Palace in the Sahara

The Palace in the Desert, situated just outside the Saharan town of El Oued, is a privately-owned residence that offers five-star luxury (including a swimming pool) in the Sahara desert, “far from the madding crowd” – yet just thirty kilometers from the nearest airport.

Surrounded by palm groves and sand dunes, the palace is an oasis of tranquility and colour, with grounds so rich and fertile that they even support an English-style garden.

The residence welcomes individuals, groups and corporate guests, and frequently hosts conferences and seminars, team-building programmes and training weeks. For more information and photos of the palace, which is available for hire for corporate guests, please contact us.

El Oued – baptised “the city of a thousand domes” by Isabelle Eberhardt – lies in the heart of the great Saharan sand sea known as the Grand Erg Oriental. The dunes surrounding El Oued are home to verdant date oases (the ideal place for a picnic), enormous sand roses and – believe-it-or-not – plantations of potatoes.

If El Oued is rarely visited by western visitors, then the nearby settlement of Guémar is entirely passed over. Yet the town is home to a wonderfully open and accepting school of Islam and is equally proud of its Jewish heritage.


For much more information on holidays and vacations in the Algerian Sahara, please visit our Sahara in Focus pages.

holiday and tour in Algeria with Expert Algeria travel agency
holiday and tour in Algeria with Expert Algeria travel agency
holiday and tour in Algeria with Expert Algeria travel agency