Trans-Sahara Highway
🌍 Algeria
The Trans-Sahara Highway is a network of roads stretching approximately 4,500 kilometers across the Sahara Desert, connecting Algiers in Algeria with Lagos in Nigeria via Tamanrasset, Agadez, and Niamey in Niger. The route follows ancient trans-Saharan trade paths used by camel caravans for centuries to transport gold, salt, and slaves across the world's largest hot desert. While sections in Algeria and Nigeria are now paved, significant stretches through central Niger remain unpaved or deteriorated, making the full crossing one of the world's great overland challenges.
The most demanding section runs through the Tenere Desert in northern Niger, an area known as the "desert within a desert," where temperatures can exceed 50 degrees Celsius and sandstorms can reduce visibility to zero. The route passes through the dramatic landscape of the Hoggar Mountains in southern Algeria, where volcanic peaks rise from the desert floor, and through the Air Mountains of Niger. The legendary "Tree of Tenere," once considered the most isolated tree on Earth, stood along this route until it was knocked down by a truck driver in 1973.
Crossing the Sahara by road requires extensive preparation, including carrying sufficient fuel and water for several days, traveling in convoy, and registering with local authorities. Political instability and security concerns in the Sahel region have made the full crossing increasingly risky in recent years, and most Western governments advise against travel through parts of the route. Despite these challenges, the Trans-Sahara Highway remains a bucket-list adventure for experienced overlanders and a vital economic corridor for the nations it connects.