Matmata and Tataouine: The Underground Villages That Predate Star Wars by Two Millennia

George Lucas filmed parts of the original Star Wars in southern Tunisia in 1976, using the underground pit houses of Matmata and the granary fortresses of the Tataouine region as stand-ins for the desert planet Tatooine. The name itself is borrowed from Tataouine. This is well-known. What is less often acknowledged is that the cave architecture Lucas used as a set had been in continuous use by Amazigh (Berber) communities for more than 2,000 years before his crew arrived, and that a significant part of the appeal of the region lies in that history, not just the film connection.

The Amazigh are the indigenous people of North Africa, present before the Phoenicians founded Carthage in 814 BCE and still living in these hills today. Their underground homes in Matmata, called troglodyte dwellings, are not caves in the natural sense: they are dug structures, created by excavating a large vertical pit into the soft sandstone of the hill, then tunnelling horizontal rooms out of the pit walls at the base. Multiple pits can be connected by underground passages. The design is climate engineering: the temperature inside stays relatively cool in summer and warm in winter, and the dwellings are invisible from a distance. Some families still live in them.

Matmata

Matmata (also called Old Matmata or Matmata al-Qadimah to distinguish it from the new settlement built when many residents relocated in the 1960s) sits about 40 kilometres southwest of Gabes on the edge of the Dahar plateau. The old village remains largely as it was.

Hotel Sidi Driss is the direct Star Wars connection: Luke Skywalker’s homestead interior was filmed here, and the hotel has leaned into the connection hard, with film props and photographs throughout. It is a working troglodyte structure turned into a guesthouse, with shared bathrooms and no Wi-Fi. Rooms are basic (roughly EUR 20-30 per night for a double) and that is the point: you are sleeping in the same kind of underground room the original occupants used. Book through Booking.com or direct; availability is not difficult outside high season.

The hotel also serves food. Sitting in the central pit courtyard and eating a bowl of couscous in a space carved out of the earth by hand is a more interesting meal than most things you can do in Tunisia. The food is simple and the prices are low.

Beyond the hotel, the old village is small enough to walk in an hour. The Troglodyte Museum in the centre of the village demonstrates a traditional furnished pit home with domestic objects from the early 20th century. Admission is a few dinars. A guide from the village is helpful for navigating to the less-visited pit homes; agree a fee upfront.

The US State Department maintains a Level 2 “exercise increased caution” advisory for Tunisia as of May 2026, which reflects a general regional posture rather than specific incidents in the Matmata area. Southern Tunisia and the Tataouine region have been stable for tourism; check current advisories before travel.

Getting to Matmata

The most common approach is from Djerba island (which has an international airport, DJE) or from Gabès. Djerba to Matmata is about 150 kilometres by road, roughly 2.5 hours. Gabès to Matmata is 40 kilometres, about 45 minutes.

Louages (shared taxis) run from Gabès to Matmata for a few dinars and are the cheapest option. The service is irregular and can involve waiting at the Gabès louage station. Renting a car in Gabes or Djerba is the better choice if you are also planning to visit the Tataouine ksour, because the sites are spread widely and public transport between them is sporadic. Car hire costs around EUR 30-50 per day.

Tataouine and the Ksour

The city of Tataouine (the regional capital, about 120 kilometres south of Matmata) is not itself especially scenic, but it is the base for the real architectural highlight of the region: the ksour. A ksar (plural: ksour) is a collective fortified granary, a multi-story structure of stacked storage cells (ghorfas) built by Amazigh communities to store grain and olive oil in times of conflict or extended desert travel. The ghorfas are narrow, barrel-vaulted rooms with doors along a shared courtyard. Most ksour date from the 15th to 18th centuries.

Ksar Ouled Soltane, 22 kilometres south of Tataouine via the P19 road, is the finest surviving example. It has two interconnected courtyards with ghorfas stacked up to four stories high, which is exceptional: most ksour have two or three. It dates from the 15th century and is in remarkably good condition. There is no formal entrance fee or ticketing. Local men will often offer to guide you through the upper levels, and 5 to 10 Tunisian Dinars is a fair acknowledgement of their time and knowledge of which ghorfas are structurally sound to climb. Arrive before 9 AM to beat organised tour groups that arrive from Djerba mid-morning.

Getting there requires a private car or a taxi from Tataouine (approximately 30 Tunisian Dinars return trip). There is no public transport directly to the ksar.

Ksar Hadada, about 30 kilometres from Tataouine, was also used as a Star Wars filming location and now has a small hotel attached. It is less architecturally impressive than Ouled Soltane but makes a convenient stop on a circuit.

Chenini is a near-vertical Amazigh village built into a ridgeline, about 20 kilometres west of Tataouine. The village is partially abandoned, with old troglodyte homes cut into the rock face below a white mosque at the top. It is more atmospheric than architecturally significant, and the views across the desert from the ridge are the main reward. Souvenir sellers have established a presence at the entrance; the better approach is to walk directly up the ridge path.

Douiret, further from Tataouine and less visited than Chenini, is a comparable abandoned village that most organised tours skip. The lack of infrastructure means fewer visitors and more intact atmosphere. It requires a car and some willingness to navigate dirt roads.

Practical Notes

Best time to visit: March through May or September through November. Summer temperatures in this region regularly exceed 45 degrees Celsius, making outdoor exploration between 10 AM and 4 PM dangerous without serious precautions. The ksour and cave sites are partially shaded but not reliably so.

Cash: Carry dinars in cash. ATMs are available in Tataouine but not at the ksar sites. Very few places accept cards.

Language: Arabic and Amazigh are the local languages; French is widely understood and more useful than English in this part of Tunisia.

What to eat: Brik (a thin fried pastry filled with egg and tuna) is the accessible Tunisian street snack. In the south, lamb or camel couscous and harissa-heavy stews are the local staples. The restaurant options in Matmata and Tataouine are basic; most serve a fixed menu for a few euros at lunchtime. The Hotel Sidi Driss in Matmata is actually a decent option for lunch even if you are not staying.

Combining both areas: A logical two-day itinerary based in Tataouine covers Ksar Ouled Soltane, Chenini, and Douiret on day one, then the drive north to Matmata, Hotel Sidi Driss, and the old village on day two before returning to Gabès or Djerba. Three days allows for a more relaxed pace and the addition of Ksar Ezzahra and Guermassa, two further ruined ksour with good ridge scenery.

The troglodyte architecture and the ksour are genuinely among the most unusual human environments surviving in the Mediterranean basin. The Star Wars angle is the reason most visitors come, but the actual history of the Amazigh communities who built these structures deserves more than a film trivia caption.