What to see in Tataouine

6 places worth the drive in Tataouine, with the time to allow and the best period for each. Every place has its own page: history, customs, food and directions.

1. 1.Ksar Ouled Soltane

   Granaries stacked like honeycomb

   A fortified granary of vaulted "ghorfas" stacked up to four storeys high around two courtyards, still used for celebrations today.

   Time : 1–2 hours · Best : Feb to Apr, October

2. 2.Ksar Ghilane

   Desert camps around a hot-spring oasis

   A palm oasis at the edge of the Grand Erg Oriental, south of Douz. Visitors sleep in desert camps near the dunes, bathe in the hot springs and ride out on camels at sunset.

   Time : 1–2 days · Best : All year

3. 3.Chenini

   A granary village on the ridge

   Chenini, about half an hour from Tataouine, is a fortified granary village (ksar) built between two hilltop ridges, with its oldest parts dating from the 12th century.

   Time : 2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr

4. 4.Ksar Hadada

   Granaries that became Mos Espa

   Near Ghomrassen, north of Tataouine, Ksar Hadada is a fortified granary of vaulted rooms, the "ghorfas", stacked around courtyards. Part of it was used as the slave quarters of Mos Espa in "The Phantom Menace".

   Time : 1 hour · Best : Feb to Apr, October

5. 5.Ksar Ouled Debbab

   A restored ksar on a hilltop

   Just south of Tataouine, on the road to Chenini and Douiret, this hilltop ksar has been partly restored. Its ghorfas and courtyards give a clear idea of how these granaries worked.

   Time : 1 hour · Best : Feb to Apr, October

6. 6.Douiret

   A troglodyte village under its ksar

   West of Tataouine, old Douiret spreads along a ridge below a ruined ksar, with cave houses dug into the rock and a white mosque at the foot of the slope. Most families moved to the new village below.

   Time : 2 hours · Best : Oct to Apr