Algeria

Algeria is Africa’s largest country, and the distances feel like it: Mediterranean coast in the north, mountains and farmland inland, then a Sahara that appears to have no ending. Algiers climbs in white above the bay; its Casbah is a living maze of steps, Ottoman houses, mosques and courtyards, best understood with a local guide who knows both the stories and the complexity.

Oran and Constantine bring their own music, bridges and identity. Tipasa, Djémila and Timgad open an enormous window onto Roman North Africa. Southward, the M’Zab Valley and Ghardaïa reveal distinctive architecture and community life; deeper in the desert, Tassili n’Ajjer combines canyons, rock arches and prehistoric art.

This journey needs planning. Distances are huge, permits or organised support apply in parts of the Sahara, and border regions are not for improvisation. For travellers who can enter legally and safely, Algeria gives back on an epic scale: long coffees, regional couscous, overnight journeys and landscapes that make the map look small.