Chréa National Park

Atlas cedar forest and ski station in the mountains south of Blida

Chréa National Park covers the slopes of the Tell Atlas above Blida — 26,000 hectares of pine, oak, and Atlas cedar forest rising to 1,629 metres at the summit of Sidi Abdelkader. The road from Blida climbs steeply for fifteen kilometres of switchbacks; the views back over the Mitidja plain are spectacular, and the air cools noticeably with altitude.

The small village of Chréa, at 1,500 metres, has a handful of guesthouses, restaurants, and a ski station that operates from late December through March when snow conditions allow. In summer the cedar forest is a refuge from the heat of Algiers, with marked walking trails and the occasional sighting of Barbary macaques. Combine with the Chiffa Gorges to the west for a long day-trip from Blida or Algiers.

things to do sight
A story
The Atlas cedars of Chréa are the southernmost natural population of the species in Algeria — and one of the few remaining anywhere outside Morocco's Middle Atlas. Centuries of logging during the Ottoman and French periods reduced the forest to a fraction of its former extent; the area was finally given national-park status in 1983.