Illitzi (DA10) - Tamanrasset / In Amguel (DATR).
Algeria.
Flight No. 024.
Note: This was simultaneously our longest (350nm) and highest (7500ft) trip so far. It is also a conjecture with another world trip attempt I started in September 2021 - during the coming flights we’ll follow our old route from In Amguel to In Guezzam before turning southeast instead of southwest.
Roads Taken: Route Nationale 3 / RN3 (Illitzi - Bordj El Haouas) & Route Nationale 55 (Bordj El Haouas - In Amguel).
1. Illitzi - Fadnoun: After take off from Illitzi Airfield (1) we entered RN3 and passed Illitzi itself (2). We came across gorgeous gorges (heh~; 3, 4 & 5) before entering a plateau near Fadnoun (6).
2. Fadnoun - Bordj El Haouas: We crossed the Illitzi-Djaret border halfway between Fadnoun and Bordj El Haouas (7), coming across a formation of dark rock and golden sand (8) while the terrain became higher and more rugged the further we went east (9) before entering a wide desert plain near Bordj El Haouas (10).
3. Bordj El Haouas - Djaret-Tamanrasset Border: Now our trip across the Hoggar Mountains begins above Tabakat (11), the last village we’ll see this side of the range. Chasing the moon westwards we came across sun-baked mountains (12 & 13), larger and smaller oueds (14) and multiple small volcanoes (15).
4. Djaret-Tamanrasset Border - Idles: After crossing the district border we found some amazing natural vistas (16 & 17) before coming across a large plain with a multitude of oueds running down from the distant mountains (18 &19). A short while after small rock ridges appeared in the ground, leading to another few interesting shots (20 & 21). Finally we followed Telouhet, another large oued westwards (22) and reached Idles (23).
5. Idles - In Amguel: The landscape changed and more and more small villages and unpaved roads appeared the further west we came (24). Still following RN55 (25) we turned north near In Amguel (26) and landed after almost three hours on its airfield.
