Tassili n’ Ajjer can be defined as a mountain region in the south-eastern part of Algeria near the Sahara desert.
It is a harsh and rudimentary area; however, it is as important as other UNESCO World Heritage sites, and it has beautiful landscapes as well as a rich cultural heritage. Tassili n’ Ajjer can be seen as a part of some of the futuristic films where gigantic sandstone cliffs, bizarre shapes of the rocks, and countless deserts as far as the eye can see are seen.
Without doubt, the dominant and most prominent feature of Tassili n’Ajjer is a list of prehistoric murals that represent a unique collection of paintings and carvings made in caves; some of them are over 12 thousand years old.
More so, these paintings depict life in the Sahara as it used to be long before the Sahara turned into the desert we know of today. Giraffes, elephants, and cattle are depicted in a colorful way in order to introduce the world of the region, as it is no longer populated with such animals.
Tassili n’Ajjer is rather apocalyptic, an adventure in every sense of the word. It can safely be said that it is as far away as it is possible; getting there requires a lot of effort to traverse the desert in 4×4 vehicles. When one finally arrives, there is only to walk and hike across rocks and scrub looking for the caves and their prehistoric paintings.
The landscape is out of this world: strange columns of rock that were carved over thousands of years of wind and water action, mainly. Some of the most visited sites include the formation of sandstone pillars called the “rock forests,” which tower majestically in the middle of the spoilt desert.
Another small population inhabits Tassili n’Ajjer: the inhabitants of the desert where the Tuareg are the people who have been living there for hundreds of centuries. The Tuaregs are Negroes, They wear blue clothes which are well known, and they are of great assistance in activities that require navigation in desert.
It is exceedingly difficult to access, and the climate is severe, although for those that would attempt it, they gain the opportunity to enter one of the most stunning terrains in the world. The twenty-four-hour availability of breathtaking natural scenery is not alone the only thing that makes this a total opposite to what anyone would expect to find within the Sahara Desert but a sign of ancient history and traditional culture as well.
Mark