Djemila

The name means 'the beautiful one' in Arabic, and Djemila earns it: ancient Cuicul was built where no sensible grid could go, a Roman colony folded into a mountain saddle at 900 metres, its planners bending forums, a theatre, temples and triumphal arches to the slope with virtuoso improvisation. The result reads today as one of North Africa's most atmospheric ruins - colonnaded streets stepping downhill, the Severan temple lifting its columns against the hills, Christian basilicas marking the late chapters - and the site museum walls blaze with mosaics lifted from the houses, hunting scenes and mythologies in miraculous colour.

What you actually see

• The Severan temple - the great columned front above the new forum.
• The arch of Caracalla - the triumphal gate on the slope.
• The mosaic museum - wall-to-wall floors from the great houses.
• The theatre - carved into the hillside outside the walls.

When to go

April to June and September to October for mild mountain light - summers scorch, winters can snow at this altitude. Late afternoon empties the site and gilds the stone.

Honest expectations

Getting there takes intent - a winding drive from Setif, and Algerian travel paperwork frames the whole trip; most visitors come with a guide or driver arranged. On-site interpretation is thin: read up or hire the local guides. The mosaics alone justify the museum's modest fee.

Nearby

Setif's museum, Timgad's grid-city cousin further southeast and the Kabylie mountains.