Mankhor & Aman Sammedni, mystical exploration of Tassili

Highlights

• An itinerary through diverse and captivating landscapes
• Discovery of a remote region
• Stunning paintings and engravings in Aman Sammedni
• Impressive forest of stones
• Multitude of colored dunes
• Fascinating and mysterious archaeological discoveries

Program

Djanet – Tinamali

Departure from Europe or Algiers. We are welcomed at the Djanet airport by our team late in the evening.

Day 1 · Mankhor

We take the road to Amaïs and meet with nomadic populations for a genuine moment of exchange and sharing. We leave the camp towards Alidemma, a little-known and less frequented area that offers magnificent panoramas, numerous natural arches, and rock art sites. We cross the great sandstone expanses to bivouac at Mankhor.

Day 2 · Ouan Alkhir

Discovery of the Mankhor necropolis where small heaps of stones form bovine burials. The landscapes of an infinite variety follow one another to discover all the flora of the Sahara, in particular, the famous Acacia of the desert. We continue our circuit towards Ouan Alkhir for a hike through a labyrinth of peaks carved by erosion, a real forest of stones.

Day 3 · Aman Sammedni

We arrive in the basin of Aman Sammedni, which means «cold water». We explore the sumptuous shelter where many paintings of dromedaries dating from the camel period abound. In the middle of the great golden dunes of Aman Sammedni, we join El Berdj Ouan Tabarakat.

Day 4 · El Berdj

We discover the curious Kel Essuf paintings, nicknamed the «paintings of the spirits». They are the oldest known paintings from Tassili N’ajjer. Our journey continues between cliffs and sand dunes, a crossing in natural and mysterious corridors to reach El Berdj.

Day 5 · Tinalakam

Our exploration continues to see magnificent paintings from the Bovidian period that testify to the rich human settlement during the Neolithic. On this site, many fragments of pottery and other objects of this time, including millstones and hard stone wheels, are present.

Day 6 · Tiska

We leave Tinalakam towards the Tin Hanakaten site. In 2019, excavations revealed skeletons dating back more than 11,000 years. We visit the Tamessaouat spring, passing through a camp of nomads, and head towards Mount Tiska. During the day, we discover another testimony of rock art, fossilized sandstone banks (algae, lamellibranches), and engravings.

Day 7 · Djanet

We will reach the site of Tagharghart to contemplate the very beautiful and famous engraving of «The weeping cow». We return to Djanet with a visit to the old city, the local market, and the possibility of taking a shower. We set up our last camp in the dunes before leaving for the airport.

For unforeseeable reasons (traffic, flight, case of force majeure, climate, etc.) and for the good progress of your trip, our guide may be required to adapt the program.