Itinerary of Proposed Journey

1. By private car
Kilometers
1st dayAlgiers/Bou Saada250
2nd dayStay Bou Saada
3rd dayBou Saada/Laghouat222
4th dayStay Laghouat
5th dayLaghouat/Ghardaïa200
6th dayStay Ghardaïa
7th dayGhardaïa/Touggourt[1]200
8th dayStay Touggourt
9th dayTouggourt/Biskra216
10th dayStay Biskra
11th dayBiskra/Timgad190
(It is advisable to sleep atBatna.[2])
12th dayTimgad/Constantine190
(If Djemila, described in ChapterXXXIV, is to be visited it can be done from Timgad via Sétif orfrom Constantine.)
13th dayConstantine/Bougie259
14th dayBougie to Algiers by 4 alternative routes:
a.Bougie to Michelet147
and thence to Algiers via Tizi Ouzou154
b.Bougie direct to Algiers via.
Bouira and Palestro300
c.Bougie direct to Algiers via.
Azazga and Tizi Ouzou300
d.Bougie/Tigzirt250
and thence to Algiers via Dellys155
2. By public conveyance
Algiers/Bou Saada250
(Motor-bus takes some 10hours.)[3]
Stay BouSaada
Bou Saada/Djelfa (bus)112
(Stay the night at Djelfa, leave atsix o’clock next morning in bus.)
Reach Laghouat at nine-thirty a. m.110
Stay Laghouat
Laghouat/Ghardaïa (bus)200
Stay Ghardaïa
Ghardaïa/Touggourt200
(The bus runs once a week [Nov.1926]. Verify this.)
Stay Touggourt
Touggourt/Biskra (train)216
Stay Biskra
Biskra/Batna (train)120
(If Timgad is to be visited a carmust be hired at Batna for the 70 kilometers run to the ruins andback. One can sleep at Timgad or at Batna.)
Timgad/Constantine (car and train)190
Constantine/Bougie (bus service not regular)259
Bougie/Michelet
(No bus service direct. If Micheletis to be visited the train must be taken to El Kseur and thence toTizi-Ouzou by bus; from Tizi-Ouzou bus to Michelet and fromMichelet bus to Tizi-Ouzou and train to Algiers. If Michelet is tobe omitted there is the train direct from Bougie to Algiers.)[4]

Various alternative trips will be set out in the succeeding chapters where they seem opportune. The distances have been marked in kilometers as the guide-books and maps are all scaled in this way. For the information of those who are interested in miles, however, one hundred kilometers equals sixty-two miles.

For all details regarding routes and motors the traveler is recommended to apply to Captain de Malglaive, at the Anglo-American Automobile Company at Mustapha Supérieur, who is always informed as to the state of the roads, accommodation, etc.

FOOTNOTES

[1] It is advisable to ascertain the state of the road between Guerrera and Touggourt, as there is much sand in this part. On principle it is wiser to start just ahead of the motor-bus as the route is very desolate and there is no possible means of repairing serious breakdowns.

[2] If time is short, Constantine, Bougie and the Kabyle can be omitted. From Timgad one can get to Sétif via Corneille. By leaving Biskra early one can do Biskra/Batna, see Timgad, and be at Sétif in one day—210 kilometers. From Sétif to Algiers the road is good and straight—300 kilometers.

[3] If this bus journey is thought too excessive, there is no necessity to go to Bou Saada. The train can be taken direct to Djelfa in one day, and then next morning the bus lands one at Laghouat at nine thirty.

[4] I have not marked the number of days for the journey by public conveyance as, being much slower, it is correspondingly more tiring, and the traveler will probably wish to linger longer in the different centers he visits.

CHAPTER XXVI
BOU SAADA