Matmata
Tunisia · Gabes · 600 m
Description
Matmata (مطماطة) is a village of troglodyte houses dug straight down into soft rock, a circular pit seven or eight metres deep serving as the courtyard with rooms tunnelled out of its walls, which keeps them cool through summers that reach fifty degrees. The form was unknown outside the region until a flood in 1967 forced the government to send help and journalists found it. Sidi Driss, one of the pit houses, was the Lars homestead in the first Star Wars film and still operates as a hotel with the set dressing left in place.
Length of stay
Recommended length of stay: 1 to 2 days (optimal 1 day)
Travel season
Best time to visit: October – March
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
Highlights
- Troglodyte pit houses of the village
- Hotel Sidi Driss and the Star Wars set
- Staying overnight in an underground room
- Berber families still living in the pits
- Old Matmata hilltop ruins
- Lunar hill country around the village
- Berber weaving and the olive oil presses
- Toujane mountain village and its gorge(Day trip)