Visit Matmata, Tunisia

Matmata sits in a hilly landscape of soft sandstone 40 km inland from Gabès, in southern Tunisia. The local Berber population has built houses here for centuries by digging deep circular pits — typically 6–8 metres deep and 10 metres across — and then carving living rooms, kitchens and storerooms horizontally into the pit walls. The result is a cool, naturally air-conditioned dwelling invisible from the surface.

Several of these houses are still inhabited. A handful are open to visitors for a small fee, and three have been converted into basic hotels — the most famous being Hotel Sidi Driss, which George Lucas used as the Lars family homestead in the original Star Wars (1977) and revisited for Attack of the Clones (2002). The Tatooine 'igloo' exteriors at Lars's farm were built nearby and partially survive in the surrounding desert.

Most visitors come on day trips from Djerba (2h drive each way) or as part of a multi-day Sahara loop through Douz, Ksar Ghilane and Tozeur. Matmata works best as a single overnight at Sidi Driss — basic but unique — combined with a Berber lunch in one of the village's cave houses.