A country · 46 places · 14 regions

Libya, all of it.

46 curated places across 14 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Tripoli, Libya · via Wikimedia Commons

The 4 biggest regions — Tripoli District, Jabal al Akhdar, Nalut District and Ghat District — read below as chapters, with 10 more waiting past them.

Chapter I · Tripoli District · 8 places

Tripoli District

Libya's capital wraps around a Mediterranean harbor guarded by the Red Castle, whose museum holds a major collection of classical antiquities. In the walled medina, the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, Ottoman mosques, and covered souks record two millennia of port-city trade.

Tripoli, Libya

Tripoli District, Libya

✦ March to May and October to November for mild weather; check travel advisories · $

Red Castle Museum

Tripoli District, Libya

✦ October–April

Arch of Marcus Aurelius, Tripoli

Tripoli District, Libya

✦ October–April

All 8 places in Tripoli District →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Jabal al Akhdar · 7 places

Jabal al Akhdar

The ancient harbor town of Cyrene spreads along the shoreline at modern Susa, where Byzantine basilicas, a theater, and Greek quaysides sit partly submerged beneath clear Mediterranean water. It is one of the few places to walk classical ruins with waves breaking alongside.

✦ April to June and September to October for coastal walking weather · $

Meet Apollonia, Cyrenaica All 7 places in Jabal al Akhdar →

Chapter III · Nalut District · 5 places

Nalut District

Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the desert', stands in an oasis. It is one of the oldest pre-Saharan cities and an outstanding example of a traditional settlement. Its domestic architecture is characterized by a vertical division of functions: the ground floor used to store supplies; then another floor for the family, overhanging covered alleys that create what is almost an underground network of passageways; and, at the top, open-air terraces reserved for the women.

Old Town of Ghadamès

Nalut District, Libya

✦ October–April · $$

Nalut

Nalut District, Libya

✦ March to May and October to November for mild mountain weather · $

Ghadames

Nalut District, Libya

✦ winter

All 5 places in Nalut District →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Ghat District · 3 places

Ghat District

An old Tuareg caravan town in Libya's far southwest, its mud-brick medina climbing toward a hilltop fort near the Algerian border. Ghat is the traditional gateway to the Acacus mountains, and its lanes and palm gardens preserve the feel of the trans-Saharan trade era.

✦ October to February for tolerable Saharan temperatures; check travel advisories · $

Meet Ghat, Libya All 3 places in Ghat District →