The desert and oasis landscape immediately around Ghadames rewards exploration. The palm gardens ringing the old city are a cool, shaded world of date palms, figs, and irrigation channels fed by the Ain al-Faras spring — a striking contrast to the surrounding desert. Walking through them in the morning or late afternoon is one of the simple pleasures of being in Ghadames.
The Hamada al-Hamra (Red Desert) begins immediately around the oasis and is one of the great gravel plateaux of the Sahara. It offers extraordinary photography, especially at sunrise and sunset when the red pebble surface glows. Short excursions by 4WD with a local driver can be arranged to reach viewpoints over the plateau or to visit the remains of old caravan track routes.
The Ghat region to the south, known for Tuareg culture and the Acacus Mountains (another UNESCO site containing prehistoric rock art), is reachable in a long day's drive from Ghadames. The Acacus massif contains thousands of rock paintings dating back 12,000 years. This excursion was one of the great Saharan journeys when Libya was open to tourists, combining two UNESCO World Heritage Sites in a single circuit.
The Algerian and Tunisian borders are a short distance from Ghadames, and in better times day trips to the Tunisian oasis town of Tataouine or the Algerian oasis of Djanet were possible for those with the necessary permits.