Djebel el Kern

A Mountain in a Coastal Biosphere Reserve

Taza National Park was first set aside for protection by French colonial administrators in 1923, making it one of Algeria's oldest conservation areas, and was formally gazetted as a national park by decree in 1984. Spanning 3,807 hectares (roughly 15 square miles) in Jijel Province, the park adjoins the Mediterranean Sea directly — its cliffs rise from sea level to over 1,100 metres, meaning that every elevation point from the shoreline to the highest summits is represented within a very short distance.↗↗

In 2004, UNESCO designated the entire Taza National Park and its surrounding zone as a biosphere reserve, recognising its exceptional biodiversity. The park contains Algeria's largest continuous cork-oak forest, supplemented at higher altitudes by Algerian chestnut-leaved oak and Algerian oak. Over 619 plant species (including 135 fungi) and 461 animal species have been recorded within the park boundaries.↗↗

Djebel el Kern, at 1,011 metres, is the second-highest of the seven named summits within Taza National Park's boundaries and ranks among the most prominent of the 36 peaks in the El Aouana district. Its position places it on the forested ridge of the Guerrouch massif, the same range that a 2020 account described as offering a forest landscape of the most diversified kind and majestic mountain views visible from the road.

The Hiking Experience

A trail leads to the summit of Djebel el Kern. The approach typically follows the mountain roads and forest tracks through the Guerrouch massif — an area that was closed for over a decade during the security crisis of the 1990s but has since been reopened and is now frequented again by hikers from Algiers and other parts of Algeria.↗↗

The reward of climbing through this massif is both dramatic and varied. Reporters who have travelled the full route from Selma up and over toward El Aouana describe temperatures dropping to a cool 20–24 °C even in the height of July, thick cloud wrapping the summits, and a sense of walking through a vast, alive forest. Goats cross the road, abandoned hamlets appear in valleys below, and military posts — a reminder of the troubled past — punctuate the landscape. At the crest, the descent toward the coast reveals the Mediterranean stretching to the horizon: the splendour of the great blue appears in its full expanse.↗

From Djebel el Kern's summit, the park's signature fauna may be within sight. Taza is a stronghold for the endangered Barbary macaque, the only wild primate in North Africa. The Algerian nuthatch — a rare bird with an estimated population of only 364 individuals recorded in a 1989 survey — also inhabits these upper forests, as do various birds of prey that circle above the ridgelines.

The Geology of These Peaks

The conical shape of Djebel el Kern and its neighbouring summits owes much to a remarkable volcanic past. Geological research has identified the El Aouana magmatic massif — the parent formation of the mountains here — as part of a Miocene igneous belt that runs across northern Algeria. The area is characterised by a series of conical domes of volcanic rock (dacite, andesite) and subvolcanic intrusions (microdiorite, microgranodiorite). Each of these domes is composed of a single rock type, creating the distinctive rounded, ribbed profiles that give the Jijel mountains their sculptural quality when seen from the coast road.↗

The minerals within these rocks — plagioclase feldspars, hornblende, and diopside — crystallised at temperatures of 800–900 °C some 8 to 12 million years ago, offering geologically inclined visitors an additional layer of interest in the landscape they traverse.↗

Getting There and Practical Advice

The nearest town is El Aouana, a lively coastal commune about 14 km east of Jijel city along the Corniche Jijelienne — a sinuous cliff-top road connecting Jijel to Béjaïa that is itself one of Algeria's most scenic drives. El Aouana sits at 48 metres altitude between sea and mountain with a coastline stretching 20 km, and its economy depends heavily on summer tourism from across Algeria.↗

The most practical approach to Djebel el Kern is by private car or hired taxi from Jijel. The mountain road from Selma (inland, to the south) to El Aouana is the documented hiking corridor, approximately 20 km of switchbacks climbing through the forest before dropping toward the coast. From Algiers, the journey takes roughly four hours by road (about 300 km).↗↗↗

The best seasons for mountain hiking here are spring (April to mid-June) and early autumn (late September to October), when temperatures are moderate and the forests are green after the winter rains (1,000–1,400 mm annually). Summer is possible but the forest canopy provides significant relief from heat; however, summer is also the peak season for coastal tourism, so El Aouana itself will be crowded. Winter brings occasional snow to the park's higher peaks.

Combine with the Coast

A visit to Djebel el Kern pairs perfectly with the beaches and coves just below the forest line. The Aftis beach near El Aouana is one of the most celebrated on the Jijel coast, and the nearby Cavallo Islands — small islets covered in dense vegetation — are a popular sightseeing and swimming spot. The Corniche Jijelienne itself, lined with sea caves including the famous Grottes Merveilleuses (discovered during road construction in 1917), rewards a full day of driving, hiking, and coastal swimming in combination.↗↗↗