Out where the dunes are sculpted and the endless sands herald the vast Sahara; where camels groan and date laden palms shoots from the shifting land, Douz clusters amidst the wild. Once an isolated stopover on the caravanserai across the sweeping Maghreb, the town has embraced the modern age by establishing itself as an outdoorsy destination where it's possible to experience the raw wildernesses of south-central Tunisia. That means oodles of Douz tour guides can be found between the winding, weaving cobbled lanes of the so-called Tourist Zone in the heart of the center, touting everything from stargazing expeditions over the sand hills to hiking odysseys across the Chott al-Jerid salt flats. The Festival of the Sahara towards the end of the year is the ideal time to visit, when one can mingle with shisha-smoking Berbers to watch performances from hair dances to horseback daredevilry, all in celebration of the date harvest.