultan Yaghmoracen (1236-1283), the founder of the Abdalwadid dynasty of Tlemcen added a section with a minaret and a dome in the 13th century.
Next to the mosque there used to be an Islamic court or Makhama and an Islamic university of considerable fame.
Abdallah Ibn Salam Mosque is a mosque in Algeria. Formerly the Great Synagogue of Oran, it was built in 1880 at the initiative of Simon Kanoui, but its inauguration took place only in 1918.
Sometimes known as Temple Israelite, it is located on the former Boulevard Joffre, currently Boulevard Maata Mohamed El Habib. It was one of the largest synagogues in North Africa.
Once Algeria gained its independence in 1962, almost all Algerian Jews had relocated to France. An estimated 100 to 120 thousand Jews, as well as a million European settlers and 100 thousand Muslim Harkis had fled Algeria choosing to settle in France during the Pied-Noir exodus.
Algerian Jews relocating to France in the 1960s were assigned repatriate status and classed alongside the European settler population owing to the fact that the Jews of Algeria had been French citizens since the Cremieux Decree of 1870.
The Abdallah Ibn Salam mosque is named after a 7th-century Jew from Medina who converted to Islam.
Algeria benefits from important natural assets such as its beaches in general still in the wild, landscapes and zones like the Algerian Desert. There are 10 national parks in Algeria, including the Tassili Cultural Park (100,000 ha) or the Ahaggar Cultural Park (Hoggar) (380,000 ha)
Hiking enthusiasts have access to the vast mountains of Kabylia. Despite what is thought, Algeria also has a ski area in Tikjda as well as spas.
Architecturally, there are strong Berber, Arabic, Spanish and French influences following colonization, but also more contemporary works. The main post office in Algiers remains a remarkable monument of the neo-Moorish type, the work of Jules Voinot and Marius Toudoire.
The Casbah of Algiers is also a place of visit classified as a world heritage of UNESCO since 1982.
Popular tourist sites in Algeria
- Algiers
- Hoggar Mountains in Tamanrasset.
- Constantine
- Oran
- Annaba
- Bejaia
- Timgad
- Jijel
- Tlemcen
- Tikjda
- Tipaza
- Batna
- Ghardaïa
- Sidi Fredj
- Aures
- Djurdjura
- Djanet
- Beni Haoua
- Chréa
- Theniet El Had
- El Kala
National Parks In Algeria
- Ahaggar National Park
- Belezma National Park
- Chrea National Park
- Djurdjura National Park
- El Kala National Park
- Gouraya National Park
- Tassili n'Ajjer National Park
- Taza National Park
- Theniet El Had National Park
- Tlemcen National Park
Museums In Algeria
- Ahmed Zabana National Museum
- Archaeological Museum of Cherchell
- Bardo National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography
- Beni Abbès Museum
- Museum of Antiquities (Algiers)
- Museum of Modern Art of Algiers
- Museum of Popular Arts and Traditions
- Museum of the Revolution
- National Museum of Fine Arts of Algiers
Festivals Celebrated In Algeria
- International Arab Film Festival
- Timgad International Music Festival
- DimaJazz
- International Book Fair of Algiers
- Nuits de la Saoura
- International Cultural Festival of Algerian Symphonic Music
- Arab-African folk dance festival in Tizi Ouzou
- International Fest
The Algerian Sahara is one of the most important tourist destinations in Algeria, the Great South is a flagship destination internationally.
Hiking is not the only way to discover the Sahara, in fact camel rides on a Meharee camel or in a 4x4 vehicle, or even formulas combining hiking, camel trekking and 4x4.
The Algerian Desert is located in north-central Africa and is part of the Sahara Desert. The desert occupies more than four-fifths of the Algerian territory.
Its expansion starts from the Saharan Atlas, more or less as a stony desert and the farther inland you get the more of a sand dune desert it becomes.
In the southwestern parts is the mountain range Tassili n'Ajjer located. This area is a subject of great archaeological interest and was put up on the World Heritage List by UNESCO in 1982.
The area is known for extreme aridity and extreme heat, as daytime temperatures are commonly between 46 °C (113 °F) and 51 °C (122 °F) during the hottest period of the year in most of the desert.
Cities and towns such as Ouargla, Touggourt, Beni Abbes, Adrar, In Salah are among the hottest places on Earth during the height of summer.
