Douiret: the abandoned Berber village on its rocky peak and its underground mosque
Less well known than Chenini, Douiret is its silent twin: a troglodyte village wrapped around a rocky peak, a ruined ksar at the summit, a white mosque and abandoned houses you wander through alone.
- From Djerba
- ≈ 175 km
- Driving time
- ≈ 2 h 30
- Suggested time
- 1 h on site
- Best season
- October → May
- Altitude
- ≈ 600 m
22 km south-west of Tataouine, Douiret winds around an isolated limestone peak in the middle of a ring of mountains. The houses, dug into the rock and extended by stone façades, climb in a spiral to the ksar at the summit; in the middle, a white mosque; at the bottom, an underground mosque hollowed out of the cliff. The village was abandoned in the 1960s, and it is this silence that gives it its charm: you walk alone, in an intact setting.
What to see
- The peak and the ksar: at the top, the ruins of the fortified granary and the view over the Douiret cirque, with the cultivated terraces and olive groves below.
- The troglodyte houses: dozens of rooms dug into the rock, some still decorated with Berber motifs; the animal-powered oil mills are recognisable by their millstone.
- The underground mosque: a prayer hall carved into the cliff, one of the most original places in the Dahar.
- The white mosque: halfway up the slope, with its minaret, it serves as a landmark and first viewpoint.
A little history
Douiret was one of the most important Berber villages of the Dahar, controlling a fertile valley and a caravan route to the Sahara. Its community spread as far as Tunis, where the Douiri traditionally ran the grocery shops. An association of descendants is now restoring the houses and the mosque, and a guesthouse allows you to sleep in the old village.
On our tours
Douiret is visited on our Tataouine, Chenini & Berber ksour day (meeting with a Berber family, rosemary tea and Berber bread) and on the Salt Lake and Douiret excursion. On private tours we gladly combine it with Chenini and Ksar Ouled Soltane for a full day of Berber villages.
Practical information
- From Djerba: about 175 km, 2 h 30 via Tataouine.
- Best season: October to May.
- What to bring: walking shoes, a head torch for the underground mosque, water.
