The hook
Tunisia's slice of the Sahara: palm oasis towns, Berber granary-fortresses, a vast mirage-shimmering salt lake, and the desert sets where "Star Wars" filmed Luke Skywalker's home planet, Tatooine.
01Why it's worth it
South of the coast, Tunisia runs into genuine Sahara, and it is surprisingly rich and accessible. The mountain oases around Tozeur and Chebika are lush pockets of date palms and waterfalls against bare rock, and between them stretches the Chott el Djerid, an enormous salt lake that shimmers with mirages and colour. The region's Berber heritage shows in extraordinary architecture: the underground troglodyte homes of Matmata, dug into the earth to escape the heat, and the ksour, fortified hilltop villages of honeycombed mud-brick granaries around Tataouine. Film fans know much of this well, because George Lucas shot Luke Skywalker's desert planet here, borrowing the town name Tataouine for "Tatooine" and using the ksour and a set near Nefta (Mos Espa) that still stands in the sand. Add camel treks and nights in desert camps among the dunes, and the Tunisian Sahara delivers oases, striking Berber architecture, cinematic history, and the great desert itself, all within reach.
02How to experience it
Base around Tozeur or Douz and combine the mountain oases, the Chott el Djerid salt lake, the troglodyte homes of Matmata, and the ksour near Tataouine, with a camel trek or 4x4 night in the dunes. Seek out the surviving Star Wars sets if that appeals. Go in the cooler months, and never underestimate the desert heat and distances.