Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
Selected
JOURNEYS
"Travelling - it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller",
by Ibn Battuta.
Our journeys are bold and ambitious, and perhaps the flagship of this homepage.
Although we are also trekking and island nerds, our journeys are sorts of trailblazing travel expeditions which are unique, challenging and adventurous, and thus they epitomize our spirit within adventure.
Often, the regions, countries and places we visit during our journeys take on an exotic quality. What matters is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. Often, we might have to overcome a bit of hardship and logistical challenges since our journeys most often don’t run smoothly. This is all part of the fun.
In our view, a journey is something you would recommend to others. To us, what really matters, is to get away from the established routes and seek something that little bit more special and authentic. We are not talking about the ultimate expedition, but to move away from the familiar, out of the comfort zone, where everyday situations and events take on an exotic quality.
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part II
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
From Europe to the Himalayas along
THE HIPPY TRAIL
Part III
TravelTwins.dk
Exploring the less beaten paths of the world
- look, read, dream, travel!
Into
THE SAHARA
Expeditions across the greatest desert on Earth:
The Sahara in Algeria, Libya, Mauretania, Niger, and Chad
The Sahara has captivated generations of travelers who could not resist the lure of the world's largest desert. More than a landscape, it is an experience that stirs something deep within those who venture into its immense and timeless wilderness.
Like the open sea, the Sahara evokes powerful emotions through its extraordinary beauty and endless horizons. Its vast expanses of golden dunes, rugged mountain ranges, towering sandstone plateaus, gravel plains stretching to infinity, and isolated oases create a landscape of astonishing diversity. No two days in the desert are ever the same.
Although much of the Sahara has now been mapped and explored, it remains one of the last great frontiers of adventure travel. It is no longer terra incognita, yet for those with the curiosity, stamina, and determination to venture beyond the beaten track, the desert continues to offer a genuine sense of exploration.
Location: The Sahara Region in Africa
Under construction. This travel project is ongoing.
The Sahara Desert isn't just endless sand; it's punctuated by significant mountain ranges and central massifs such as the volcanic Tibesti and Hoggar Mountains, plus the Aïr Massif, creating diverse landscapes with canyons, plateaus, and even peaks reaching over 3,400m, offering cooler climates and unique ecosystems within the vast desert.
Traveling across the Sahara reveals a world of contrasts. One moment you are climbing dunes sculpted by the wind into perfect waves of sand; the next you are crossing ancient volcanic massifs, wandering through labyrinths of rock formations, or discovering prehistoric cave art hidden in remote canyons. Herds of wild camels roam the emptiness, while hardy desert shrubs cling to life where almost no rain falls.
As the sun moves across the sky, the desert constantly changes character. Dawn paints the dunes in soft pastel colors, midday brings an overwhelming sense of scale and silence, and sunset transforms the landscape into a sea of gold, crimson, and purple. At night, beneath some of the darkest skies on Earth, millions of stars illuminate the desert and remind travelers how small they are in comparison to nature's grandeur.
Yet the Sahara is far more than sand and solitude. It is home to proud nomadic cultures whose traditions have endured for centuries. Meeting Tuareg, Tubu, Berber, or Sahrawi communities offers a glimpse into a way of life shaped by resilience, hospitality, and an intimate understanding of one of the planet's most challenging environments.
For us, the Sahara represents the ultimate adventure: a place where distances seem infinite, where silence becomes tangible, and where every journey feels like an expedition into the unknown. It is a land that humbles, inspires, and leaves an imprint long after the last dune has disappeared on the horizon.
Check out our other travel pages bordering the Sahara:
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Climbing in the Atlas Mountains
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Traversing the Sinai Mountains
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Climbing volcanoes in Eastern Africa
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If North Africa is of interest check out journey from Morocco over Algeria to Tunisia.
We also traveled across the Mediterranean, and in Sub-Saharan Africa we visited many countries and various islands.
Selected pics during our encounter:
The main mountain systems of the Sahara are listed within the red circle next to their topographical projections. We strive to visit all the mountain sysems and major desert areas across the Sahara in the next ten years, over multiple expeditions.
Surprisingly, the Algiers to Djanet flight is as long as the Copenhagen to Algiers flight! Both flights are roughly 3 h 15 min. Grap an atlas and take a look at Algeria. Djanet is very far southeast!
Djanet is the gateway to Tassili n'Ajjer National Park and the exceptionally scenic desert scenery. Few areas in the world offer such exceptional desert scenery. The landscape is characterised by spectacular natural sandstone “rock forests”, sculptures, arches and caves created by the erosive forces of water and wind, set in a sea of dunes and shifting sands.
Souks are the highlight of Saharan social life. Farmers, caravan drivers, merchants and cutomers gater together, selling, buying, bartering. For centuries Djanet sat on caravan routes linking what are now Algeria, Libya and Niger. Historically the oasis was involved in trade in dates, grain, salt and caravan goods moving across the Sahara. The market is a modern descendant of that trading tradition.
