Experience the best of Djanet

Djanet sits at about a thousand metres in the far south-east of Algeria, a cluster of mud-brick quarters and palm gardens among dark sandstone hills. It is the main town of the Tuareg Kel Ajjer, and an old settlement of flat-roofed houses climbs a rocky spur above the oasis, looking out over the date palms and the sand beyond.

Behind the town rises Tassili n'Ajjer, a national park and World Heritage site whose name means plateau of the rivers. Wind has carved its sandstone into towers, arches and narrow corridors, and thousands of paintings and engravings record cattle, giraffes, hunters and dancers from the time when the Sahara was green. Further afield, the red sandstone and dunes of the Tadrart reach towards the Libyan border.

Tuareg hospitality centres on sweet green tea poured in three rounds, and on taguella, a flat bread baked under hot sand and eaten with goat stew. Dates from the oasis gardens finish the meal, and in winter the nights are cold enough to gather round a fire.