Nature and beaches of the wilaya of Algiers

Climate

Algiers lies in the Tell, in the north of Algeria, and has a Mediterranean climate. Summers are hot, and winters are mild and rainy, sometimes with snow.

The eastern coast

Aïn Taya has about 8 km of coast and many beaches. Decca and Canadiennes lie to the east, and Surcouf, Tamaris, Suffren and Dechra to the west. Kef El Arar beach also lies in the commune.

Several rocky islets face the shore, among them the Aguelli rock, also called Bounettah, and the Bordelaise rock. The small Aguelli island, about 1 km offshore, is a nesting site for cormorants and gulls. It forms part of the Reghaïa wetland, protected under the Ramsar Convention.

Five beaches line the coast of Bordj El Bahri: Alger Plage, Les Ondines Sud, Les Ondines Nord, Coco Plage and La Frégate. Alger Plage is 170 m long and Les Ondines Sud 360 m. Alger Plage is also the name of a locality of Bordj El Bahri.

Along the shore of El Marsa lie the beaches of Tamentfoust Est, Tamentfoust Ouest, Sidi El Hadj and El Marsa Centre. Sidi El Hadj, a beach of sand and rock, runs for 480 m.

Along the shore of Hussein Dey lie the Sablettes beach and much of the Promenade des Sablettes, 4.5 km long and about 60 m wide. The promenade opened in part in 2014 and offers picnic areas, play areas, cycle paths and an artificial beach. It also runs through Mohammadia and Belouizdad.

The western coast

Aïn Benian has nearly 10 km of coast.

Club des Pins, on the coast of Chéraga, is a seaside resort area with its own beach and the Sheraton Club des Pins hotel.

Beaches on the coast of Staoueli include Palm Beach and Azur Plage. Sidi-Fredj Ouest beach opened to swimmers in 2013.

With about 6 km of coast, Zéralda has beaches such as Zéralda Plage in the west and Les Sables d'Or in the east. Forests cover 848.5 hectares of the commune, including the Zéralda state forest.

The hunting centre, created by decree 83-76 of 8 January 1983, breeds and studies game species at Zéralda. In August 2025 about 300 partridges bred at the centre were released in the forests of Relizane.

Forests and parks

The Institut National de la Recherche Forestière (INRF), the national forest research institute, has its seat in the Bainem forest, in El Hammamet. Known by this name since 1981, it studies silviculture, the growing and care of forests, along with wood technology, forest ecology and tree genetics. Its work also covers forest diseases, erosion control and desertification, through research stations across the country.

Dounia Parc, formerly the Parc des Grands Vents, lies between Dely Ibrahim, El Achour, Ouled Fayet and Baba Hassen. El Achour holds the largest share, 544 of its 1,059 hectares, with 97 hectares of green space. The park opened to the public in 2013.

Baba Hassen's share of Dounia Parc covers 96 hectares, all of them green space. Ouled Fayet holds 163 of the park's 1,059 hectares, 20 of them green space.

The former Ouled Fayet landfill, opened in the early 2000s, took the waste of about 30 communes of the capital. When it was full, it was closed and converted into landscaped green space joined to the park.

The village of Khraicia stands at about 171 m on a plateau. The plateau ends at a long slope that runs down to the Mitidja.