The entire Hoggar, Tassilis and Acacus region is inhabiteet by Tuareg people, a Berber tribespeople with a traditionally nomadic pastoralist lifestyle.
In the mornings there is a market to buy fresh vegetables, and the local baker is conveniently open in the small hours before dawn when most treks begin, so fresh bread may be obtained at the last minute.
Most customers are local residents buying everyday necessities like spices, meat, dates, vegetables, clothing, household goods and tools.
The "Eye of the Sahara" in Tuareg silverwork usually refers to a piece of jewelry inspired by the Richat Structure in Mauritania, a huge circular geological formation. Traditional Tuareg silverwork typically feature crosses from different Saharan regions, amulets and talismans, geometric patterns and protective symbols such as stylized representations of tents, camels, stars, or desert routes.
The market (souk) in Djanet is interesting not because it is large. It's actually quite modest compared with markets in Algiers, Marrakech, Cairo or Tunis, but because it is one of the best places to experience living Tuareg culture. Touarag silverwork is one of the market's most distinctive features. We found silver crosses and pendants, engraved rings, amulets and traditional jewelry.
Leaving Djanet and skirting the last stretch of the RN3 highway from Djanet to Illizi. The Tuareg Shield forms one of the largest crystalline massifs in the Sahara Desert, covering the Hoggar, Tassilis and Acaccus of Algeria and Libya. The Tassili N'Ajjer is known as "the plateau of rivers" and continues eastwards into Libya as the Acacus Mountains, on the western flank of the Murzuk Basin.
Putting on the traditional Tuareg headscarf, also called a tagelmust. Tuareg men wear it for protection against blowing sand, dust, intense sun, dry desert winds and cold desert nights. The tagelmust is one of the most recognizable symbols of Tuareg identity. Historically, indigo-dyed tagelmusts could transfer some dye onto the wearer's skin, giving it a bluish tint. This led outsiders to nickname them the "Blue Men of the Sahara."
Entering the Timras area or "teeth area", a fomer Tuareg village amongst spiky mountains
Immourouden is not one of the "famous" sectors of the Tassilis like Sefar, Jabbaren, or Tadrart Rouge, which is exactly why we found it very interesting. It is a much quieter part of the plateau where the attraction is less about "must-see" archeological sites and more about the landscape itself.
Immourouden contains some of the classic Tassili scenery: vast sandstone massifs carved by millions of years of wind erosion into towers, corridors, arches, pinnacles, and rock forests. It is perhaps best described as walking through a natural maze. The entire Tassili plateau is famous for these "forests of rock," and Immourouden is a good example of that landscape.
The region has been inhabited since at least Neolithic times, when the climate was very different from the harsh desert regime that prevails today. Prior to the onset of aridity in the Sahara, the region abunded in game, which flourished under humid, subtropical conditions.
Although not as dense in famous rock-art galleries as Sefar or Jabbaren, Immourouden contains prehistoric shelters that testify to a time when the Sahara was much greener and supported wildlife such as giraffes, cattle, and antelope.
Many trekking routes through Immourouden are designed around multi-day hikes. The area has numerous protected alcoves, rock shelters, and scenic campsites among the sandstone formations. At sunrise and sunset the red-orange sandstone can be spectacular.
A lot of animals were recorded in numerous rock paintings and engravings across the Tassilis. The paintings date from 14.000 BC to 100 CE and reflect cultural and natural changes in the area. There are paintings of animals such as giraffes, elephants, crocodiles, ostriches, camels and horses, and of human activities such as hunting and dancing. In the Tassilies, 15.000 engravings have been identified.
Inaloko Canyon, sometimes spelled In-Aloqou or In Aloku, is one of the lesser-known canyon systems on the Tassili plateau. Inaloko is primarily valued for its scenery and trekking opportunities.
Lahrsen worked as driver, chef and tea expert during our whole trip. He is a gentle soul and a closet perfectionist when is comes to Touareg tea making.
Not bad at all.
Several trekking routes passing through Inaloko include prehistoric shelters and occasional rock-art sites. A major attraction is the lack of crowds.
Staring out the window of the 4x4 it is easy to get mesmerised by the miles of yellow sand peppered with sharp rocks stretching. endlessly across the horizon.
Djilalein Canyon is one of the more scenic trekking sectors of Tassili. Among guides and experienced Sahara trekkers, it is often appreciated for its combination of narrow canyon passages and towering sandstone walls. Like much of Tassili, it was carved by ancient rivers when the Sahara was far wetter than today.
The canyon showcases the processes that created the park's famous landscape. Ancient watercourses cut deep gorges into the sandstone plateau, while wind erosion later sculpted pillars, towers, arches, and overhangs. The scenery feels very enclosed and intimate
The canyon cuts through the plateau's sandstone layers, creating narrow passages, high vertical walls, and shaded sections that can feel surprisingly cool compared with the open desert. The erosion patterns are some of the most impressive in Tassili.