A palm oasis and restored mud-brick ksar at the foot of some of the highest dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental — the easiest way to experience the great sand sea.
About 95 km south of Béchar, Taghit is a small oasis on the Zousfana river, squeezed between a rocky ridge and the dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental, a sand sea of some 100,000 km². The view from the ksar towards the dunes rising behind the palms is one of the most striking in the Algerian Sahara, and the town is a favourite with Algerian travellers for New Year.
Taghit's ksar and gardens show how oasis communities managed scarce water and shade for centuries. Local guesthouses serve dishes such as couscous with dates and medfouna, a stuffed bread baked in the coals.
The Sahara regions
Golden dunes rising behind a palm oasis, a night in a bivouac camp and the restored ksar of Taghit — the western Sahara at its most accessible.
Trek or 4x4? Tent or open sky? What fitness, what kit, what paperwork? Everything to decide and prepare before your first nights in the Algerian Sahara.
How long to stay, which regions to combine and how to sequence flights, seasons and visas — with three tried-and-tested itineraries from our team.
Sandstone labyrinths, red dunes, volcanic mountains, sand seas and oasis towns: a journey through the five faces of the Algerian Sahara and how to explore each of them.
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