Gallery from our one-week, 60-km donkey trek on the Tassili plateau in late 2013, following our camel walk to Essendilene. We took the classic route, up the Akba Essaliwen near Djanet onto the escarpment for Tamrit, then over to amazing Sefar and down and out via Jabbaren. See map below.
Loaded camels can’t manage the climb we took to the plateau (left), far less the descent at Jabbaren. So pack donkeys take a longer, less steep path ascent and, with much coaxing, down the Jabbaren trail with us.

Once on top it’s a Lost World of gnared outcrops, rock art caves, weathered canyons and ancient trees where people thrived 10,000 years ago. And less than 10,000 years after my first visit to Djanet, I was thrilled to finally to tick off the famous Tassili plateau trek. Like Assekrem, it’s the another Must See in the Algerian Sahara, but I hear these days is getting like the Lake District. Not got a week for the full lap? Do a one-day up to Jabbaren and back.

As we were approaching Jabbaren before the steep descent back to the plain at the end of our trek, I heard later that my Spot tracking dropped out for those following it back home. At this time Tigantourine oil base near In Amenas was getting attacked by the Algerian army following a raid by an AQIM group led by the notorious Mokhtar Belmokhtar out of Libya. Even though 400km to the south, I presumed the Algerians temporarily blocked all satellite signals across the region. Checking in unshaven at Algiers airport a couple of days later, the bloke at the desk grinned and asked ‘you were there?’. Turns out it was nothing to smile about.