Trekking in Taessa and Atakor, the heart of the Hoggar

It is possible to reach Tamanrasset, via Algiers, in different ways and from multiple cities.

Welcome by our local team and transfer to the guesthouse.

Early morning free time.

Late morning, by 4x4, we head to meet our caravan (approx. 25 km) at the foot of the volcanic peak Aharar (1753 m). We are in a vast wadi where many acacias grow, and we meet the guide and camel drivers. First camp.

After helping the camel drivers load the baggage onto pack camels, we set off. We pass near the small village of Tagmart belonging to the Dag Rali tribe.

In the Tagmart wadi, a watering point (abankor) allows us to replenish our supplies. The track leads us through a landscape of domes and curious heaps of granite boulders. We emerge into the Essouf Mellen plain, the White Solitude. The summit of Tesselit Lehet (1751m) overlooks us.

If we have time, we climb it. Beautiful views over the northern foothills of the Hoggar of the Tuaregs. Essouf Mellen is partly occupied by a vast flow of bluish basalt where the Térhénanet wadi has settled (beautiful gueltass).

We continue to cross Essouf Mellen towards the North. The plain ends with a narrow gorge. Small non-permanent water point called Asseloum.

Up to Assekrem, we will now travel through a region practically ignored by tourism. This isolation is due to the difficulty of its terrain for laden camels.

From the start, a steep descent leads us into the narrow, enclosed gorges of the oued Ilaman. We exit through a delicate pass for our animals. We are on a narrow strip of volcanic plateau. Then follow a landscape of hills, the descent into the oued Tékadé cluttered with acacias, another climb, then a less turbulent area until the oued Amoula.

We leave Talat Mellet by a succession of small passes. The track winds, sometimes along a ledge, from one wadi to another. We are dominated, to the East, by high mountains, while to the west, the horizon drops away to the vast plains that surround the Hoggar.

The track, often along a ledge, offers unusual and magnificent views over the vastness of the desert. The camels progress slowly, carefully monitored by the camel herders when crossing delicate passages.

In the Tiloq wadi, the mountains open out, but now high volcanic peaks appear. From south to north: Tehereghet, Amgar (2359m), Eferi n'Tehereghet. Amgar, legend says, was the rival of Ilaman for the conquest of the beautiful Tahat. We pass near a magnificent acacia that the Tuaregs call tagiart, a fairly rare species in the Hoggar.

We take a final pass whose two volcanic peaks, the Infaf (2007m) seem to be the guardians. Possibility to climb the left summit. The caravan has passed…

Ascent of the oued Tamezlozent where some tabarakat (tamarisks) and azawa (other tamarisks) grow to cross a pass that leads us into the oued Adarou.

We leave it to join, by a winding track and a short descent, the Tanhart wadi where we set up our bivouac. The imposing mass of the Tahat dominates us by more than 1000m.

In the wadi grows a magnificent fig tree. It is partly in this region that a fraction of the Dag Rali tribe, the Imessilaten, hid their reserve of millet brought by the annual caravan from Niger.

A narrow gorge allows us to reach the top of wadi Tanhart. At the top of a climb, we can quickly ascend a small peak and quickly rejoin the caravan before the wadi Kalatenet. In the wadis, a few olive trees (Oléo laperrini) grow, nibbled by goats and moufflons.

Passage through the oued In Tourtourin, then crossing a vast plateau area until the oued Tahassa where we camp, either near the water point of the same name (a few wild palm trees), or further upstream.

In the distance, towards the South, the Assekrem plateau comes into view. We will spend the day getting closer to it. A succession of climbs and descents in a landscape that has become very austere, where trees have disappeared. Passage through the Wa Sediden, Elel, Lersar oueds.

Lunch in the Asarou oued (the Key). Lava gives way to granite.

We abandon the caravan (we will find it again in the evening at the bivouac) to go to Assekrem (2728 m). The landscape remains harsh…

Slowly, in near perfect solitude, and by steep slopes, we climb to the plateau via its eastern side and the Tilegatin track. What a reward when we arrive at the Hermitage of Father de Foucauld! A cold wind often blows over the heights…

The view is exceptional over the most beautiful peaks of Atakor: Tezouiag (the Bustards, 2702m), Asaouinan (2637m), Oul (the Heart, 2602m), Taridalt (the Hyena, 2422m).

After visiting the Little Brothers of Jesus, guardians of the Hermitage of Father de Foucauld, we rejoin, in the afternoon, the Oued In Fergan where we find the caravan again, at the foot of Tahaleft.

In the company of the caravan, we continue towards the Tahat, an enormous volcanic mass that dominates the region. After climbing back up the wadi In Fergan and descending again into the wadi In Tourtourin, a final pass leads us into the wadi Ebowel.

The afternoon is devoted to an easy ascent of the Tahat mountain (2908 m) via its southern slope. We are on the highest summit in Algérie. The view extends very far and we can see the sharp peaks of the Atakor and those, rounded foothills of the Téfédest, to the North.

These bivouacs are the highest of our hike.

Abandoning the caravan, in an entirely volcanic landscape, we cross until we reach the Tin Eguefes wadi which we descend until we meet up with our camel herders.

In the afternoon, crossing the Taessa massif. In a small plain, a rock shelter contains a Neolithic painting (herd of bovids). It is unfortunately damaged by erosion, but it is of excellent draftsmanship.

We also discover surprising Mediterranean flora (olive trees, oleanders, lavenders, myrtles). This beautiful rugged route leads us to the bivouac, near the Talmest guelta, in the Tanesmedjoq wadi.

We gather dead wood for our bivouac fire…

We continue our exploration by crossing the Taessa massif from East to West. After crossing the ridge line (2173m), descent through gorges often occupied by water pools. This is a fairly short stage, but long for the caravan which must make a large detour to avoid this rough terrain. We meet up with it at the bivouac, at Edekel n'Tahart (water point and fig tree).

We skirt the western edge of the Taessa massif and, after crossing the Bersou wadi, we pass at the foot of the Adrar Hegrin (2051m), an isolated volcanic peak that dominates the basaltic plateau of Tassa n'Aguenna, the Belly of the Sky. We cross the plateau.

Either we follow the camel trail that crosses the pass, or we descend into the wadi Eméharagélé as far as the wadi Eloka where we discover a curious guelta carved beneath a rocky threshold that bars the valley. This guelta is called Tit n'Oudad, the Eye or Spring of the Mouflon (tit means both). The wadi widens. We have lost altitude. Numerous acacias crowd the banks of the wadi.

After crossing the Amsa or Outoul wadi and a small granite ridge, we find our caravan again in Aguendou Wan Tamalra, a vast wadi filled with vegetation. The mountains are behind us. It was in this great wadi that the annual camel race (tamalra) used to take place.

We return to Tamanrasset (approximately 15 km).

Free time in the late afternoon to visit Tamanrasset.

Tamanrasset (located at 1400 m) has become in a few years an impressive city of more than 150,000 inhabitants. Only the city center, with its streets shaded by tamarisks, has retained its original charm.

In the evening dinner at the inn. Rooms will be made available to you (4 people per room) to store your luggage, rest and take a shower before the transfer to the airport during the night.

Night flight and early morning arrival in the city of your choice.