Where the tarmac gives out: Douz market and its arcaded square, the first line of dunes on the Grand Erg Oriental, and the causeway that runs dead straight across the salt of the Chott el Jerid.
On request
Duration
A full day; the pick-up time and the direction of travel are agreed with you in the quote.
Who it suits
Travellers who want to touch the real Sahara without committing several days, and who enjoy a working souk as much as an empty landscape.
Price
On request
Douz calls itself the gateway to the Sahara, and for once the label holds: at the southern edge of town the road simply stops and the sand takes over. You browse the market and the arcaded square, walk out to the first dunes of the Grand Erg for the light, then cross the Chott el Jerid on its causeway, through salt crust, pink brine and mirages.
Pick-up
Collection in Douz, Kebili, Tozeur or Nefta, from your hotel or guesthouse; the route simply runs the other way round depending on where you start. You can also leave from Gabès, Matmata or Djerba: the day gets appreciably longer, so the route and the stops are reworked with you in the quote.
The order of the stops shifts with your start time, the traffic and how long you want to spend at each place.
Douz — the town and the market
Douz still runs largely to the rhythm of the Mrazig, a nomadic tribe settled at the edge of the sand. You start with the arcaded square and the souks: woven blankets, raw wool, local dates, tools, leather sandals, and a livestock market that is nobody's stage set. On Thursday mornings the whole place shifts up a gear. You walk it without a plan, sit down for a tea, and the vehicle stays on hand to carry whatever you buy.
The Grand Erg Oriental — where the tarmac ends
At the southern edge of town the road runs out and the sand takes over: this is the rim of the Grand Erg Oriental, a sea of dunes that carries on into Algeria and Libya. You climb the first crest on foot — a few minutes of work in soft sand — to see the erg open out on the far side. Camels wait at the foot of the dunes; the ride is optional and settled locally. Early morning or late afternoon light is in a different class from midday, which flattens everything.
Chott el Jerid — crossing the salt lake
Between Kebili and Tozeur the road commits to a long, ruler-straight causeway laid across the Chott el Jerid, the largest salt depression in the country. Depending on the season you skirt cracked white crust, basins tinted pink or ochre by algae and minerals, sometimes a sheet of still water holding the sky. As the heat builds, the horizon dissolves and distant objects appear to float free of the ground. We stop at the proper laybys, where the verge is firm, often beside the stalls selling desert roses.
Yes, at the dune edge south of Douz. It is an optional activity rather than part of the service: you settle it locally with the cameleers, or we set it up in advance if you ask us to. Expect either a short half-hour outing or a longer ride timed for sunset, depending on what appeals.
That depends on the heat, the hour and the season, and nobody can promise it. On a hot day around midday the horizon blurs and distant shapes seem to hover above the ground. In winter you are more likely to find standing water, reflections and pink tints across the salt — a different sight, and every bit as odd.
It does; you simply reverse the order. You cross the salt lake in the morning, reach Douz for the souks and the dunes, and drive back at the end of the day. From Gabès, Matmata or Djerba the day becomes long, so we either trim the number of stops together or spread the route over two days.
The Jerid in a single day, arranged around the light: Tozeur's palm grove and ochre brickwork while the air is still cool, the Chott el Jerid when the mirages are working, and Ong Jemel for the last of the sun on the sand.
Three mountain oases in one day: the spring at Chebika running down its gorge, the mud-brick ruins of old Tamerza, and the rim of the Mides canyon, right up against the Algerian border.
Four days that string together Tozeur's palm groves, the mountain oases of Chebika, Tamerza and Mides, the salt crossing of Chott el Jerid and the dune edge at Douz — nobody in the vehicle but your own group.
Three days to reach the far end of the track: the oasis of Ksar Ghilane, its hot spring under the palms, the Roman fort of Tisavar and the silence of the Grand Erg Oriental — your group alone in the vehicle.
Give us the date, how many of you are travelling and your pick-up address: we reply with a quote drawn up for this day out.
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Every journey is quoted individually: no price is shown before your own quote.
