Tamerza Berber Village

Tamerza (sometimes written Tamaghza) is one of the most beautiful mountain oases. At more than 300m above sea level, it is located about 70 km (50 min) from Tozeur airport. The oasis, which provides water, and a pleasant freshness during the heat, contrasts with this mountainous landscape, sometimes beige, sometimes pink. The site, formerly called Ad Turres, was then responsible for defending the borders of the Roman Empire before becoming the seat of a bishopric under the Byzantines.

In front of the Oasis stand the ruins of the old village of Tamerza, abandoned in 1969. Contrary to what is often said, the village was not abandoned following floods, but it collapsed following rains that lasted several days. The materials did not resist water infiltration and the villagers settled a few hundred meters further, the current Tamerza with just over 2,500 inhabitants.

Today the ruins, also called “sleeping village of Tamerza” are visited by travelers in search of memories of a forgotten Berber land. Only the marabout is still used today. On certain evenings, the Tamerza Palace & Spa, a charming hotel integrated into the mountain just in front and over which the village has been watching since 1992, organizes mystical evenings with 5000 candles.

Just in front of the ruins passes the El Horchane wadi, a kind of wide strip of bare, planed earth that quickly fills with water during the rare but violent rains in the region. To see, there are also waterfalls coming out of the mountain and hiking trails with panoramas that delight walkers. It is in this region of mountain oases that certain scenes of the film The English Patient are shot.

Tamerza is popular with visitors in search of nature, a change of scenery, authenticity, relaxation and a mystical silence only interrupted by the song of birds. Ideal for a long weekend or a week.
Average temperatures are fairly identical to those of the Tozeur region.