Tunisia - Dahar - Ksar Ghilane
 

Hi all,

Leaving in two weeks for Tunisia again, by bicycle. I'm looking for recent info on the stretch Beni Kheddache - Bir Zoui - Bir Soltane - (pipeline) - Ksar Ghilane - Guermessa - Beni Kheddache.
State of the pistes, water points, cafés, waypoints,...

I know, I know, Tunisia is not Sahara Overland, but... ;-)

cheers,

Raf

http://users.telenet.be/verbeelen

Hi Raf,

I'm not sure if this will help you a lot but I did this route by 4wd in august. The pistes are ok- but closer you get toKsarGhilane the piste might get covered by sand. Regarding the pipeline road - it should be sealed by now - at least they were claiming that the roadworks should be finished by now (section toksar ghilane).

When you are by car you don't care much for water points and cafes ... so no info about that :(

If you haveGarmin GPS you can download the Tunisia maps from:
http://gps.4x4travel.org/index_e.html#Tunisia

enjoy your trip,
Tom

Sealing the pipeline
 

Thanks Tom! You're serious, they are sealing the pipeline piste? All the way from the road Douz - Matmata to Ksar Ghilane? I know there were some plans, but has it actually started?
Anybody recent info on this?

Raf

The idea behind the sealing of the road is to bring the investors to Ksar Ghilane - the plans are very ambitious and the roadworks are progressing very fast.

regards,
Tom

Last time I was there was Christmas. The pipeline piste being sealed will, in my opinion, ruin K.Ghilane, but I had heard that it was being done. There are also plans for another hotel, and apparently there is some sort of golf tournement going to happen as well.

As far as the route; I have completed both the pipeline piste to K.Ghilane from the Matmata - Douz road and K.Ghilane to Tatouine and recorded them on GPS for Fugawi software. Also done Beni Khdech but overwrote that so don't have the route.

Bir Soltane has a Cafe and there is also one on the track to Tatouine/Douirat but it is quite near to the K.Ghilane at about 18.5 miles out. Sorry same as Tom on the water points, I went in a car as well.

There is an alternative to the newly sealed pipeline piste, the piste from Douz to K.Ghilane, I have driven and recorded that to.

There are maps showing the routes at www.4x4-travel.co.uk/mapindex.html if this helps. If you want more detail let me know.
Kevin

Yes, in our opinion, pistes being sealed is in most cases not favourable. Anyway, they will have some good reason over there. The only question is who will benefit from this, but certainly some will, whether the "right" or "wrong" ones, which depend again on anyone's own perspective...

The Douz - Ksar Ghilane direct piste is no option on a bicycle, we found it out when we tried to reach Bir El Hadj Brahim last year.

Thanks for the comments, will let you know if we have to talk about the "pipeline road" or not yet on my return.

Cheers,

Raf.
http://users.telenet.be/verbeelen

Still piste, but not for long
 

Hi all,

back from Tunisia.

FWIW: Pipeline not sealed yet, but indeed they are busy and is soon to come. Talked with a roadworkers surveyant at Bir Soltane, he told me not only the pipeline piste is being sealed, but the project is to seal also the 18 kilometers of piste left between Bir Zoui and Bir Soltane, AND the main piste between Beni Kheddache/Guermessa and Ksar Ghilane...

Take out your rollerblades! ;-)

BTW: we took a nice, little, lonely piste as alternative to the main pistes from Ksar Ghilane to the Dahar, that starts just opposite the sealed stretch to KG at the pipeline:
http://users.telenet.be/verbeelen/en...tunisia06.html

Cheers,

Rafke.