When immersed in the bustling centre of Tunis, it can feel like the city goes on forever. However, there are some seriously impressive landscapes just waiting to be explored only a few kilometres from the centre.
The website www.alltrails.com can be a good source for hikes, and I found a great circular walk in the hills surrounding the city, just north of the suburb of Ariana.
The taxi ride was less than 10 TD (€ 3) from near the airport, and I got out at a small, unassuming set of shops just next to the main road.
The path starts steeply uphill behind the shops with scrubland on either side. The main road is busy, but you quickly disappear into the hills. It becomes very peaceful except for the crickets chirping on the path and the strong sea breeze. Looking behind, you already get a pretty impressive view of the city behind you and the mountains in the distance.
I climb for about 20 minutes or so, reaching a path along the top of the mountain ridge. You can clearly see that these hills separate Tunis from the rest of the country! As you walk along, on your right it’s packed with white Tunisian buildings as far as the mountains in the distance, while on your left the landscape takes over, with only a few specks of white sprinkled over the surface. The gusts were so strong I was glad my Tunisian hat (mdhalla) had a chin strap!
The path continues alongside the mountainside, and you can practically see the contour lines on the hill. Coming from the south of England where more or less everywhere is green rolling hills, it was amazing to see so many different landscapes in one view. Sandy heath with olive trees, pine forest, rock face, bright azul sea, mountains in the distance and an expansive salt flat (sebkha). My photos here really don’t do it justice, but it was hard to walk without stopping every two minutes to take another photo!
The path skirts around the edge of two small towns and then dips down through the forest back down the hill. I briefly have to duck through some trees off the main track to join a forest footpath which leads back down the hill to the start.
The walk was about 11 kilometres in total, with only a few steep or uneven sections. It was so easy to reach from the city and the views were spectacular! I can’t wait to explore more of the landscapes surrounding the capital.
