The Moroccan pre-Sahara begins as soon as you cross the Atlas to the south. It is not sand for the most part – more a wasteland of rock and scrub, which the Berbers call hammada – but it is powerfully impressive. There is, too, an irresistible sense of wonder as you catch your first glimpse of the great southern river valleys: the Drâa, Dadès, Todra and Ziz. Lush belts of date-palm oases, scattered with the fabulous mud architecture of kasbahs and fortified ksour villages, these are the old caravan routes that reached back to Marrakesh and Fez and out across the Sahara to Timbuktu, Niger and old Sudan, carrying gold, slaves and salt well into the nineteenth century.
Most travellers’ first taste of the region is the Tizi n’Tichka, the dizzying pass up from Marrakesh, and the iconic kasbashs at Telouet and Aït Benhaddou – an introduction that is hard to beat. Benhaddou is less than an hour’s drive from Ouarzazate, a modern town created by the French to “pacify” the south and one of the area’s few urban centres of any significance, buoyed in recent years by its association with the film industry. From here, you can follow the old trading routes: south through the Drâa to Zagora and the fringes of the desert at M’Hamid; or east through the Dadès to the towering Todra Gorge and, ultimately, the dunes at Erg Chebbi near Merzouga. These are beautiful journeys, the roads rolling through crumbling mud-brick villages and past long ribbons of deep green palmeries as they stretch out towards the Sahara.
The southern oases were long a mainstay of the pre-colonial economy. Their wealth, and the arrival of tribes from the desert, provided the impetus for two of the great royal dynasties: the Saadians (1554–1669) from the Drâa Valley, and the current ruling family, the Alaouites (1669–present) from the Tafilalt. By the nineteenth century, however, the advance of the Sahara and the uncertain upkeep of the channels that watered the oases had reduced life to bare subsistence, even in the most fertile strips. Under the French, with the creation of modern industry in the north and the exploitation of phosphates and minerals, they became less and less significant, while the old caravan routes were dealt a final death blow by the closure of the Algerian border in 1994.
Although the date harvests in October, centred on Erfoud, still give employment to the ksour communities, the rest of the year sees only the modest production of a handful of crops – henna, barley, citrus fruits and, uniquely, roses, developed by the French around El Kelâa M’Gouna for the production of rose-water and perfume. Severe drought in the 1990s had a devastating effect on crops, including dates, and forced much of the male population to seek work further north, but since 2007 the water levels have greatly improved and the palmeries are returning to their picture-book lushness once more.
Getting around The southern oases routes
The south is a vast region, stretching some 675km from Ouarzazate to Figuig, though the area can be broken down nicely into more manageable circuits. The simplest – Marrakesh to Zagora and back, or the return from Marrakesh to Tinghir – can be covered in around five days, though to do them any degree of justice you’ll need a lot longer. With ten days or more, the loop from Ouarzazate to Merzouga (via Tinghir), and thence southwest to Zagora and M’Hamid, becomes a possibility, stringing together the region’s main highlights via good roads and dependable transport connections.
All the main routes in this chapter are covered by regular buses; the road from Ouarzazate to Tinghir and on to Erfoud (for Merzouga) is particularly well served. Travelling by bus in the desert in summer can be physically exhausting, though: most trips tend to begin at dawn to avoid the worst of the heat and, for the rest of the day, it can be difficult to summon up the energy to do anything.
Alamy
KASBAH TELOUET
Highlights
Telouet The abandoned feudal kasbah of the “Lords of the Atlas” is hugely evocative. See page 365
Aït Benhaddou The cream of the south’s desert architecture, used as a striking location for numerous movies.
Palmeries Fed by ancient water courses, the great palmeries of Morocco’s southern oases form an astounding contrast with the desert.
Kasbah stays You should try to spend at least a night in one of these iconic buildings, hand-crafted with mud and straw and providing welcome respite from the desert heat.
Dadès Gorge Outlandish rock formations and ruined kasbahs at the head of a valley winding deep into the Atlas watershed.
Todra Gorge This dramatic cleft in the High Atlas is one of the country’s finest natural spectacles.
Erg Chebbi Morocco’s most impressive sand dunes, stretching out to the border with Algeria, are best explored on camel back.
Highlights are marked on the map
If you can afford to rent a car, even for just two or three days, you’ll be able to take in a lot more, with a lot less frustration, in a reasonably short period of time – there are numerous rental outlets in Ouarzazate, some of which allow you to return their vehicles to Marrakesh, Fez, Agadir or Casablanca.
Services Petrol stations can be found along all the main routes. Local mechanics are generally excellent, and most minor problems can be quickly (and often cheaply) dealt with.
Equipment It’s wise to carry water, in case of overheating, and, above all, be sure you’ve got a good spare tyre – punctures tend to be frequent on southern roads.
Driving on pistes Many of the pistes in the south are navigable in a rental car, but be aware that the insurance is invalid when you drive on them. In reality, 4WDs are a better bet for pistes, even more so in winter and early spring (they’re essential for the Dadès route across the Atlas, for which you should also be able to do basic mechanical repairs).
