Re Algeria: I was under the impression that you could get a visa to travel in Algeria (including the south) without an escort if you were backpacking,
Never heard of this one and it sounds very unlikely.
You are right the northeast is where it all happens; rarely on the Oran side but you won't get through a checkpoint these days without an escort. If you think about it, Algeria is less bomb-ridden than Pakistan and it's easy to get a visa and travel there, but Alg govt control is much much tighter. They don't really want tourists there walking around doing their own thing.
Ch
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