Chott el-Jerid

Vast salt lake stretching south from Nefta — surreal landscape of mirages and pink crusts

The Chott el-Jerid is the dominant landscape feature south of Nefta — a vast salt pan that stretches across the horizon, glittering white and pink in the sun. The causeway road from Tozeur to Kebili crosses the middle of the lake, with shoulders to pull off and explore the salt crust on foot. Small tourist stalls have set up at the most popular layby selling sand roses and date products.

The colour is what surprises most visitors: pink, mauve, and pale green in places where salt-loving algae and mineral salts have stained the crust. Mirages are constant. The whole thing is so empty and strange that George Lucas used it for the planet of Mos Espa in Star Wars. Walking on the crust is fine in the dry months but treacherous after rain when crust hides slush below.

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A story
The Chott is the largest salt lake in the Sahara, around 7,000 square kilometres. Most of the year it is bone-dry, the surface a crackled white crust shading to pink and pale violet where mineral deposits stain it. Heat haze produces unrelenting mirages that confuse drivers and horses alike. After the rare winter rains a shallow layer of water turns it briefly into a vast mirror; this is when it is at its most photogenic.

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