Tours and travel in south Tunisia

Tozeur is an oasis and a city in south west Tunisia. The city is located North West of Chott el-Djerid, in between this Chott and the smaller Chott el-Gharsa.

With hundreds of thousands of palm trees, Tozeur is a large oasis. The dates that are exported from Tozeur are very well known. In ancient times, before the advent of motorized vehicles, the oasis was important for the transportation through the Sahara, which took place in caravans. The name of the city in antiquity was Tusuros, it was an important Roman outpost.

In the medina (old city) of Tozeur, one can find traditional architecture, fashion and workmanship. Like elsewhere in Tunisia, the local population is generally very hospitable towards tourists, and there are also many tourist facilities.  

Douz

Douz is a relatively large Tunisian town, and it’s a good base to use when you want to explore the Tunisian side of the Sahara Desert. And, if your timing is good, you can also take in the spectacle of the Sahara Festival.
In Douz trek the desert, admire dunes and ride a camel . The minimum is usually a half day camel trek with Bedouin guides, who will probably lead you out across the dunes until you feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere, and provide you with a traditional-style lunch or tea at a campsite.
In Douz itself, you can check out the colorful markets in the town square, and also visit the small but interesting Museum of the Sahara. Another interesting spot is the Palmeraie, a true oasis in the desert with almost half a million palm trees and their by-products, like dates and other fruits.

Matmata, Tataouine

Tataouine  is a city located in southern Tunisia and is the capital of the Tataouine Governorate. The below ground, "cave dwellings" of the native population, designed for coolness and protection, render the city and the area around it a tourist and film makers attraction.
The district is famous for its ksour (fortified Berber granaries) including the picturesque Ksar Ouled Soltane, Chenini and Douiret. These abandoned settlements feature beautiful vaulted adobe buildings, or ghorfas.
Tataouine's name became famous when George Lucas, who filmed the original Star Wars film in various locations of Tunisia. Tataouine appeared in the end of the movie The X-Files as Foum Tataouine, where an extraterrestrial viral experiment facility was held.

Matmata a well-known Berber village famed for its Ghorfas, a fascinating dwelling once used by the nomad tribes, visit the ghorfas, ancient wheat granaries built in the rocks. Drive to Ksar Hadada, one of the most picturesque ksour, (a ksar is a Berber granary). It was built to store and protect barley, wheat, and olive oil. The ksar is made of stone, gypsum, and mud. The ksar is built of overlapping vaults stacked on top of each other, so it looks like the scales of a fish. It was also used as a movie set for Star Wars 1 - The Phantom Menace.

Chott el Jerid

Chott el Jerid  is the largest salt pan of the Sahara with a surface area of over 7,000 km² (some sources state 5,000 km²). Due to the extreme climate with annual rainfall of only 100 mm and temperatures reaching 50° C, water evaporates from the lake. In summer Chott el Djerid is almost entirely dried up.

Chott el Jerid  takes to the period when Mediterranean stretched and this lake had all the remains of salt and sand. During noon time the dry salts reflect and are known as mirages. 

Chott el Jjerid was used as a filming location for the Star Wars series, among others.

The mountain oasis (Chebika, Tamerza, Midés)

Chebika, Tamerza, Mides are ancient berber villages which are set amongst beautiful Mountain Oasis settings near Tozeur.

Chebika is really pretty with a narrow gorge with Waterfalls and a spring and also has fantastic views across the Oasis.

The old walled town of  Tamerza in the Mountains has a great rugged setting and is one of the most photographed in Tunisia.

Mides is known for its stunning gorges thorugh the mountains and has been used as a movie set for vairous movies such as the English Patient and Star Wars. You can walk through the canyon but the climb down would be a challenge.

MAP  OF SOUTH TUNISIA