Natural Arches of Ahaggar National Park

Index Page 6 - Tin-Missaou Area

From the city of Tamanrasset take the paved road north to In-Salah and Alger (Algier) for 42km. At the small locality of Tit, turn left in the direction of Abalessa and Silet. Drive this paved road 86 km to Silet and the end of the black top. In Silet, you need to go to the military barracks to get your permit checked (acquire the permit in Tamanrasset before you leave) and to record the members of your party for the desert trip for your own security. These formalities can take 1 hour or more to get your permit validated. 

Then take the desert tracks toward Tin-Missaou via the artisian well of Teor for about 4 hours (approximately 170 km) to another military base. Most of the tracks go along the oued (wash) and the desert plain without any difficulties or sand trouble. Once again, before proceeding farther on the desert tracks, you must check your documents at this second military post. If you arrive late in the day, you may be need to bivouac on the side of the military base and wait until next morning for these formalities. In this case, the authorities at the military base may take possession of your photographic equipment and GPS for the night.

From this second military base, it takes about one hour of four-wheel driving to access the top of the little Tassili Tin-Missaou. Allow an extra 45 minutes if you detour by the modern Tin-Missaou well to acquire extra water supply. Tin-Missaou well is located at the entrance of a very sandy canyon where sand traps are common. A trip to Tin-Missaou involves a minimum of two jeeps for safety.