Most of Djerba is cultivated, and then the cultivation stops. On the island's northern shore, where the olive groves and palm gardens run out, a strip of shallow sea, salt flat, sand and scrub stretches along the coast with hardly a building on it, and this is the uninhabited coastal zone that the island's heritage listing includes in its protected landscape. In 2023, UNESCO recognised Djerba for the way its people shaped a territory without rivers or springs, and the empty shore is part of that story, because it shows what the settlers started with and what they chose to leave alone.
The edge of the island is a place for birds. Flamingos, herons, spoonbills and waders feed in the shallows, particularly in winter and on migration, and the mudflats at low tide glitter in the light. The air smells of salt and seaweed, and the horizon is huge and level. There are fishing methods here that are very old, including traps of palm fronds set in the shallows, and fishermen walk out at low tide to check them.
The nearest town is Houmt Souk, the island's capital, about ten kilometres away, with a population of about sixty thousand, with a bustling market, a small fort, Borj el Kebir, at the harbour, and a Tower of Skulls, built in the sixteenth century, that is a reminder of the island's Mediterranean wars. Fuel, food and repairs are there. Small roads lead toward the coast, often ending in sand or at a fisherman's shack, and surfaces can be rough, so a gentle pace and a small bike are best.
The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway, said to date from Roman times, and by a short ferry. The Mediterranean wind, the sirocco in summer, can be searing, and in winter, storms can sweep in from the north.
Spring, with wildflowers, and autumn are the best seasons. Take water, a hat and binoculars. Do not drive on soft sand or salt flats without local advice, because bikes sink and tides rise. Dine on grilled fish in Houmt Souk, and look for the island's famous octopus.