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JLBG Says: Daya do not occur in the middle of the Sahara but on its edges. We have seen what was a reg. However, a reg is never completely flat. There are always places that are a little lower (may be only a few centimeters!) When there is some rain it will be collected in theses low...
JLBG Says: An oued is a riverbed and there are plenty of oued (sorry ouadi is the Arab plural for oued!) in the Sahara. However, these riverbeds are dry most of the time. They might carry water one or two days every 5-10 years but there is water staying underneath the soil and there is...
JLBG Says: May be this is not the best place for a meal but to have some siesta when it was really hot, that was perfect: excellent shade and a contact with the rock that remained cool as it had not been heated by the sun yet!
No tree, no rock, no truck!: no restaurant 4
JLBG Says: However, it might happen that there is no tree, no rock and no truck! Then you must rely completely on yourself. That was the case on the photo and all we could do was to draw a tent fabric along the car, which gave a poor and hot shade! Not the best bivouac but we could not...
General guide lines for driving in the Sahara
JLBG Says: Main roads and tracks avoid ergs as much as possible. It is too "moving" and after as little as a few month, it might be covered by a dune. On our trip 60km from In-Salah to Foggaret-ez-Zoua, we found that after 40 km, the excellent surfaced road was covered by a several...
Driving on cold sand vs hot sand
JLBG Says: In French, a stupid popular sentence says “araignée du matin, chagrin, araignée du soir, espoir” (morning spider, sorrow, evening spider, hope), but this is only for the rythm! In the Sahara, on the countrary, we should say “morning sand, hope, evening sand, sorrow”.When you...
JLBG Says: However, you cannot drive off-road everywhere in the Sahara. When the place is not suitable for off-road, you have to drive on a trail. When cars and trucks drive fast on a dirt road, after a while, it builds “waves” on the surface, called washboard (Tôle ondulée in French)....
JLBG Says: Of course, when there is a good surfaced road, you do not question whether it is possible to drive out of road or not. In 1973, the road was just built between El-Goléa and In-Salah but not open yet. On the way south, we had to use the old trail (first photo), along the new...
JLBG Says: Driving in the Sahara is fun but at the same time it is a very serious job. You will find along the roads and trails reminders of what might occur if you do not follow the guidelines!I wanted to put this silly joke for those who know (well!) French on previous tip but I was...
The Sahara is a cold country where the sun hits ..
JLBG Says: The Sahara is a cold country where the sun hits hard!get both parts of that sentence. If you forget the first part, you might freeze a lot. At night and in the early morning, it can be cold and even very cold in Winter, especially if the wind blows, which occur most of the...
Save your skin, hide from the sun!
JLBG Says: Beware of sunburns! The parts that are the most difficult to protect from sunburns are: the nose, the hands and the top of the feet. Sunburns on the top of the feet occur often on camel treks as you need to take your shoes off to ride a camel and drive him. You can wear wool...
JLBG Says: When you drive in the Sahara and never remain far away from your car, the way you clothe is less important than when you are on a trek for 8-10 days, out in the sun and the wind all the time. The trekker in the Sahara has two enemies:Dehydration is the first. In the desert...
1977, my 5th travel to the Sahara
JLBG Says: I had a Land Rover and as I had already been to Tamanrasset, I knew that to drive from Alger to the Hoggar, there was no need to be two cars. Then we were four in a Land Rover and that’s all. I had proposed to my companions to drive as fast as possible from Algiers to...
JLBG Says: Since I was a kid, I have read books on the Sahara. One told the unlikely story of a French boy "stolen" by gypsies (the old myth of kids stolen by gypsies!), found by his "oncle d'Amérique" (the old myth of the uncle that made big money in America!). The uncle collects...
2002, 10th travel to the Sahara: southern Tunisia
JLBG Says: In 2002, we made another travel to the desert. This one was in Southern Tunisia. Though entirely on surfaced roads, it gave a nice scent of the desert. We flew to Djerba and drove to Gabés, Gafsa, Metlaoui and a ride on the little red train in the "Gorge du Seldja", Tamerza,...
1973, my first travel to the Sahara
JLBG Says: My first travel into the Sahara was for 1973 Easter vacations. Friends that had a previous small experience on the fringes of the desert as they had already been as far as the M'zab, had planned a travel to the Hoggar and bought a second hand Land Rover. We were a party of...
1974, my second travel to the Sahara, a camel trek
JLBG Says: This trek in the Tassili n'Ajjer National Park was organized by a small travel agency managed by several French mountain guides that lived half of the year in the Sahara (Hoggar and Tassili) with the Tuaregs.This trek was in 1974 but almost everything is still valid. I have...
1987, 9th travel to the Sahara, Immidir trek
JLBG Says: Immidir 2 (Trek)This was a trek in another part of the Tassili N’Immidir,again organized by “Homme et Montagnes du Sahara” , with Jean-Louis Bernezat.Each part of the Immidir is very different from one another.More to come!
JLBG Says: Launaea nudicaulis is an Asteraceae named Aghararam in tamahaq. It is common in the Northern Sahara.The young leaves can be cooked and eaten, in the same way than dandelion, a close relative. It is also an excellent feed for camels, especially when a mother has to feed a...
JLBG Says: Astragalus gombo is a Fabaceae named Akassaker in tamahaq. It is again a plant very common in the Sahara, 40-50 cm tall, with yellow flowers 25 mm long, gathered by 3-7. The long leaves are divided into 15 to 30 folioles covered with a whitish hair. It is an excellent feed...
Plan a I-n-Belbel vacation with reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and I-n-Belbel locals
When the sand is soft, a 4x4 is better but does not guarantee that you will be able to pass. On one travel, we were three cars. My Land-Rover never got stuck....
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The Sahara starts at the Tademait Plateau!
This page is under I-n-Belbel, the location found in the VT database that is the closest to the Tademait. As soon as the new VT will allow to introduce easily new locations, I will transfer it to...
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