Things to Do in Dougga

Roman Theatre sunset perch

Climb the 3,500-seat theatre late afternoon and the stone glow shifts from ochre to rose while swallows knife through the vomitoria. The acoustics are so sharp a coin drop on stage pings in the upper tier.

Capitoline Temple columns

Six Corinthian columns stand almost complete, flutes razor-sharp under pale lichen. Stand downwind and you'll catch cedar resin once used to polish the marble - archaeologists swear it lingers.

House of the Trifolium mosaics

Inside this patrician villa the floors still show black-and-white tesserae forming dolphins tangled with ivy tendrils. The room keeps a cool, cellar-like breath even at midday.

Libyco-Punic Mausoleum trail

A ten-minute scramble above the theatre brings you to the three-storey funeral tower - unique mix of Numidian and Hellenic stonework. From the top distant farm tractors pop like muffled drums across the plains.

Archaeological picnic on the odeon steps

Locals swear by a midday break on the small odeon's curved seats. Spread a scarf, unwrap a makroudh pastry and taste honey while lizards scuttle over Latin inscriptions beside you.

Téboursouk centre - family guesthouses where the muezzin duels with roosters at dawn

Ain Draham forest lodges - 25 km west, cool pinewoods for summer refuge

El Kef medina - Ottoman houses turned into budget B&Bs

Béja olive estates - farmhouse stays with home-pressed oil tastings

Dougga hillside - one hilltop guesthouse inside the buffer zone, book by word of mouth

Testour plateau - Andalusian village rooms overlooking stone canals