Matmata: the troglodyte houses and Luke Skywalker's home
Seen from the sky, Matmata looks like a field of craters: each crater is a house, dug into the earth by the Berbers to shelter from the heat. One of them became Luke Skywalker's home.
- From Djerba
- ≈ 130 km
- Driving time
- ≈ 2 h
- Suggested time
- 1 h 30 on site
- Best season
- all year round
- Altitude
- ≈ 600 m
About forty kilometres south of Gabès, the road climbs into the arid hills of the Dahar and opens onto a lunar landscape. Matmata is there, but you can't see it: the village is underground. For centuries, its Berber inhabitants have been digging a circular courtyard, five to ten metres deep, into the soft earth, then carving the bedrooms, kitchens and granaries into its walls. Cool in summer and mild in winter, these "crater houses" are among the most ingenious dwellings in the Mediterranean world.
What to see and do
- Visit a troglodyte house: you enter through a tunnel that slopes down to the courtyard, around which the rooms open. The families show you the loom, the grindstone and the bridal chamber painted with Berber motifs.
- The Sidi Driss hotel: Luke Skywalker's home. Five courtyards linked by tunnels, and the dining room with the sets from Episode IV (1976), put back in place for Episode II (2000). A must for fans… and a surprising place for everyone else.
- The viewpoint: above the village, the view over the craters and the bare hills immediately explains why George Lucas chose it for the planet Tatooine.
- The neighbouring villages: Tamezret, a white village perched a few kilometres away, and Toujane, clinging to the mountain on the road to Medenine.
A little history
The Berbers of Matmata took refuge in these hills to escape the Arab invasions of the 11th century, and stayed on, invisible from the plain. The village was only "discovered" by the authorities in 1967, after floods that led the State to build New Matmata above ground. Today, some families still live underground, while others come back to work there for visitors.
On our tours
Matmata is the closest stop to Djerba: we pass through on the way back from Ksar Ghilane (the Sahara day via Matmata), on the Matmata & Douz day, and on the way back from our 2-day tours with a night in a tent. The 3-day Star Wars tour naturally makes its first stop here.
Practical information
- From Djerba: about 130 km, a 2-hour drive via the Ajim ferry or via the Roman causeway and Medenine.
- Best season: all year round; the troglodyte houses stay cool even in summer.
- What to bring: closed shoes for the tunnels.
