THE JAKARTA POST Sun, January 19, 2020
Algeria in North Africa was recently named this year’s “best country to backpack” by the British Backpacker Society (BBS), an organization promoting travels to off-the-beaten-track areas of the world.
With its wide range of attractions and small number of tourists, BSS believes that Algeria packs the most thrills for a backpacking adventure, as reported by Lonely Planet.
“Lying just a short-haul flight away from the huge adventure travel communities living in Europe’s capitals, Algeria’s tourism industry is not only blessed by world-class desert scenery, delightfully hospitable people and spectacular ancient ruins, but it is also blessed by its geographical proximity to keen travelers,” BSS announced on New Year’s Day.
With the Sahara covering up to four-fifths of the land, Algeria is home to marvelous mosques and markets, with a view of the Mediterranean coastline. It also has a mixture of Roman, Ottoman, Arab, and Byzantine heritage.
“I have traveled to over 90 countries, and in all these travels, I have never seen a city quite like Constantine. With a deep gorge cutting straight through its city center, historic Constantine has one of the most dramatic cityscapes on earth,” said BBS cofounder, Adam Sloper, in a statement.
Described by French writer Albert Camus as being “inhabited by the gods”, Tipaza, a little city made of roman ruins dating back 2000 years is one of the three Algerian cities on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, the other being Timgad and Djemila.
Tlemcen, a city in the northern region of Algeria hosts a stunning mix of Berber and Arab-Andalusian culture and is home to the 11th century Grand Mosque.
Previous number ones on the BBS’s “best country to backpack” list include Pakistan (2018) and Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression (2019).
The full list of best countries for backpacking in 2020 according to the BBS can be viewed below:
- Algeria
- Saudi Arabia
- Pakistan
- Iran
- Kazakhstan
- Uzbekistan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Russia
- Ethiopia
- Azerbaijan
