4-Day Grand Southern Tunisia Tour: Ksour, Sahara & Star Wars

This is the complete southern circuit — the one that joins everything the two- and three-day trips have to choose between. From Tozeur it takes the canyons at Chebika, Tamerza and Mides and the Mos Espa film set; it crosses the Chott el Jerid, sleeps by the hot spring at Ksar Ghilane where the dunes begin, then continues into ksour country — Tataouine’s fortified granaries and the Berber village of Chenini on its ridge — before Matmata and the stone village of Toujane close the loop.

Nights are split between Tozeur, the Ksar Ghilane camp and the south. Your vehicle, your pace, one fixed price per vehicle agreed before departure; accommodation for each night is confirmed with your dates when you book.

What you see

• Tozeur — a desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs
• Chebika — a mountain oasis where a spring runs through a gorge above the salt flats
• Tamerza Canyon — a deserted mountain village beside a canyon and a year-round waterfall
• Mides Canyon — a sheer-walled gorge on the Algerian border, used more than once as a natural film set
• Mos Espa & Ong Jemal — the Star Wars set still standing in open dunes, beside the camel-neck rock of Ong Jemal
• Chott el-Jerid — a salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing
• Douz & the Dunes — the gateway to the Sahara, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins
• Ksar Ghilane — a hot-spring oasis at the edge of the great dunes, reached where the tarmac gives out
• Tataouine — the town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet
• Chenini — a Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque
• Matmata — Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films
• Toujane — a stone village spilling down the mountainside above the Matmata plateau

The circuit, day by day

1. Day 1 Pick-up From your hotel or the airport, at a time that suits you
2. Day 1 Tozeur A desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs
3. Day 1 Chebika A mountain oasis where a spring runs through a gorge above the salt flats
4. Day 1 Tamerza Canyon A deserted mountain village beside a canyon and a year-round waterfall
5. Day 2 Mides Canyon A sheer-walled gorge on the Algerian border, used more than once as a natural film set
6. Day 2 Mos Espa & Ong Jemal The Star Wars set still standing in open dunes, beside the camel-neck rock of Ong Jemal
7. Day 2 Chott el-Jerid A salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing
8. Day 3 Douz & the Dunes The gateway to the Sahara, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins
9. Day 3 Ksar Ghilane A hot-spring oasis at the edge of the great dunes, reached where the tarmac gives out
10. Day 3 Tataouine The town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet
11. Day 4 Chenini A Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque
12. Day 4 Matmata Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films
13. Day 4 Toujane A stone village spilling down the mountainside above the Matmata plateau
14. Day 4 Return Drop-off at your hotel

Places on this trip

Tozeur

A desert oasis of patterned brickwork, its palm grove fed by hundreds of springs

Tozeur

Chebika

A mountain oasis where a spring runs through a gorge above the salt flats

Tozeur

Tamerza Canyon

A deserted mountain village beside a canyon and a year-round waterfall

Tozeur

Mides Canyon

A sheer-walled gorge on the Algerian border, used more than once as a natural film set

Tozeur

Mos Espa & Ong Jemal

The Star Wars set still standing in open dunes, beside the camel-neck rock of Ong Jemal

Tozeur

Chott el-Jerid

A salt lake so flat and bright it produces mirages across the whole crossing

Tozeur

Douz & the Dunes

The gateway to the Sahara, where the tarmac stops and the erg begins

Kébili

Ksar Ghilane

A hot-spring oasis at the edge of the great dunes, reached where the tarmac gives out

Kébili

Tataouine

The town of fortified granaries that lent its name to the Star Wars desert planet

Tataouine

Chenini

A Berber village stacked on a ridge, cave houses around a white hilltop mosque

Tataouine

Matmata

Berber pit dwellings carved into the earth, familiar from the Star Wars films

Gabès

Toujane

A stone village spilling down the mountainside above the Matmata plateau

Gabès