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Tassili N'Ajjer Rock Art Expedition
Tassili N'Ajjer

Tassili N'Ajjer Rock Art Expedition

7 days

Overview

Embark on an extraordinary journey through Tassili N'Ajjer National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site featuring one of the world's most important collections of prehistoric rock art. Trek through dramatic sandstone formations, discover ancient cave paintings dating back 12,000 years, and experience the raw beauty of the Saharan plateau.

Highlights

  • UNESCO World Heritage prehistoric rock art
  • 12,000-year-old 'Round Head' paintings
  • Pastoral Period cattle and wildlife scenes
  • Dramatic sandstone formations and canyons
  • Tuareg cultural experiences
  • Remote desert camping under the stars
  • Ancient Tifinagh inscriptions

What's Included

  • • Expert archaeological guide
  • • Tuareg support team and camel handlers
  • • All camping equipment and sleeping bags
  • • All meals during the expedition
  • • Camels for carrying equipment
  • • National park entrance fees
  • • Accommodation in Djanet (nights 1 and 7)
  • • Traditional music performances

What's Not Included

  • • Flights to/from Djanet
  • • Travel insurance
  • • Personal trekking equipment (boots, backpack)
  • • Tips for guides and support team
  • • Personal expenses

Available in

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Itinerary

1

Gateway to Tassili

  • ▸ Arrive in Djanet, the gateway to Tassili N'Ajjer, a charming oasis town surrounded by dramatic red sand dunes
  • ▸ Meet your expert guide and Tuareg support team who will accompany you throughout the expedition
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Visit the local museum to gain context about the prehistoric art you'll encounter
  • ▸ Attend a comprehensive briefing on desert trekking, safety protocols, and the cultural significance of the rock art sites
  • ▸ Spend the night in a comfortable guesthouse, preparing for the adventure ahead
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
2

Into the Plateau

  • ▸ Begin your trek into the Tassili N'Ajjer plateau, ascending through spectacular sandstone formations that have been sculpted by wind and sand over millennia
  • ▸ The landscape transforms as you climb, revealing bizarre rock formations resembling forests of stone
  • ▸ Reach your first rock art site, featuring Neolithic paintings of cattle herders, indicating a time when the Sahara was green and fertile
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Your guide explains the different artistic periods and techniques used by ancient artists
  • ▸ Set up camp in a sheltered canyon, surrounded by towering rock walls
  • ▸ As night falls, enjoy traditional Tuareg music around the campfire under a canopy of stars
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
3

The Round Head Period

  • ▸ Trek deeper into the plateau, navigating through narrow gorges and across sandy valleys
  • ▸ Visit sites featuring the mysterious "Round Head" paintings, the oldest artistic period dating back 10,000-12,000 years
  • ▸ These enigmatic figures with their distinctive round heads and elaborate body decorations remain one of archaeology's great mysteries
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Discover paintings depicting shamanic rituals, dancing figures, and abstract symbols
  • ▸ Your guide shares theories about the meaning and purpose of these ancient artworks
  • ▸ Continue to your next campsite, located near a natural water source where ancient peoples once gathered
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
4

Pastoral Period Masterpieces

  • ▸ Today's trek takes you to some of the most spectacular rock art galleries in Tassili
  • ▸ Explore sites featuring the Pastoral Period (7,000-4,000 years ago), when the Sahara was a savanna teeming with wildlife
  • ▸ Marvel at detailed depictions of cattle, giraffes, elephants, and rhinoceros, painted with remarkable skill and naturalism
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Discover scenes of daily life: herders with their cattle, women grinding grain, hunters with bows and arrows
  • ▸ Visit the famous "Swimming Cattle" site, showing cattle swimming across what was once a river
  • ▸ Learn about the gradual desertification of the Sahara and how it's recorded in the changing art styles
  • ▸ Camp near a dramatic rock formation known as the "Stone Forest."
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
5

Horse and Camel Periods

  • ▸ Continue your exploration, visiting sites from the more recent Horse Period (3,000-2,000 years ago) and Camel Period (2,000 years ago to present)
  • ▸ These paintings show the arrival of horses and chariots, followed by camels, marking the adaptation to increasingly arid conditions
  • ▸ Discover Tifinagh inscriptions, the ancient Berber script still used by the Tuareg today
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Visit a site with overlapping paintings from different periods, showing thousands of years of human presence
  • ▸ Trek through a spectacular canyon with walls rising hundreds of feet on either side
  • ▸ Your Tuareg guides share stories and legends associated with various rock formations
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
6

Hidden Galleries and Natural Wonders

  • ▸ On your penultimate day, visit some of the more remote and less-visited rock art sites, requiring scrambling through narrow passages and climbing to elevated shelters
  • ▸ Discover intimate galleries with well-preserved paintings, including rare depictions of human figures in elaborate costumes and masks
  • ▸ Explore natural arches and bridges formed by erosion, creating dramatic frames for the desert landscape
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Visit a site with ancient grinding stones and pottery fragments, evidence of daily life thousands of years ago
  • ▸ Learn about ongoing conservation efforts to protect these irreplaceable artworks from erosion and human impact
  • ▸ Descend from the plateau, camping at a lower elevation for your final night in the wilderness
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.
7

Return to Civilization

  • ▸ After a final sunrise over the Tassili plateau, begin your descent back to Djanet
  • ▸ Stop at a last rock art site featuring a spectacular panel with hundreds of figures, a fitting finale to your expedition
  • ▸ Arrive back in Djanet by afternoon, where you can enjoy a hot shower and comfortable bed
  • ▸ Lunch at a local restaurant featuring regional specialties
  • ▸ Share photos and memories with your team, and receive a certificate commemorating your Tassili N'Ajjer expedition
  • ▸ Depart with a profound appreciation for the ancient peoples who left their mark on these desert rocks and the timeless beauty of the Sahara
  • ▸ Continue with a guided trek to rock-art shelters and interpretation of prehistoric panels
  • ▸ Dinner at a local venue with regional dishes.

Route Map

Map coming soon

Route information will be available soon

Select Meal Plan

€899 / per person
Duration 7 days
Location Tassili N'Ajjer
Best Time Winter
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