# Culture & Heritage of Algeria — 8 Days

> Eight days across Algeria's culture and history — the capital and its Casbah, Roman Tipaza and Djémila, the bridges of Constantine and oasis Bou Saada.

- Price: from €1,044 per person (private trip or small group)
- Duration: 8 days · 7 nights
- Starts: Algiers — Airport
- Best season: Spring & autumn
- Guides speak: English, French, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, German, Russian
- Visa on arrival at Algiers airport possible: no — consulate visa with our invitation letter
- Web page: https://algeriacompass.com/tours/the-culture-and-heritage-of-algeria/
- Book (request, no payment to enquire): https://algeriacompass.com/contact/?tour=the-culture-and-heritage-of-algeria

## Overview

A deeper cultural circuit, eight days long. From Algiers and its Casbah you follow the Roman coast at Tipaza and Cherchell, cross to Constantine and its gorge, walk the hillside Roman city of Djémila, and finish in the oasis calm of Bou Saada. It blends three UNESCO-calibre sites with living cities and the desert edge, at a pace that leaves room to understand each.

## Highlights

- Algiers, its museums and the historic Casbah
- Roman Tipaza, Cherchell and Djémila
- Constantine and its suspension bridge
- The oasis charm of Bou Saada
- A blend of culture, history and landscape

## Day by day

### Day 1 — Arrival in Algiers

Airport welcome, check-in at a city-center hotel, an evening city tour and dinner.
- **Houari Boumediene Airport**: Met on arrival and transferred to a city-centre hotel, with the practicalities handled.
- **An evening city tour**: A first orientation loop as the lights come on — the seafront arcades, Martyrs’ Square and the Grande Poste.
- **Dinner in Algiers**: A first Algerian table in the centre, with the eight days ahead talked through.

### Day 2 — Algiers cultural tour

The Bardo Museum, the UNESCO Casbah, and the Martyrs' Memorial (Makam Echahid).
- **The Bardo Museum**: Prehistory and ethnography inside a graceful Moorish villa, from Saharan rock-art casts to silver jewellery and everyday Algeria.
- **The Casbah of Algiers**: The UNESCO-listed Ottoman citadel — a steep white labyrinth of palaces, mosques and courtyard houses climbing above the bay.
- **The Martyrs' Memorial (Maqam Echahid)**: Three soaring concrete palm-fronds raised in 1982 over the city, honouring the dead of the war of independence.

### Day 3 — Tipaza & Cherchell

The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania, the Tipaza archaeological park, and the Cherchell museum.
- **The Royal Mausoleum of Mauretania**: A great stone drum on a hill above the sea — the 1st-century-BC tomb of Berber king Juba II and Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra of Egypt.
- **Roman Tipaza**: A UNESCO-listed Roman port strung along the Mediterranean — basilicas, baths and a theatre with the waves at their feet.
- **Cherchell (ancient Caesarea)**: Juba II's old capital, whose museum holds some of Algeria's finest Roman and Greek mosaics and statuary.

### Day 4 — Constantine

The Sidi M'Cid bridge, Ahmed Bey Palace, the Emir Abdelkader Mosque, and a city walk.
- **Constantine's bridges**: The 'City of Bridges' spanning the dizzying Rhumel gorge, the Sidi M'Cid footbridge slung high above it.
- **Ahmed Bey Palace**: The early-19th-century Ottoman palace of the last bey, with painted galleries and shaded courtyards.
- **The Emir Abdelkader Mosque**: One of Africa’s largest mosques, its twin minarets a modern landmark of Constantine.

### Day 5 — Djémila

The UNESCO Roman site of Djémila — its theatre and temples — with a local lunch.
- **The Djémila theatre & temples**: The best-preserved monuments of the UNESCO Roman city, with a local lunch.
- **The Arch of Caracalla**: The triumphal arch of AD 216 at the edge of Djémila’s new forum — the image the site is known by.
- **The Djémila mosaics**: On-site mosaics among the richest in the Roman world, in the site museum.

### Day 6 — To Bou Saada

The road from Constantine to Bou Saada, check-in and free time, and a traditional dinner with local music.
- **The Hodna plain**: The road south-west from Constantine across the high steppe and the salt flats of the Chott El Hodna.
- **Bou Saada**: The "city of happiness" — a palm oasis at the foot of the Ouled Naïl range, and the end of the drive.
- **A dinner with local music**: Traditional food and live Saharan music at the guesthouse — the evening the whole day is built around.

### Day 7 — Bou Saada & return

The Bou Saada waterfall, the Ferrero Mill, and the El Hamel zawiya, then the return to Algiers.
- **The Bou Saada waterfall**: A natural cascade in the oasis — the cool green corner of the 'City of Happiness'.
- **The Ferrero Mill**: A historic riverside mill, a landmark of old Bou Saada.
- **The El Hamel zawiya**: A hilltop Rahmaniyya Sufi shrine and Quranic school above Bou Saada — calm, austere and panoramic.

### Day 8 — Departure

Breakfast, check-out and transfer to Algiers airport.
- **A free morning**: Time for anything the week missed in the capital, or a last walk on the seafront, depending on your flight.
- **Last shopping**: Kabyle silver, Tuareg leather, dates and pastries from the city-centre artisan shops.
- **Houari Boumediene Airport**: Check-out, the private transfer and assistance through check-in.

## Included

- Accommodation in 4-star hotels with breakfast
- Private transportation
- Traditional lunch
- All taxes and fees

## Questions

**Which UNESCO sites are included?**
Tipaza, Djémila and the Casbah of Algiers.

**How much travel is involved?**
It's a touring itinerary across the north and the Saharan edge, with comfortable transfers.

**Is accommodation included?**
Yes — 4-star hotels with breakfast, private transport and a traditional lunch.

**How does it differ from the 10-day tour?**
It focuses on the north and Bou Saada rather than reaching the M'Zab.

## Booking & policies

- Request to book: dates are held free for 72 hours with no payment while availability, permits and flights are confirmed; a deposit then secures the trip and the balance is due before departure. Payment by bank transfer, card or PayPal.
- 5% off when booked at least 60 days before departure.
- Free cancellation up to 5 days before departure, full refund. Within 5 days, committed costs may not be recoverable; the rest is refunded.
- If the visa is refused, everything paid to Algeria Compass is refunded.
- Visa: Consulate route: invitation letter 25 USD for a programme of at least 3 days with airport pickup and drop-off. Visa on arrival at Algiers airport for organised programmes that include the Sahara: authorisation 45 USD, plus the arrival stamp paid at the airport (by length of stay).