Annual average rainfall is well below 100 mm (3,93 in) in the northernmost part but the center and the southern part receive much less than 50 mm (1,96 in) and are therefore hyper-arid and among the driest places on Earth.
Among the best places places of the Sahara that are worth a visit:
- Tamanrasset
- Timimoun
- Djanet
- Ouargla
- Béchar
Algerias Thermal Resorts that you should not miss out:
- Hammam Essalihine
- Hammam Guergour
- Hammam Boughrara
- Hammam Bou Hadjar
- Hammam Meskhoutine
- Hammam Soukhna
- Hammam Righa
- Hammam Melouane
- Hammam Ouled Yelles
Authentic Algerian Cuisine
The cuisine of Algeria is part of the Maghreb cuisine tradition of Northwestern Africa.
Algerian Cuisine is influenced by various cultures such as Berber, Arabic and French. Most of the Algerian dishes are centered around lamb or beef, olive oil, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs.
Algerian cuisine differs slightly from region to region. Every region has its own cuisine, including Kabylie, Algiers (couscous) and Constantine. Algerian Cuisine is influenced by various cultures such as Berber, Andalusian, Ottoman, Arabic and French.
It is a very rich cuisine but it still is not known around the world. Most of the Algerian dishes are centered around bread, lamb, beef or poultry, olive oil, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs.
Traditionally, no Algerian meal is complete without bread, traditional bread is almost always made with semolina, french bread is also widespread.
Pork consumption is forbidden to devout Muslim inhabitants of Algeria in accordance with Sharia, religious laws of Islam.
Algeria, like other Maghreb countries, produces a large range of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables and even some tropical ones. Lamb is commonly consumed. Mediterranean seafood and fish are also eaten and produced by the little inshore fishing.
Vegetables are often used in stews jwaz/djwizza and soups or chorba or simply fried or boiled.
The Kesra, traditional Algerian flatbread, is the base of Algerian cuisine and eaten at many meals. A popular Algerian meal is merguez, an originally Berber sausage.
A common and one of the most favorite dishes of Algerian cuisine is couscous, with other favorites such as shakshouka, Karantita, marqa bel a'assel, a speciality from Tlemcen, and chakhchoukha which is very popular.
Spices used in Algerian cuisine are dried red chillies of different kinds, caraway, Arabian ras el hanout, black pepper and cumin, among others.
Algerians also use tagines, handmade in Algeria. Frequently Algerian food is cooked in clay vessels, much like Maghrib cuisine. Algerian cuisine represents the region north of the Sahara desert and west of the Nile.
Algerian chefs take a lot of pride in cooking skills and methods and their many secrets lie in the variety of ways they mix special spices.
There are many different types of Algerian salads, influenced by the French and Turkish, which may include beetroot or anchovies. There are also dishes of Spanish origin in Algeria, like the Gaspacho Oranais, an Algerian version of a Manchego dish.
Other dishes
- Shakshuka.
- Bagita (baguette) – a French bread staple food
- Shakshouka, chakshoka, shakhshosha – fried vegetables and egg on top
- Frites (omelet) – fries and egg on top
- Dolma, stuffed vegetables cooked in a stock
- Jwaz, a stew consisting of vegetables, potatoes, carrots, onions, or tomatoes and meat, sometimes Navy beans ,kidney beans are included; it is a peasant food
- Lobia, fasolada eaten in the winter a thick Stew of beans and chunks of carrots and potatoes, there is many versions of this with lentils, kidney beans and other legumes
- Chtit'ha, eaten during wedding parties, consists of meat, onions and chickpeas in a red stock of tomatoes
- Shlada bsel, onion salad includes tomatoes, seasoned with olive oil and lemon juice
Sweets like seasonal fruits are typically served at the end of meals. Common pastries include makroudh, Kalb Elouz and Zlabiya. eaten during the month of Ramadan and some pastries are prepared for special occasions like for Eid-al-fitr and weddings.
Tea is generally drunk in the afternoon and for ceremonies with pastries. Algerians are heavy coffee consumers and thick espresso black coffee is very popular.
Fruit juice and soft drinks are very common and are often drunk daily. Algeria previously produced a large quantity of wine during the French colonization but production has decreased since its independence,but there are some secular activist that want to produce wine again.
Between 1976 and 1984, the average Algerian family spent around 56% of their income on food and drink, and more than 10% of that number was spent on bread and other cereal products.
Bread is thought to contain God’s blessing, baraka. It is traditionally seen as a symbol of life and functions in rituals symbolic of life, fertility and abundance.
