Why this ride
A 459 km round trip from Tabursuq - roughly 7 h 20 in the saddle. On the way it passes Ichkeul National Park, Medina of Tunis and back through Ichkeul National Park. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Dougga / Thugga and Medina of Tunis
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 459 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 20
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Dougga / Thugga
Dougga is the best-preserved Roman town in North Africa, and the Romans themselves would have understood why: the site sits on a hillside in the green farmland of northern Tunisia, looking over wheat country to a long ridge of low mountains. The modern town of Tabursuq lies a few kilometres away and has the fuel, bakeries and cafes. Allow a morning, and ideally arrive before the tour buses do.
Read the complete Dougga / Thugga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Dougga / Thugga is where the day begins. Next is Ichkeul National Park.
2. Ichkeul National Park
Ichkeul is a lake that behaves like a lung. In winter it fills with fresh water from the rivers of northern Tunisia, and thousands upon thousands of ducks, geese and coots arrive from Europe, making it one of the great wintering grounds on the migration route between the continents. In summer the sea creeps in from Lake Bizerte through a channel, the water turns brackish, and the birds leave. That seesaw between fresh and salt is the heart of the place, and UNESCO listed the national park in 1980 for its importance to waterfowl. The Tunisian state's dams on the feeding rivers have put the balance under strain, which is a story the park authorities have been wrestling with for years.
Read the complete Ichkeul National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Ichkeul National Park comes up about 147 km into the recorded legs. Next is Medina of Tunis.
3. Medina of Tunis
Tunis begins in the narrow lanes. The medina, the old walled city, lies on a low ridge between the salt lake and the Sebkha of Ariana, and the main street runs uphill from the Bab el Bahr, the Sea Gate, towards the Zitouna Mosque, the Mosque of the Olive Tree. The mosque's origins go back to the late seventh century, soon after the Arabs founded Tunis, and the city grew around it. Its great period came under the Hafsid dynasty in the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, when Tunis was a wealthy capital with libraries, schools and merchants trading across the Mediterranean. Later came the Ottomans and the beys, who added palaces and fountains.
Read the complete Medina of Tunis write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 228 km into the recorded legs you reach Medina of Tunis. Next is back through Ichkeul National Park.
4. back through Ichkeul National Park
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Ichkeul National Park write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Ichkeul National Park, late in the day. Next is Dougga / Thugga.
5. Dougga / Thugga
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Dougga / Thugga write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Dougga / Thugga. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Dougga / Thugga to Ichkeul National Park
Dougga / Thugga → Ichkeul National Park is 147 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Ichkeul National Park to Medina of Tunis
Ichkeul National Park → Medina of Tunis is 81 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Medina of Tunis to back through Ichkeul National Park
Medina of Tunis → back through Ichkeul National Park is 82 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Ichkeul National Park to Dougga / Thugga
back through Ichkeul National Park → Dougga / Thugga is 148 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.