Scams The practice known as “fake breakdowns” is prevalent throughout the south but particularly refined along the road from Ouarzazate to Zagora. People standing next to stationary cars will flag you down, ostensibly for help getting to a garage; but when you arrive at the next town, they’ll insist on returning the favour by offering you a “special price” on items from their handicraft shop. As difficult as it may sound, don’t stop to “help”.
On many of the minor routes, local Berber lorries (camions) or pick-ups (camionettes) run a bus-type service, charging standard fares for their trips, which are usually timed to coincide with the network of souks or markets in villages en route. The trucks cover a number of adventurous desert pistes as well as the very rough road over the Atlas from the Dadès Gorge.
When to visit Spring is by far the most enjoyable time to travel, particularly if you’re heading for Zagora, reckoned to be the hottest town in the country, or Merzouga – though the Drâa, in particular, is subject to flash floods at this time of year, and passes across the Atlas can be difficult or impossible. Autumn, with the date harvests, is also good. Temperatures can climb well above 50ºC in midsummer, while in winter the days remain hot but it can get very cold at night.
Health Some rivers in the south, including the Asif Ounila flowing past Aït Benhaddou, contain bilharzia, a parasite that can enter your skin, including the soles of your feet; when walking by streams in the oases, take care to avoid contact with water. Travellers are advised to drink only bottled mineral water in southern Morocco.
Arguably the defining image of the south, ksour (ksar in the singular) and kasbahs are found throughout the region, peeking out of palmeries and edging the roads that cut through the great river valleys, most notably the Dadès, the so-called Route of a Thousand Kasbahs, and the Drâa.
A ksar (or ighrem in Berber) is essentially a fortified tribal village, while a kasbah (or tighremt) is a fortified home made for the ruling family. Both ksour and kasbahs are imposing structures, built – in the absence of other available materials – out of the mud-clay pisé of the riverbanks. A unique and probably indigenous development of the Berber populations, they are often monumental in design and fabulously decorated, with bold geometric patterns incised into exterior walls and slanted towers. Seasonal rains wash off some of the mud, so the buildings require constant upkeep – once a kasbah has been left unmaintained, it declines very fast, with twenty years enough to produce a ruinous state if the walls are not renewed.
Agadirs, also variants of the ksar structure, used to serve as a combination of tribal fortress and communal granary or storehouse for the villages.
Few of the ksour and kasbahs that shadow the Drâa can be more than a hundred years old, though you frequently see the ruins and walls of earlier ksour abandoned just a short distance from their more modern counterparts. Most are populated by Berbers, but there are also Arab villages here, and even a few scattered communities of Jews, still living in their Mellahs. All of the southern valleys, too, have groups of Haratin, descendants of West African slaves brought into Morocco along the caravan routes. Inevitably, these populations have mixed to some extent – and the Jews here are almost certainly converted Berbers – though it is interesting to see just how distinct many of the ksour still appear, both in their architecture and customs. There is, for example, a great difference from one village in the Drâa to the next as regards women’s costumes, above all in the wearing and extent of veils.
Though several of the Skoura kasbahs date, at least in part, from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the majority of kasbahs in the Dadès oases are relatively modern. Most of the older fortifications were destroyed in a vicious tribal war in 1893, and many that survived were pulled down in the French pacification of the 1920s and 30s. The kasbah walls in the Dadès, higher and flatter than in the Drâa, often seem un-scaleable, but in the course of a siege or war there were always other methods of conquest – a favourite means of attack in the 1890s, according to the writer Walter Harris, who journeyed here in disguise, was to divert the water channels of the oasis round a kasbah and simply wait for its foundations to dissolve.
The direct route between Marrakesh and Ouarzazate, the Tizi n’Tichka (N9) is a spectacular piece of engineering, its pulse-racing series of switchbacks providing ever more jaw-dropping views until it eventually crests the central High Atlas at its eponymous pass. It was built to replace the old caravan route to the Drâa and the south, which was controlled during the nineteenth century and much of the twentieth by the legendary Glaoui family, the greatest and most ambitious of all the Berber tribal leaders – their kasbah-headquarters, a vast complex of buildings abandoned only in 1956, still stands at TELOUET, less than an hour from the main road.
Arrow-straight as it runs out from Marrakesh across the Haouz Plain, the Tizi n’Tichka soon contours forest slopes high above the Oued Ghdat valley, twisting past small villages and fields as it heads to Taddert, the last significant village on the north side of the pass – though most traffic now stops a kilometre beyond the centre, where all the roadside cafés and restaurants are located. The road thereafter climbs in an amazing array of hairpin bends to reach pastureland (tichka means “high pasture”) before a final pull up to the Tichka pass itself (2260m), marked by cafés and the obligatory souvenir stall or two; not far down on the south side of the pass is the turning to Telouet and the Ounila Valley. The main road south winds down through Igherm, 10km further on and home to a well-restored agadir (to find someone to unlock it, ask at the roadside hotel, Chez Mimi), gradually flattening out until it reaches the turn-off to Aït Benhaddou, just 19km before Ouarzazate.
