Plan your trip to Algeria

This large North African nation is a land of dramatic desertscapes, active Tuareg tribal culture and bustling Mediterranean seaports. Must-see landmarks include the sandstone forests of Tassili N’Ajjer—which comprise more than 15,000 cave art drawings that record animal migrations and climate changes—and the vast, rugged Hoggar Mountains of the Algerian Sahara.

The country’s capital, Algiers, is the largest port city in northwest Africa. Famed for its whitewashed buildings, Algiers was once a Barbary pirate base and a French colonial hub. It’s also home to the labyrinthine hilltop old quarter, the Casbah. Earthquakes, floods and civil war during the 1990s wreaked havoc on the Casbah’s Ottoman-era architecture, and today much of it is in ruins, although the Algerian government announced plans in September 2008 to undergo an extensive restoration project on the historical district.