It may be but a slim wedge of North Africa’s vast horizontal expanse, but Tunisia has enough history and diverse natural beauty to pack a country many times its size. With a balmy, sand-fringed Mediterranean coast, scented with jasmine and sea breezes, and where the fish on your plate is always fresh, Tunisia is prime territory for a straightforward sun-sand-and-sea holiday. But beyond the beaches, it’s a thrilling, underrated destination where distinct cultures and incredible extremes of landscape – forested coastlines, Saharan sand seas in the south – can be explored in just a few days.
In rainy and windy weather, we have arrived at another spectacular fortified granary in the Tataouine region. The oval fortification of Ksar Ouled Soltane was constructed by Berber people on a top of a sandy hill. The ghorfas, or stacked grain-holding buildings are spread out over two...
Our last stop in a rugged mountainous region was Douiret. This little ruined Berber village was a fortified granary located on a hilltop. It’s smaller and quieter than the Chenini. Village ruins are surrounded by citadel overlooking troglodyte houses dug in the mountain. The...
Our next visit was a picturesque ruined Berber village Chenini (local guide 15 TND / hour). The approach to this village is a scenic rollercoaster of small hills and turns, but the village only comes into focus after rounding the mountain bend and looking up. It was a fortified granary...
On the way to Chenini, we made overnight in Matmâta (local dinner menu 35 TND). It is a small Berber village in southern Tunisia with the most unusual village landscapes (local guide 34 TND / hour). The traditional underground “troglodyte” structures typical for the village...
We drove through death salt lake Chott El Djerid to Douz, and since it was already late afternoon, we have decided to stop over there on the way to Ksar Ghilane. The camp next to the main road was empty and quiet (7 TND / person). In the morning we have finally arrived in the Sahara...
We drove three hours through death salt lake Chott el Djerid to Douz. It is the largest salt pan of the Sahara Desert, with a surface area of over 7,000 km2. It has a typical hot desert climate. Due to the harsh climate with an average annual rainfall of 100 mm and daytime temperatures...
Our next stop after few kilometers from Mos Espa was Ong Jemal. It’s an unusual rock formation, shaped like the neck and head of a camel. From the top is a good view of the desert. It was also used in the Star Wars as a Darth Maul’s lookout in The Phantom Menace where he landed in his...
We were not sure if to go, but finally, we made it to Mos Espa – probably Tunisia’s best-preserved Star Wars set. The site is a collection of nearly 20 domed purpose-built buildings that stood for the Tatooine spaceport of Mos Espa in The Phantom Menace. The film crew spent nearly five...
Today we started early morning and drove outside Tozeur to the northern oasis villages. The first shortstop we made in Chebika – the old houses are settled on the southern edge of the mountain range and the green “palmeraie” is visible for kilometers. Then the road twisted and turned up a...
After three hours drive, we made it to the oasis town of Tozeur. We have parked on the road in the “Zone Touristique”, just in front of the sweet-shop Frozen Palm (cakes 4,5 TND, cappuccino 3,5 TND, chocolate pancake 5 TND, great ice cream – scoop 2,5 TND). Later we took street food pizza...