Deep, deep desert

As the largest nation by area in Africa, Algeria covers almost a million square miles in the north of the continent. But as with most North African nations, its population mainly sticks to a narrow strip along the Mediterranean—far from Saharan sights like Tin Akachaker, this stone field near the Hoggar Mountains. Getting here from Algiers is a multi-day affair, requiring 24-hours' drive from the capital to the desert outpost of Tamanrasset, then another 50-mile offroad haul to the rock-dotted dunes.