Close your eyes and imagine …
The Tassili N’Ajjer National Park, situated in the southeast of Algeria within the Tassili n’Ajjer massif, shares borders with Libya to the east and Niger to the south, with the primary town in proximity being Djanet.
The park, renowned for its rich treasures, particularly its famous engravings and cave paintings, attained national park status in 1972. Recognizing its significance, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1982 and classified it as a Man and the Biosphere Reserve in 1986.
Covering an expansive 100,000 hectares, the park boasts an archaeological character adorned with a plethora of engravings, rock paintings, and the last surviving cypresses of Duprez or Tarout. Often referred to as the largest prehistoric museum globally, the Tassili Park houses around 15,000 recorded cave artworks.
The fauna depicted in the rock drawings includes 230 animal species, many of which still inhabit the region. Large mammals like the Barbary sheep thrive in the steepest regions, while numerous gazelles roam the vast wadis of Tassili, and fish populate the gueltas. Endangered species like the cheetah, the fennec fox, the sand cat, and the Sahara goundi are also present. Avifauna is represented by species like the owl, the fierce buzzard, and the golden eagle.
The flora of Tassili comprises typical Saharan species such as the Tassili cypress, acacia, tamarix, and various medicinal plants. The climate in the Tassili National Park is hyperarid and desertic, with an extremely low annual rainfall averaging 25mm. Despite this, due to the plateau’s altitude (1100m), there are sheltered and humid areas where vegetation and fauna can thrive. The average annual temperature ranges from 20 to 21 °C, reaching a peak of 50 °C in summer and 1 °C in winter.
Within the park are three ksours (traditional Berber villages) situated on the banks of the wadi. El Mihane in the south represents a typical Saharan ksar with its clay and stone houses and winding streets ascending steep slopes. Adjahil, nestled against a cliff, overlooks gardens and springs. While these ksours are now in ruins, they remain of great interest due to their organization and architecture.
The Tassili n’Ajjer National Park stands as a repository of invaluable cultural, historical, and landscape heritage, deserving of careful preservation by humanity.
Ils témoignent
