Kherrata Gorges

The Agrioun river cuts a narrow gorge through limestone between the Setif high plains and the coast at Bejaia, and in the nineteenth century a road was blasted along it, running on ledges cut into the rock face and through a series of short tunnels with the river far below and walls rising several hundred metres on both sides. It remains one of the more dramatic drives in Algeria and a standard stop on the route between Setif and the coast, with pull-offs where the gorge narrows. A dam sits at the southern end. Barbary macaques appear along the road, and the older road sections have been kept in places as walking viewpoints.

What you actually see

• Road ledges cut into the cliff - the nineteenth-century engineering.
• Short rock tunnels - the sequence of cuts through the walls.
• The river far below - the Agrioun at the base of the gorge.
• Macaques on the roadside - the troops along the route.

When to go

April to October; the gorge is prone to rockfall and closures after heavy rain. Two to three hours as a stop on the drive. Traffic is heavy on this route.

Honest expectations

It is a working trunk road with lorries and no footway; stopping is only safe at the marked pull-offs. Rockfall closes it periodically. Litter at the viewpoints is heavy. Photographing from the road is genuinely dangerous.

Nearby

Bejaia is north; Setif lies south on the plains.