Ghar El Melh

Ghar El Melh was Porto Farina, a base for corsairs and later an Ottoman naval station, and three seventeenth-century forts still stand around the harbour, which silted up long ago and stranded the town. Behind it the lagoon is farmed in an unusual way: the ramli gardens are plots built on sand at sea level where crops are watered by a lens of fresh rainwater floating on the salt below, a technique recognised as an agricultural heritage system.

What to look for

• The three Ottoman forts - seventeenth-century fortifications around the old harbour.
• The ramli gardens - crops grown on sand at sea level using a freshwater lens.
• The silted harbour - the port that closed when the Medjerda changed course.
• The lagoon - the wetland behind the town, used by waterbirds.

When to go

April to June and September to October are the most comfortable. The ramli gardens are worked year round. Winter brings storms on this coast.

Before you go

The forts are largely closed and seen from outside. The town is run down in places. The ramli gardens are private working plots and visits need arranging.

Nearby

Bizerte is west, and Cap Angela is north.

Key facts