Horse Riding Holidays in TUNISIA

A horse riding holiday in Tunisia, from Unicorn Trails, is a must for adventurous riders who love a challenge.  Tunisia is in Africa and almost half of the country is desert which gives the opportunity for fast riding on the Magic of the Desert Trail and the Oasis to Oasis horseback holidays. Both these guided rides are camping trails, giving riders the opportunity to experience nights under the desert skies beside their horses and to enjoy authentic North African cuisine prepared each evening by the generous hosts. The Romans left some amazing sites in Tunisia and we pass a lot of these on our horse-riding holidays.

The Berber desert tribes were the original inhabitants of Tunisia.  The Berbers are expert horsemen and their legacy lives on with the Berber horses that are used to this day, often crossed with Arab horses to make a breed highly adapted to the terrain, heat and pace of the riding.

Visitors will have a chance to visit the Roman ruins that are so prevalent throughout North Africa while enjoying long rides on Arab and Barb horses. The Barb (or Berber) breed of horse are the mounts of the Berber Tribes who inhabit the Sahara desert regions of Tunisia and Morocco and are ideal mounts for the terrain.

Tunisia is home to over 3,000 years of history ranging from the Phoenicians, who founded the ancient city of Carthage to the French in recent times. The most important city in Tunisian history is Carthage – arch rival of Rome in the second and third centuries BC and a Phoenician trading post founded at the end of the 9th Century, that developed into one of the most prosperous and powerful cities in the western Mediterranean. By the end of the 6th Century BC it was one of the main powers of the Mediterranean. During the second and third centuries BC Carthage came to blows with Rome, one of the other great powers of the Mediterranean, in the infamous Punic Wars. Despite successful battles waged by Hannibal, the Punic general who had lead his army, backed by elephants over the Alps into Italy, Carthage suffered in the last war, when the city was destroyed by the Romans, and its people sold into slavery.

The Romans colonized most of Tunisia, building magnificent towns, such as Dougga and Sbeitla along the way. In AD 436 Tunisia was invaded by the Spanish Vandals, who ruled until the Arabs arrived in AD 670 and spread their power across North Africa. The Arabs were later followed by the Ottoman Turks and then the French in the 19th century. Tunisia was granted independence from the French on 20th March 1956.