GRAND-SAHARA-AVENTURES
DAY TOURS - TREKS AND TOURS IN TUNISIA
ZARZIS CIRCUIT OF THE BERBER KSOURS OF TUNISIA
EXCURSION IN THE KSOURS OF THE BERBER REGION:
NIGHT IN A TROGLODYTE COTTAGE, TWO DAYS FROM ZARZIS
EXCURSION PROGRAM
DAY 1: Zarzis - Matmata - Tamezret - Toujane - Ksar Hallouf - Ksar Hadada
The departure is at 7:30 am from your place of stay in Zarzis.
We will head towards Matmata, famous for its troglodyte houses that served as the setting for the Star Wars saga.
We then continue our journey to Tamezret, a charming perched Berber village, where you will have the privilege of enjoying an authentic meal with the locals and sharing moments with the locals.
In the afternoon, direction Toujane, to discover its stone houses which merge with the surrounding landscape.
You will also have the opportunity to discover local crafts, with kilim carpets and woolen bakhnoug shawls.
A stop at Ksar Hallouf is a must to admire the architecture of the Berber ksour that dot the region.
These fortified granaries, with their multiple storage cells, illustrate the ingenuity and way of life of the Berber populations.
At the end of the day, we will reach Ksar Hadada, where an authentic dinner and a night in a troglodyte lodge await you.
DAY 2: Ksar Hadada - Tataouine - Ksar Ouled Soltane - Chenini - Guermassa - Ksar of Medenine - Zarzis
After a restful night and a breakfast, our exploration continues with the discovery of the city of Tataouine and its lively and colorful market (open on certain days).
We will continue with the visit of the Ksar Ouled Soltane, a magnificent four-storey Ksar which served as the setting for several scenes in the Star Wars saga.
Then we head to the Chenini village, perched high up and offering an exceptional panorama of the surroundings. A unique opportunity to immerse yourself in Berber architecture and deepen your knowledge of the local culture.
Lunch will be waiting for you in a restaurant in Guermassa where you can savor typical dishes of the region.
Before returning to Zarzis, we will make a final stop at Ksar of Medenine, once again a setting that inspired the Star Wars universe.
One more opportunity to admire the impressive architecture and understand its fascinating history.
Our trip will end at the end of the afternoon in Zarzis, after an excursion rich in discoveries through the Berber ksour of the region.
This two-day excursion offers you a real immersion in Berber culture, visiting emblematic sites and tasting the local cuisine. A global experience that will enrich your stay in Tunisia with unforgettable memories.
Called Ksars or Ksour in the plural and villages of peaks, this is what this excursion will make you discover over two days.
The Ksour of Tunisia are granaries for the use of aOrof several tribes. They are mainly concentrated in the southeast
of the country, in the area between Matmata and Tataouine,where there are about 150.
These ksour are part of the cultural heritage of this region of
Tunisia and bear witness to its historical and sociological evolution.
The ksar is generally provided with a single entrance, protectedthrough a door, except in the case of plain ksour. These places are used for social life: to meet, welcome visitors and carry out commercial transactions. On the courtyard, the ghorfas emerge, four at the most, arranged on the ground floor or on floors. Some ksour have a second courtyard if they have knownan extension, as is the caseof Ksar Ouled Soltane which thus has 440 ghorfaswhile the average is between 150 and 200.
The ghorfas are superimposed cells, closed on the outside, presenting the appearance of a compact wall. Small pieces of four
five meters deep and two meters high and wide,
they are used to store food products over long periods of up to seven years of drought: cereals inthe lower part, possibly in compartments separated by low walls, olives and cheeses hung on olive wood bars located in the upper part ventilated by two opening holes inexterior and interior walls.
The different ghorfas are contiguous but do not communicate,
unless they belong to the same owner, and no hallway
does not allow you to move horizontally between them, they are not always at the same level. It is accessed by a rudimentary staircase or by bars of olive wood inserted into the wall. Sometimes a small discreet space is arranged between two ghorfas
to conceal valuable possessions.
Tataouine is the capital of the Berber region of southern Tunisia,
the starting point to discover the ksour and the surrounding Berber villages as part of your excursion:
"In the footsteps of the Berbers". These villages are perched on top
rocky hills. The Berbers, fled the plains at the time of the invasions, and transformed the caves of these hillsin troglodyte dwellings. The celebrity of Tataouine, is the military prison of the French army which it sheltered until 1938, year
of the abolition of prisons in France. It hosted "Bat' d'Af'", (Battalions of Africa), whose recruits were convicts
of common law or soldiers punished for indiscipline.
The conditions of detention had the reputation of being very harsh.
This former penal colony was replaced by a Tunisian army barracks.
PROGRAM
Day 1
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Departure for Matmata, from your place of stay in Zarzis at 7:30 am.
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Stops photos along the way.
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Visits to the troglodyte houses of Matmata.
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Lunch at the inhabitant.
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Visit of the village of Toujane.
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Visit of Ksar Halouff.
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Visit of the Ksar Jouamaa.
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Visit of Ksar Hadada.
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Dinner and night in a troglodyte hotel.
Day 2
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Departure for the city of Tataouine and free time.
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Visit of Ksar Ouled Soltane
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Guided tour of the village of Chenini.
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Lunch in a typical restaurant in the village of Guermassa.
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Visit of the Ksar of Medenine.
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Return to your place of stay in Zarzis at the end of the afternoon. around 5:30 p.m.
Berber ksour circuits of Tunisia
Dinner and night in a troglodyte lodge
TOUR PRICES
For 5 people, price per person | €155 |
For 4 people, price per person | €180 |
For 3 people, price per person | €215 |
For 2 people, price per person | €290 |
The price includes: Transport by private 4x4
The services of an ONTT* approved guide.
Full board lunchfrom the first day to lunch on the last day.
the entrance fees to the visits planned in the program
Excluded from the rate: National or international flights - The drinks
Optional extra activities - Tips and personal purchases.
*Tunisian National Tourist Office
