Photo workshop details
Duration
8 days
Country
Algeria
Dates
January 9 to 18, 2026
Workshop
Landscape
Participants
4 to 10
This photo workshop in Algeria takes you to the heart of the Tassili n’Ajjer Cultural Park, the territory of the Tuareg people, and a real open-air museum. The site is classified as a World Heritage Site and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
In the wilderness, you will visit the most important sites in the park guided by two photographers, Samy Berkani and Urip Dunker, who will lead the daily photo workshops.
We’ll also take the opportunity to admire some of the park’s 15,000 rock paintings and engravings, the oldest of which date back 8,000 years.
During the photo tour, you will stay in a house with all the facilities in Djanet, the only town in the region.
We’ll travel by 4X4 vehicle for part of the trip, and bivouac on excursions to more remote areas to take advantage of the sunrise and sunset, but above all to capture the Sahara sky and the Milky Way that emerges behind the rocky landscapes of the Tassili.
What’s included
- Transfer from the airport to Djanet
- Accommodation in a room shared with other participants
- Bivouac equipment (except for sleeping bag)
- 3 meals a day during the stay
- Landscape, wildlife, and macro photography workshops during the tour (in English, French, and German)
- Optional online post-processing seminar after the trip
- Visa application before the trip
- Plane tickets Algiers-Djanet and Djanet-Alger
- An accompanying person from Algiers airport to Djanet airport
- Management fees
What is not included
- Personal travel insurance
- Tickets to and from Algeria
- Visa fees
- Photographic material
- Snacks
- Alcohol
Workshop program
9/01/2026
Day 1 : Departure to Djanet
We take an overnight flight for about 2 hours to Djanet airport. After a 30-minute transfer from the airport to our accommodation, it's time to rest and get some sleep.
10/01/2026 to 16/01/2026
Day 2-7 : Photo workshop in Tassili n'Ajjer
For 6 days, you'll live at the pace of nature in the Sahara, the Tassili n'Ajjer and its breathtaking landscapes. Each day, working groups are organised to optimise the landscape photography workshop for each participant.
17/01/2026
Day 8 : Back to Djanet
On day 8, we return to Djanet and pack up. We enjoy a farewell meal around a campfire to share our impressions. The next morning, we board our flight from Djanet to Algiers.
The landscapes of Tassili n’Ajjer
Since 2024, an area of the planet Mars has been called Tassili n’Ajjer by NASA, because the landscapes of the cultural park are so Martian!
The landscapes of Tassili n’Ajjer are made up of rock formations that emerge from sand dunes like trolls frozen in time. The dunes and rocky plateaux sometimes give way to monoliths, gorges, and canyons that hide Guelta (water holes) known only to the Tuareg.
The Tadrart rouge (literally “red mountain”) region is famous for its red-orange sand and black rock, whose shapes invite the imagination.
The Tassili n’Ajjer is the perfect place for a landscape photography workshop. We chose this region because of its minimalist shapes, delicate colors, and infinite possibilities for composition and creation. It’s a paradise for photographers who like to take their time, observe shapes and light, and wander around to find unique viewpoints.
At night, rocks rise up in the darkness like giants. Their silhouettes are outlined against a starry sky, far from the light pollution of cities and the foggy atmospheres of humid regions. The Sahara is the ideal place for astrophotography and night landscapes. The sand dunes and rock provide a perfect foreground, while the Milky Way dominating the sky provides a majestic background.
Finally, the acacias, emblematic trees of the southern Sahara, are one of the subjects of this photo tour in Algeria, as they accentuate the effect of desolation and survival in an extreme environment.
The wildlife of Tassili n’Ajjer
The wildlife of the Sahara is as rich as it is discreet, and the Tassili n’Ajjer is no exception. In this extreme environment, animals have adapted to survive. They have developed incredible morphological and physiological capacities and adopted unique behaviors.
The animals of the Sahara are mainly active at night. Observations may vary according to the season. The most emblematic mammals of the Tassili n’Ajjer are the moufflon, the fennec, the Ruppell’s fox, the golden wolf, the Dorcas gazelle, the addax, the cape hare, the ratel and the zorilla. Other rarer animals, such as the sand cat and the Saharan cheetah, are regularly reported.
