Tataouine & the Ksour

The Tataouine governorate, at the gates of the desert, preserves a unique Berber heritage: ksour, fortified communal granaries with vaulted cells (ghorfas) stacked around a courtyard, and mountain villages clinging to the ridges. The planet Tatooine in Star Wars takes its name from here, and several scenes of the saga were filmed in the area. Two hours from Djerba, it is the major cultural excursion of southern Tunisia.

Things to see and do

• Ksar Ouled Soltane: the most spectacular ksar, two courtyards and ghorfas on four levels.
• Chenini: a troglodyte village layered along a ridge, with its white mosque and leaning minaret.
• Douiret and Guermessa: less-visited perched villages with superb panoramas.
• Ksar Hadada: a set from “The Phantom Menace”.
• Tataouine market (Monday and Thursday) and “gazelle horn” pastries.
• The tracks towards Ksar Ghilane and the Sahara, by 4x4.

How to get there from Djerba

Houmt Souk to Tataouine: about 130 km via the El Kantara causeway, Zarzis and Medenine, 2 to 2.25 hours by road. The sites are then 15–25 km from town on mountain roads. There is no practical public transport to the ksour and Chenini: the day is done with a driver, as an organised excursion from Djerba, often combined with Matmata on the way back.

When to go

From March to May and October to November, temperatures are ideal for walking around the villages. Summer is very hot: leave at dawn and avoid midday. Winter is pleasant by day, cool in the morning and evening. The Ksour Festival, in spring, brings the region to life.