Elevation profile

40-168 M / TERRAIN TILES SAMPLED ALONG THE TRACK

Photographs

Photos: Med taher sellami (CC BY-SA 4.0), Aliyazidi (CC BY-SA 4.0), Sami Mlouhi (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Start point

Car

About 1 h 10 from Tunis on the A1, exit Enfidha, then about 5 km west.

Louage

Louage from Tunis to Enfidha, then a taxi to Takrouna (verify locally).

Bus / train

Trains on the Tunis-Sousse line stop at Enfidha; taxi from there.

Nearby

• Enfidha MuseumMuseum2.8km

The trail

A short climb from the new village to the Berber houses on top of the Takrouna rock, high above the olive plain of Enfidha.

Takrouna is a Berber village perched on a rocky outcrop that rises abruptly from the flat olive country west of Enfidha. The path climbs from the modern village in the plain to the old houses and the small mosque on top, where the view runs over the Sahel to the sea and back to the Zaghouan range. The rock was fought over in April 1943, when New Zealand troops, among them the Maori Battalion, took it during the last weeks of the Tunisian campaign. It is a short outing, often paired with Zriba Olia on the same day.

• Berber houses on the summit rock
• View over the Enfidha olive plain
• Site of the April 1943 battle
• Sunset over the Zaghouan range

Weather and season

SEASON

Year-round; best in spring and at sunset

Monthly normals 2011-2020 at the start point, from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0). Shaded months are the season this trail is listed for.

Practical

Water

Cafe in the old village; shops below.

Guide

not needed

Hazards

Steep rocky steps near the top; strong sun.

Route

Approximate line along mapped paths between verified waypoints. Follow a guide or a GPS track on the ground.

Go with a guide

These operators and clubs organise guided hikes in Tunisia:

• WildyNessTunisian booking platform for guided hikes with local guides (Cap Blanc, Mides, Selja, Dahar, El Haouaria), several with GPS downloads.
• Association Tunisienne des RandonneursHiking association in Tunis that runs and writes up group hikes across the country.
• Mosaic North AfricaTour operator offering custom hiking trips, including the Chebika, Tamerza and Mides oases.
• Destination DaharPublishes the official topoguide (12 stages, 194 km) of the Grande Traversee du Dahar.
• Grand Sahara AventuresDjerba-based operator running Berber village and desert treks in the south.
• Destination TunisTunis-based guide publishing and leading day hikes around Tunis and Cap Bon.

Sources

• Voyage Tunisie: Zriba El Olia and Takrouna
• L'instant-m: Zriba Oliya and Takrouna