"The Algerian "Hauts-Plateaux"" Wilaya de Djelfa by JLBG

Wilaya de Djelfa Travel Guide: 17 reviews and 49 photos

Ouled Naïl women

When you drive from Algiers to Tamanrasset, you encounter three zones.

First, the Tell, a narrow strip of plains 100-200 km wide, stretching along the Mediterranean coast from the Moroccan border to the Tunisian border. This is the wealthiest part of Algeria.

Second the Hauts plateaux, a wider strip that stretches again from one border to the other.

And third the "Grand Sud algérien" –the Sahara- that covers 80-85% of the country.

Moving horizon

The Hauts plateaux is a poor land, 1000-1100 meters mean elevation, with poor soil, where agriculture is almost impossible and where the people earn most of their poor living on cattle growing with flocks of sheeps, goats, donkeys and camels that graze the scarce grass. In winter, it is cold and windy. In summer it is hot, dry and windy. In spring (when we have always visited), it is often raining and windy.

Wilaya de Djelfa

The Hauts plateaux extend on 14 willayas : Tebessa, Oum el Bouaghi, Batna, Khenchela, Setif, Bordj Bou Arreridj, El Bayadh, Naama, Tiaret, Tissemsilt, Saida, Msila, Djelfa, Laghouat.

I have built this page is under Wilaya de Djelfa because the only part of the Hauts Plateaux that I know is along the road from Algiers to Tamanrasset and more precisely from Ksar El Boukhari to Laghouat, around Djelfa.

Last visit to Wilaya de Djelfa: Apr 1988
Intro Written Feb 20, 2007
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Reviews (17)

Cistanche tubulosa Favorites (5)

Cistanche tubulosa is a close relative to the previous plant. It is not so beautiful but edible and is called "Tuaregs'... more travel advice

Cistanche violacea Favorites (5)

Cistanche violacea is a parasite plant that grows in the Hauts Plateaux and in several parts of the Sahara. It is close... more travel advice

Time to leave! Off The Beaten Path (11)

We stayed may be half an hour but we had to drive back to Algiers to take the ferry and go back home! We could not stay... more travel advice

More Ouled Nail women - Wilaya de Djelfa

More Ouled Nail women Off The Beaten Path (11)

Once they understood that we were harmless foreign visitors and not officers coming from the capital for some unknown... more travel advice

Local Customs (1)
Typical load on a truck

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Comments (7)

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tiabunna Oct 24, 2007 at 6:44 PM

Loved your details and photos of the Ouled Nail people. Yes, stopping to look at even "flat and featureless" country usually reveals something interesting!
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Bwana_Brown Jun 26, 2007 at 8:04 AM

Quite an interesting page considering that you were driving on the barren flats! For a parasite the Cistanche violacea is beautiful. I had not seen a 'mahmal' before and your visit with the Ouled Nail nomads was fantastic!
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LoriPori Apr 30, 2007 at 4:32 AM

Truly enjoyable page Jean-Louis. I especially liked the amazing photos of the Ouled Nail women & children.
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mvtouring Apr 1, 2007 at 11:18 PM

What an amazing experience. once again an amazing page ;-)
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scottishvisitor Mar 7, 2007 at 11:03 AM

Not much to see but your insights into the life of the people make for marvelous reading The Shepherd with his hidden budle made me smile!
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Trekki Feb 22, 2007 at 12:30 AM

Amazing !! The people look so beautiful ! Ah, I really like that :-)) And I also like the cistanche plants - it is always marvellous how species form with the weather conditions :-)
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Nemorino Feb 20, 2007 at 2:40 PM

Another fine new page with hypnotic desert photos. And I especially like your photos of the people who live there. And the camels, of course. Good that you had some children in your party so it was easier to make contact with locals.