Things to do in Douz

Douz calls itself the gate of the Sahara. For once the label is literal, because the tarmac thins out south of the town and the sand takes over. The Grand Erg Oriental begins here.

The oasis

The town sits inside a palm grove of some half a million trees. They are watered from wells and channels, and they grow deglet nour, the pale translucent date. The harvest runs from October into December.

The Sahara Festival fills the streets for four days each winter. Camel racing, sloughi hounds, poetry and Bedouin weddings, staged for the region rather than for visitors. Rooms sell out for it.

Riding out

What sells here is the desert itself, not the drive to it. An afternoon puts you on a camel over the first dunes. A night out reaches open sand.

• An hour or two. A camel to the edge of the erg and back, usually at the end of the day.
• Two days. One night in a camp, with the dunes properly open around you.
• Three to five days. The loop west through Tozeur, or east towards the ksour and Matmata.
• Longer. Trekking routes that walk as much as they ride, with baggage on the camels.

West across the salt

The long routes swing west to Tozeur and Nefta. The Chott el Jerid lies between, the largest salt flat in the Sahara, crossed by a causeway that shimmers for kilometres. The film sets at Ong Jemel and Matmata are on the same run.

Past Tozeur the ground rises into the mountain oases. Chebika, Tamerza and Mides sit in canyons near the Algerian border. Their old villages were abandoned after the floods of 1969.

Practical

• Season. October to April. Summer highs sit around 40C and climb from there, and midday walking stops being sensible.
• Nights. Winter nights out on the sand fall close to freezing. Camps hand out blankets, but bring a fleece and a hat.
• Getting here. Tozeur is about two hours west and Djerba three or so east. Tunis is five or six hours north, and tours include the transfer.
• Camel time. An hour suits most people, and the saddle explains why. Longer treks are walked as much as ridden.
• What to wear. Long sleeves, a head cover and closed shoes. Sand gets into everything, cameras included.
• Water and cash. Carry both. There are no cash machines past the town, and cards are no use in the desert.
• Booking. Festival week and the spring holidays fill the camps. Otherwise a day or two ahead is enough.
• Alcohol. Scarce compared with the coast, and the desert camps are usually dry.