Many young Algerians, passionate about their country, would like to embark on the old roads leading to small villages sometimes forgotten by maps and radars. From the top of the mountains, near the skies or in the depths of the Sahara, there are places in Algeria that have been able to keep their identities intact and protect their local cultures and traditions over time.
The following list includes the most beautiful villages in Algeria, voted unanimously. A series of rustic little corners of paradise to visit on your next trip to Algeria.
Tiferdoud
Located at an altitude of almost 1200 m, between the beautiful mountains of Djurdjura, in the commune of Abi Youcef, wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou. Tiferdoud is the highest village in Kabylia and attracts more and more tourists every year. They come to admire the incredible landscapes of the surrounding mountains and villages, but also to discover the organization and the great complicity of its 1,500 inhabitants in the management of the village. In 2018, during the summer, it hosted the 15th edition of the Raconte-Arts festival.
Tiferfoud village, perched on the mountains / Credit: @Yuba at yidir / Wikimedia Commons
Ghoufi
A major tourist site in the wilaya of Batna, the impressive Ghoufi canyon offers the opportunity to visit the village of the same name, which is located just above the oasis, on the edge of the cliff. An idyllic place, with its houses hand-carved into the rock. A village that is no longer inhabited, but which tells a fascinating story, witness to the life of the ancient Chaouis tribes of the region.
Village of Ghoufi – Credits to Reda Kerbouche / Wikimedia Commons
Bounoura
With its 30,000 inhabitants, Bounoura is more of a small town than a village. But it is difficult to miss this nugget of the wilaya of Ghardaia as it puts forward serious assets to seduce its visitors. Because here, we are in the M’Zab Valley, classified by UNESCO, very close to the great Western Erg.
Village of Bounoura / By @Camille Gillet – Wikimedia Commons
El Atteuf
Another flamboyant little village that you can’t miss in the M’Zab valley; El Atteuf. The oldest town in the region, the latter was built around the year 1012, and remains famous for the fabulous Sidi Brahim Mosque, which inspired the French architect Le Corbusier, in the elaboration of the Notre-Dame de Ronchamp chapel as well as many other of his works.
Iguersafen
This small village in the commune of Idjeur, in the wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou, of which it is the capital, is perched at an altitude of 890 m and has no less than 99 martyrs, a very significant number considering the size of the village.
Detached in the heart of a beautiful landscape, where the colour green dominates and contrasts perfectly with the colour of the buildings, Iguersafène has also distinguished itself by its efficient self-management system and the perfect coordination of its inhabitants, highlighting for example a perfectly established waste treatment process, ridding the village of all waste in an efficient and environmentally friendly way.
Boumessaoud
Voted the cleanest village in the wilaya of Tizi-Ouzou, this small town in the commune of Imsouhal is a quiet and very peaceful place where the master of Kabyle song, Cherif Kheddam, comes from.
Boumessaoud has distinguished itself in recent years not only from a tourist point of view, but also by taking into account ecological issues and fighting for the cleanliness and preservation of the region and its riches.
Stool
A picturesque and typical village in Kabylia, Tabourt “the door” clings to a mountainside. Here, rock meets vegetation in perfect harmony, this historic village is the subject of a heritage preservation campaign celebrated every year at the beginning of the olive harvest. Good news for visitors who take the opportunity to taste local specialties.
