The Nafusa Mountains (Jebel Nafusa) form a dramatic escarpment rising from the Libyan plain about 80 kilometres south of Tripoli. Gharyan sits near the eastern end of this range at around 900 metres, and the drive south from the coast gains enough altitude to make a genuine difference in temperature and vegetation.
The landscape around town is a mix of terraced olive groves, fig orchards, and open rocky hillside with views across the plateau toward the Sahara. The area gets enough rain to support wheat farming and small vineyards, which makes it visually very different from the coastal strip. The road west from Gharyan toward Jefren and Yefren runs along the escarpment edge, with views dropping away steeply to the south — it's one of the more spectacular drives in western Libya, with very little traffic.