Khubz as-dar: wheat flour, water, salt and yeast. Traditionally flat and round, a few centimeters thick, made at home and commonly baked in a gas oven or communal oven.
Khubz at-tajin or matlu: wheat semolina, yeast, water and salt. Flattened pan-bread or galette in french, baked in a previously heated earthenware or cast-iron plate on a fire. Variations are made by the quality of the leavening agent, by adding barley or sorghum, bran, or by making it corn-based.
Khubz-ftir, raqaq, rfis or tarid: well-kneaded, unleavened dough, baked for half a minute on a convex sheet of brass or iron, balanced on stones over a fire. This is a preferred method for those living nomadic lives due to easy transportation of pan and little amount of fuel necessary.
French baguettes: white, leavened wheat flour. Bought at bakery or street vendor, but never made at home due to access to mills powered by electricity. Power shortages prevent consumption of this bread, and often Algerians turn to home-made breads that are milled by women’s hands.
French bread tends to be given more value in terms of taste and quality in that it was commonly associated to being more suitable to higher standards.
However, the white inner parts of a baguette are thought to be unhealthy and will regularly be thrown away, and the bread is frequently associated to constipation. Algerian breads, on the other hand, are considered more nutritive, rich and tasteful and seldom go to waste.
Because French breads harden over night or become chewy when put away in plastic bags, it is hard to find usage for them, so they are thrown away with more frequency than Algerian breads that can be reheated or reutilized as edible food utensils or even bird feed.
In the context of rituals, only Algerian bread is thought suitable. Breads offered to guests should be homemade, as it signifies the essence, intimacy, and qualities of the family.
In daily practices, it is also a sign of wealth and affluence if one has extra bread at the table, and making bread at home can be considered a sign of familial economic independence
Traditionally, no Algerian meal is complete without bread, normally a long French baguette or more traditionally a flat semolina bread.
Pork consumption is forbidden to devout Muslim inhabitants of Algeria in accordance with Sharia, religious laws of Islam.
Algeria, like other Maghreb countries, produces a large range of Mediterranean fruits and vegetables and even some tropical ones.
Lamb is commonly consumed. Mediterranean seafood and fish are also eaten and produced by the little inshore fishing.
Algerians consume a high amount of meat, as it is found in almost every dish. Mutton is the most eaten meat in the country, Poultry and beef are also used.
Uncommon types of meat such as game, birds and venison and they are considered a delicacy, wild boar is also hunted and eaten, but pork will not be available on stores, it can only be bought from hunters directly.
Vegetables that are commonly used include potatoes (batata/betete), carrots (zrodiya), onions (bsel), tomatoes (tomatish/tømetish), zucchini (corget/qar'a), garlic (ethom), cabbages (cromb), and eggplant (badenjan). Olives (zeton) are also used.
Vegetables are often used in stews (jwaz/djwizza) and soups (chorba) or simply fried or boiled.
The Kesra, traditional Algerian flatbread, is the base of Algerian cuisine and eaten at many meals. A popular Algerian meal is merguez, an originally Berber sausage.
A common and one of the most favorite dishes of Algerian cuisine is couscous, with other favorites such as shakshouka, Karantita, marqa bel a'assel, a speciality from Tlemcen, and the dish chakhchoukha.
Spices used in Algerian cuisine are dried red chillies of different kinds, caraway, Arabian ras el hanout, black pepper and cumin, among others.
Algerians also use tagines, handmade in Algeria. Frequently Algerian food is cooked in clay vessels, much like Maghrib cuisine.
Algerian cuisine represents the region north of the Sahara desert and west of the Nile. Algerian chefs take a lot of pride in cooking skills and methods and their many secrets lie in the variety of ways they mix special spices.
There are many different types of Algerian salads, influenced by the French and Turkish, which may include beetroot or anchovies. There are also dishes of Spanish origin in Algeria, like the Gaspacho Oranais, an Algerian version of a Manchego dish.
Northern Algeria is in the temperate zone and enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate. It lies within approximately the same latitudes as southern California and has somewhat similar climatic conditions.
Its broken topography, however, provides sharp local contrasts in both prevailing temperatures and incidence of rainfall. Year-to-year variations in climatic conditions are also common. This area, the most inhabited in Algeria, is commonly referred to as the Tell.
As the tenth-largest country in the world, and the largest in Africa and in the Mediterranean region, Algeria has a vast transportation system which include many transportation infrastructures.
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