Beni Abbes

Beni Abbes sits in the Saoura valley between the dunes of the Grand Erg Occidental and the stony hamada, a town of white buildings above a dense palm grove with a large dune rising immediately behind, which is where people walk in the evening for the view over the oasis. A spring feeds the gardens. The hermitage built here in 1901 by Charles de Foucauld, who lived at Beni Abbes before moving south to the Hoggar, still stands and is visited. A Saharan research station established in the twentieth century keeps a small museum of desert geology, plants and animals, including a modest enclosure of desert species.

What you actually see

• A dune above the palm grove - the sand rising straight behind the town.
• The white oasis town - buildings above the irrigated gardens.
• The Foucauld hermitage - the small chapel built in 1901.
• The Saharan research station - the museum of desert natural history.

When to go

November to March; summer temperatures are extreme. A day or two. Sunset from the dune is the fixed evening activity. Nights are cold in winter.

Honest expectations

It is a long way from anywhere and the road from Bechar takes hours. Accommodation and food are limited. The research station museum is dated and its animal enclosures are basic. Travel further into the desert needs authorisation.

Nearby

Taghit is north; Bechar lies beyond it.