The Forgotten Caravan Routes of the Algerian Sahara

For centuries, the Algerian Sahara was not an empty desert. It was a highway. Thousands of camels crossed it every year, loaded with salt, gold, ivory and fabrics, linking sub-Saharan Africa to Mediterranean ports. These caravan routes shaped civilisations, enriched kingdoms, and left traces still legible in the landscapes and cultures of Algeria's deep south. Researchers from around the world — including several Japanese teams — are now dedicating their work to recovering these forgotten itineraries. What they are discovering is fascinating.

A millennia-old network beneath the sand

The earliest traces of organised trans-Saharan trade date back to Antiquity. The Phoenicians, and later the Romans, already knew the routes that rose from the heart of Africa to Carthage and the coastal cities. But it was from the 8th century onwards, with the rise of Islam and the expansion of the Sahelian kingdoms, that caravan trade reached its peak.

The Algerian Sahara held a central position in this network. Its geography — the Tassili ridges, the Hoggar massif, the Tademaït plateaus — imposed precise itineraries, dictated by the location of water points. To change route was to die. Caravanners knew every well, every spring, every rocky shelter by heart, and passed this knowledge from generation to generation.

The great routes that crossed Algeria

Three main axes structured caravan trade across present-day Algeria:

The Eastern Route — the Djanet trail

Starting from Ghat (present-day Libya), it entered Algeria through the Tassili N'Ajjer, crossed the Djanet region, then descended towards the Nigerien Sahel. This was the route for exchanges between the Libyan Mediterranean basin and the Hausa kingdoms. The Kel Ajjer Tuareg were its masters and levied a toll on each convoy. Djanet was a crucial rest stop, with its irrigated gardens and exchange markets.

The Central Route — the Tamanrasset trail

The most emblematic. It came up from Niger and Mali, crossed the Aïr, passed through the Hoggar via Tamanrasset, and joined the major cities of the Maghreb. The Kel Ahaggar Tuareg ensured its security. This was the route taken by the Taoudenni salt caravans, whose white hand-cut blocks were traded for their weight in gold in Sahelian markets. The Assekrem, which travellers visit today for its panorama, once overlooked these history-laden convoys.

The Western Route — the ksour trail

Less well known, it linked Timbuktu to the major cities of the Maghreb via Timimoun, Ghardaia and the ksour of the M'Zab. This was a gentler route, suited to convoys carrying fragile goods such as fabrics and spices. The foggaras of Timimoun — those millennia-old underground canals — still bear witness to the prosperity this trade generated.

What the caravans carried

Salt deserves special mention. Extracted from the mines of Taoudenni in Mali, it was literally worth its weight in gold in tropical regions where it was scarce. Hand-cut salt blocks even served as a medium of exchange. Salt caravans were among the most protected — and the most coveted.

The Tuareg, masters of the trails

No caravan crossed the Sahara without the agreement — and often the escort — of the Tuareg. This was not merely a matter of security: it was an ancient rule, inscribed in the customary law of the Tuareg confederations.

The Tuareg fulfilled three essential functions:

• Guiding — perfect knowledge of routes, water points and shelters, passed down orally through generations
• Protection — armed escort against raids, with a reputation that often sufficed to deter attackers
• Mediation — resolving commercial disputes between merchants of different origins

In return, they collected a toll (the aghal) and participated in trade themselves, particularly by selling camels, milk and craft products. This caravan economy forged Tuareg culture as it still exists: mobility, obligatory hospitality towards the traveller, and a keen sense of orientation in the vast expanse.

The stops you can still visit today

The beauty of these routes is that they are not buried in museums. You can still travel them. Modern trails often follow ancient caravan tracks, dictated by the same geographical constraints. Here are the sites that most clearly bear the imprint of this history:

Djanet and the Tassili N'Ajjer

The rock engravings and paintings of the Tassili depict processions of animals and figures that testify to ancient exchanges between peoples of the Sahara and the Sahel. Djanet itself retains a ksar architecture typical of caravan staging posts: narrow streets to shelter from the wind, low houses, former warehouses converted to other uses. Local agencies offer treks that follow ancient trail routes.

Tamanrasset and the Hoggar

The Assekrem is the unmissable waypoint of the central route. The trail that climbs to it from Tamanrasset is still carved by the passage of thousands of hooves. The market in Tamanrasset, very active today, is a direct heir of the caravan economy: leather, silver jewellery, spices, dried dates.

Timimoun and the foggaras

The foggaras — an underground irrigation system 2,000 years old — made it possible for a staging-post town to exist in the middle of the desert. Timimoun was an essential resupply point on the western route. Its red earthen ksour remain among the best preserved in Algeria.

Ghardaia and the M'Zab

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the pentapolis of the M'Zab owes its existence to caravan trade. The Mozabites — Ibadi merchants — built this network of fortified cities to control and secure the routes descending towards the Sahara. The architecture, entirely conceived for defence and the storage of goods, speaks volumes about the strategic importance of the site.

Why was this history forgotten?

For a long time, trans-Saharan history was written by 19th-century European explorers, who offered a partial and often distorted view. Arabic and Berber sources — abundant though they were — were little consulted by Western historians. As for Tuareg oral traditions, their systematic collection only began in the 1970s.

This is where an unexpected contribution comes in: Japanese researchers specialising in the history of Islam and African civilisations have been examining these routes since the 1990s, without the colonial biases of European historiographies. Their work, published in Japanese and gradually translated, has shed light on exchange networks and social structures that European accounts had long ignored. They have notably documented the sophistication of the credit systems used by trans-Saharan merchants — comparable to medieval European letters of exchange.

This research gives new depth to what travellers see on the ground: a trail is not just a trail, a ksar is not just a fortified village. They are links in a global network that existed long before Europe discovered its own maritime routes.

Frequently asked questions

What were the main goods transported by the caravans?

Northbound: gold, ivory, hides and kola nuts from sub-Saharan Africa. Southbound: salt extracted from the mines of Taoudenni and Timimoun, fabrics, weapons and dates. Salt held a value comparable to gold in tropical regions where it was scarce.

What role did the Tuareg play in the caravans?

They were the undisputed masters of the trails. They provided guidance (perfect knowledge of routes and water points), convoy protection, and commercial mediation. Without their agreement, no caravan could cross their territory. In return, they collected a toll and participated in trade themselves.

Can you still follow these caravan routes today?

Yes. Modern trails often pass through the same water points and passes as the caravans of old. Agencies in Djanet and Tamanrasset offer circuits along ancient routes, with Tuareg guides whose families have kept these trails for centuries.

Why did the caravans disappear?

French colonisation in the 19th century disrupted the tribal networks that ensured route security. The widespread adoption of trucks in the 1950s–1960s completed the process: faster and cheaper, motorised transport made the camel obsolete for large-scale trade. A few small salt caravans still survive today in northern Mali.