Old Town of Ghadames

About this place

The Old Town of Ghadames is a walled oasis town in north-western Libya, near the borders with Algeria and Tunisia, known as the pearl of the desert. It is among the oldest pre-Saharan cities, and UNESCO listed it as a World Heritage Site in 1986. Visitors come for its white houses and cool covered lanes, as everything seems designed against the heat. Each of its seven clans lived in its own district, with a public square for festivals. The houses were arranged vertically, with supplies stored on the ground floor and the family on the floor above, overhanging covered lanes that form almost an underground network of passages. The open terraces at the top were reserved for women. Most residents now live in the modern town. You walk through shaded passages with small light openings, past white mud houses and doors of palm trunks. In some open houses you see walls painted with red and green patterns and hung with copper vessels. At the edge of the district are palm groves and an old spring, and from the terraces you see palms and desert. It is about 462 km south-west of Tripoli. A guide is recommended, as the passages are dark and tangled. The best time is October to April, as summer is extremely hot. Sources say foreigners need a tour operator or local sponsor to visit Libya. The UK Foreign Office currently advises against all travel to this area, so check official guidance before making any plans.