Travel Guide Assekrem Et Atakor

"You can't see him without thinking of God. One is alone with him." Charles de Foucauld, the guardian soul of this veritable forest of peaks and needles, sculpted by the wind, the heat and cold, and the intense shadows About 80 km north-north-east of Tamanrasset, the Assekrem is a kind of plateau that dominates the Atakor massif, offering a fabulous balcony on what is the attraction of the Hoggar, its chaos, its desolation and its power of mystic evocation To penetrate there, two routes are possible. The most convenient track (about 180 km outward and return by the mount Ilamane), and also the most beautiful if you leave Tamanrasset just before the sunrise, is the one which passes by the peak Ihaghen, remainder of an ancient volcanic explosion. It is necessary to count half a day of ascent and two days in all to benefit the best from this imposing site. After the superimposed gueltas of Imlaoulaoulène (see "Surroundings of Tamanrasset"), we go towards the solitary peak Adaouda, the massif of Ahounahamt within which we can observe rupestral engravings and a neolithic tomb and the mount Akar-Akar (2 132 m) whose table shape dominates a landscape of volcanic origin with evocative forms From this beautiful mountain called Antinéa's castle, because of its resemblance to a dungeon, and at the foot of which is buried Akar, an issebeten chief, the walk makes a small detour to the Afilal gueltas always surrounded by vegetation and famous for the moustachioed fish found there (barb). After the ritual break, the track climbs steeply towards the summit of the Assekrem. If it rained a lot the previous days - it happens! -it may be impossible to follow this path, but if the track has dried and been cleared, the area around the pass is covered with a carpet of greenery spiked with small flowers of an ever intense yellow or purple After 4 to 5 hours of road, we finally reach the hermitage of the father of Foucauld. At the highest point of the Assekrem massif, at an altitude of 2,725 m, the priest had built a small house where he intended to retire during the summer months, in a setting conducive to meditation and meetings with the Tuaregs. But even if he only spent a few months there and even if the hermitage has been restored several times, the presence of the priest is still very strong. Every morning, at dawn, a mass is celebrated in the sober little chapel made of dry stones collected on the spot and his spartan room seems to have been left the same morning. Below the chapel beaten by the winds, modest lodgings shelter the brothers Alain, Édouard and Ventura who welcome visitors in turn. A stretch of paved road leads to the meteorological station of Assekrem which is part of a worldwide network of about twenty stations It is recommended to spend the night up there, in the refuge managed by Tim Missaw (see "Agencies" in Tamanrasset, 1 200 DA, breakfast and dinner included) to take advantage of the extraordinary light which bathes the Atakor at sunset and sunrise. The less sporty will count a good twenty minutes to climb the 100 m of unevenness between the refuge and the hermitage and to reach, without missing the magic moment, the best point of view on the Atakor that one can imagine! But be careful, the evenings are very cold in winter, so don't forget your fleece and your good sleeping bag. The accommodation is very rustic but the tasty meals in the warm common room and the solar show alone make the best memories After a night spent at the refuge of Assekrem, we can go down, abruptly, towards the west while passing by the vast circus which surrounds the Ilamane peak (2 740 m) whose shape reminds that of Ihaghen. We then cross Terhenanet, a village of shepherds surrounded by gardens, before joining the RN1 by Outoul. This first itinerary in loop circumvents the massif dominated by the mount Tahat (2 918 m), the highest summit of Hoggar and Algeria. At its feet, one can see several tumuli and rupestrian engravings. Another route, longer, allows to discover the northern slopes of the massif. From the pass of Assekrem, it is necessary to return a little on its steps and to go down towards the left and the crater of Imadouzene, then the road in lace of the pass Tin Teratimt. About thirty kilometers further, the Issakarassene gueltas are a set of basins that follow each other for several kilometers (engravings on the surrounding rocks). At the level of the Zerzoua wadi and the gueltas of Idjef Mellene, take a break on a plateau from where the view on the Atakor and the Tefedest is unique. At the crossroads between the track of the Assekrem and the road of Idelès and Djanet, Hirafok is a village famous for its numerous rock engravings. We join Tamanrasset by the west, via In-Amguel on the RN1 (190 km) A third route, less frequented, avoids the Assekrem by going around it by the east. The track begins about ten kilometers south of Tamanrasset and follows the wadis Talan N'teidit and Fouguegi at the bottom of Mount Debnat At about fifty kilometers from Tamanrasset, we can make a detour by a waterfall (when there is water) which falls in a gigantic basin. Just after Tamekrest, a track leads to a historical site. The French troops, led by Henri Laperrine, had elected Tarhaouhaout to build in 1910 the Motylinsky fort and make it the chief town of the region. The fort is in ruins but the memory of General Laperrine, a friend of Father de Foucauld, who died in 1920 in a plane crash on the Mali border, and his men still haunt the place The eastern track then passes through Tahifet, a village at the bottom of a green valley, before becoming downright hazardous from the slopes climbing towards the Azrou pass. The landscape becomes dramatically desolate and spectacular until Tazrouk, an isolated village that gives a glimpse of the harshness of the Hoggar. Situated on the edge of a wadi, Tazrouk, one of the oldest aghrem (villages), is known for its gardens that stretch over some forty kilometers and for its annual festival that lasts three days in early August. From Tazrouk, one descends directly to Ideles, a village of blacksmiths (maâlmine), on the Tamanrasset-Djanet track by avoiding the Teberber wadi.