As for rodents, the rock damsel, the Mzab goundi, numerous species of gerbil, and the Libyan meridian are all present in the Tassili n’Ajjer. But the species we see most frequently is the rock damsel, which is very present in the scree slopes.
The Tassili n’Ajjer is also rich in reptiles. The sand viper and desert monitor are common in the region. But many other species such as the horned viper, the whiptail, and the Tassili agama are also widely present.
Finally, many species of birds live in the Tassili n’Ajjer. The White-crowned Wheatear is the most common. It is impossible to miss it, as it is present throughout the region and in large numbers.
Birds of prey are also well represented, with the golden eagle, the ferocious buzzard, and several species of owl, including the little owl and the great horned owl.
The territory
The Tassili n’Ajjer is a high plateau ranging in altitude from 1,000m to over 2,000m. This immense territory of almost 72,000km² is located in the extreme southeast of Algeria, 1500km from Algiers. The park’s highest point is the Adrar Afao mountain, at an altitude of 2158m.
The Tassili n’Ajjer is an excellent example of the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems to be found in the Sahara. In the north, you can walk below sea level in areas where the water table is close by. In the south, as in the Tassili n’Ajjer, there are plateaux and mountains. Water is scarcer here, and different flora and fauna have developed.
The Tassili n’Ajjer is also famous for its thousands of engravings and cave paintings. It is one of Africa’s major archaeological sites. But it is also the territory of the Kel Ajjer Tuareg, whose culture is ancestral. These Tuaregs, who were once nomads, have now settled in the town of Djanet. However, nomads continue to roam the Tassili n’Ajjer with their donkeys, dromedaries, and goats.
Finally, the Tassili n’Ajjer plateau has been shaped and eroded by water, wind, and sand. Every two to three years, heavy storms accompanied by torrential rainfall on the region, sculpting the Tassili n’Ajjer landscape and carving out gorges and canyons.
Safety in the Tassili n’Ajjer
Although the Tassili n’Ajjer region has had a turbulent past and was completely closed to tourism by the Algerian authorities, the area is now completely secure.
To promote tourism in the region, the authorities have facilitated access to the town of Djanet with daily flights from Algiers, and a new system for obtaining visas directly at the airport. In other words, a new era is dawning for the Algerian Sahara! Europeans, Americans, and Russians are once again visiting the Tassili, and the feedback is positive.
We decided to open up the Tassili n’Ajjer destination for our photo tours because all the indicators are in the green. Today, the terrorism risk level is now similar to that of other regions, including Europe. Furthermore, we’re in constant contact with the Tuaregs and the military to keep abreast of the slightest change.
It would be a shame to miss this opportunity to visit the most beautiful natural site in Algeria.
The capital Algiers is also considered a secure area overall. It is therefore possible to take advantage of your stay to visit Algiers and its many historic sites. However, we recommend that participants in our photo tours avoid certain areas, especially at night, as the main risk is that of delinquency.
The other danger in the Sahara is venomous animals. The three animals concerned are scorpions, sand vipers, and horned vipers.
During our photo workshop, our team of people who are used to working with these animals will ensure your safety. In addition, you will be given a short training course before your stay to help you understand how to behave in the desert.
Finally, the people of Djanet, the Tuaregs, are a welcoming and curious community. Everywhere you look, you’ll find kindness. All you risk in the town is being invited to drink a traditional mint tea!
Our photo tour in Algeria
Our photo workshop in the Tassili n’Ajjer is guided by two photographers, landscape photographer Urip Dunker and wildlife photographer Samy Berkani.
The trip is both a guided cultural tour of one of the world’s most fascinating regions and a photo workshop to learn and improve photography and framing techniques.
To complete the team, two Tuaregs will help us prepare meals and drive the participants. They will also be delighted to share their experiences and stories, as they were born in the desert.
What’s more, our photography course in Algeria is suitable for all levels. We form small working groups every day to ensure that each participant benefits from the appropriate training.
Once the schedules have been drawn up, we leave plenty of room for adventure and the unexpected. We like to be surprised by nature and experience special moments, which is why we do this job.
Finally, back at home, we offer participants free post-production training to learn how to use Adobe Lightroom photo development software.