Ichkeul National Park and Dougga / Thugga

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. 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 is where the day begins. Next is Medina of Tunis.

2. 2. 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

   Medina of Tunis comes up about 81 km into the recorded legs. Next is Dougga / Thugga.

3. 3. 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

   about 188 km into the recorded legs you reach Dougga / Thugga. Next is back through Medina of Tunis.

4. 4. back through Medina of Tunis

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   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

   back through Medina of Tunis, late in the day. Next is Ichkeul National Park.

5. 5. 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 at Ichkeul National Park. That is the ride.