Bulla Regia Underground Villas
- Hike
- Distance
- 2.2km
- Duration
- 1.5HRS
- Ascent
- 31M
Elevation profile
155-181 M / TERRAIN TILES SAMPLED ALONG THE TRACK
Photographs
Photos: Houss 2020 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wael Ghabara (CC BY-SA 4.0), hubbers (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Start point
- Car
- About 9 km north of Jendouba on the Ain Draham road; about 2 h 30 from Tunis.
- Louage
- Louage from Tunis to Jendouba, then a taxi (verify locally).
- Bus / train
- Train Tunis-Jendouba, then taxi.
Nearby
The trail
A loop through the Numidian royal town at the foot of Jebel Rabia, whose Roman villas had their main rooms built underground against the heat.
Bulla Regia was a Numidian royal town before it became Roman, set at the foot of Jebel Rabia above the Medjerda plain. Its signature is the underground villa: wealthy houses whose living rooms were built a storey below the courtyard to escape the summer heat, several still with their mosaics in place. The loop runs from the entrance past the triumphal arch and the underground villas to the amphitheatre and back.
- Underground Roman villas
- Mosaics in place
- Triumphal arch
- Amphitheatre
Weather and season
- SEASON
- Year-round; mornings in summer
| Month | Average high | Average low | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 12.6 C | 4.5 C | 68 mm |
| February | 12.9 C | 4.2 C | 72 mm |
| March | 15.5 C | 6.1 C | 82 mm |
| April | 19.6 C | 8.6 C | 47 mm |
| May | 23.2 C | 11.6 C | 46 mm |
| June | 29 C | 15.9 C | 12 mm |
| July | 32.8 C | 19 C | 4 mm |
| August | 33 C | 19.7 C | 16 mm |
| September | 28.2 C | 17.3 C | 30 mm |
| October | 23.9 C | 13.7 C | 55 mm |
| November | 17.9 C | 9.2 C | 71 mm |
| December | 13.7 C | 5.8 C | 65 mm |
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
- Bring your own.
- Guide
- optional
- Permits
- Site entrance ticket.
- Hazards
- Steps down into the villas; heat in summer.
- 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.