Signed 500m down a track, north of Telouet village (the other side of the village if approaching from the Tizi n’Tichka) • Charge
The bizarre Kasbah Telouet is one of the most extraordinary sights of the Atlas – fast crumbling into the dark red earth, but still offering, in parts, a peculiar glimpse of the style and melodrama of Moroccan political government and power still within living memory. There’s little of aesthetic value – many of the rooms have fallen into complete ruin – but nevertheless, even after over a half-century of decay, there’s still vast drama in this weird and remote site, and in the decorated salon walls, often roofless and open to the wind.
The main halls and reception rooms
The kasbah is an unbelievable labyrinth of locked doors and connecting passages – it is said that no single person ever fully knew their way around the entire complex – though these days you can only access the main halls and reception rooms. The latter, remarkably intact, given the crumbling exterior, at least give a sense of the quantity and style of the decoration, still in progress when the pasha died and the old regime came to a sudden halt. “The outward and visible signs of ultimate physical ambition”, as Gavin Maxwell put it in Lords of the Atlas, they have delicate iron window grilles and fine carved ceilings, though the overall result is once again the late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century combination of sensitive imitation of the past and out-and-out vulgarity.
There’s a tremendous scale of affectation, too, perfectly demonstrated by the use of green Salé tiles for the roof – usually reserved for mosques and royal palaces. From up here, you can look down upon some of the courts and chambers, the bright zellij and stucco enclosing great gaping holes in the stone and plaster. The really enduring impression, though, is the wonder of how and why it ever came to be built at all.
Arrival and departureTelouet and the Tizi n’Tichka
By bus The daily bus from Marrakesh (bound for Anemiter, 12km beyond Telouet) departs from Bab Rhemat at 3pm (4hr), returning from Telouet at 7am; the daily bus from Ouarzazate leaves at noon (3hr), returning from Telouet at around sunset.
By grand taxi Grands taxis run from Marrakesh to Anemiter via Telouet (3hr), and from Ouarzazate direct to Telouet (2hr).
By car It takes around 4–5hr to drive the Tizi n’Tichka from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate, with the pass itself roughly halfway along the route. Like all High Atlas passes, the road is seasonal and can be snowbound in winter and early spring, when barriers at either end will block your way. The Kasbah Telouet is an easy but slow-going 20km drive (about 40min) from the main road, along the paved but potholed 6802; alternatively, it’s 45km (around 1hr 15min) along the recently paved road from Tamdaght, just north of Aït Benhaddou, offering drivers a scenic short cut between two of the finest kasbahs in the south.
It’s unlikely you’ll need to stop on the way south to Ouarzazate, but there are a couple of places on the Tizi n’Tichka that are useful for drivers looking for a place to stay before hitting Marrakesh or heading to the airport – I Rocha, in particular, would make a very pleasant end to any Moroccan adventure.
I Rocha Tisselday, 145km from Marrakesh 
irocha.com. Charming guesthouse up in the hills overlooking a quiet stretch of the Tizi n’Tichka, with lovely views from its terrace and a sheltered little pool. The en suite rooms are on the small side but are light-filled, thoughtfully decorated and come with a/c; good meals are served in the social salon – often accompanied by a roaring log fire – and there’s a funky adjoining bar. BB €€
Auberge Telouet 500m north of the village, opposite the turn-off to the Kasbah Telouet telouet.com. Accommodation in an ersatz kasbah, with nicely kept rooms and views over Telouet from the panoramic terrace. There are a few cheaper rooms in an older inn across the road, including a large living space that can sleep eight with shared bathrooms. The food in the restaurant is good and the owner can also arrange evening meals in a trio of village houses. BB €
Maison d'hôtes Dar Aissa In the centre of the village daraissatelouet.onlc.eu. Sparsely decorated but good-value rooms around a courtyard full of flowers in the home of Almodhik Aissa, with mix-and-match beds, shared bathrooms, a simple rug-strewn salon and a good view of the kasbah from the roof. Meals are available, usually cooked by a family member. €
The first thing you hear from the guides on arrival at AÏT BENHADDOU, 190km from Marrakesh and just 34km from Ouarzazate, is a list of its film credits. Though this is a feature of much of the Moroccan south, the Benhaddou ksar has a definite edge over the competition. Lawrence of Arabia was filmed here, of course; Orson Welles used it as a location for Sodom and Gomorrah; and for Jesus of Nazareth the whole lower part of the village was rebuilt. More recently, Russell Crowe’s character received his combat training here in Gladiator, and it’s been featured in some episodes of Game of Thrones. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 and finally, between 2007 and 2012, using as much wood and earthen techniques as possible to keep the site as historically preserved as possible, some controlled restoration was carried out.
With its souvenir shops and constant stream of tour groups, Aït Benhaddou is not really the place to catch a glimpse of fading ksar life, but it is one of the most spectacular sights of the Atlas, piled upon a low hillock above a shallow, reed-strewn river. Its buildings are among the most elaborately decorated and best preserved in the south; they are less fortified than is usually the case along the Drâa or the Dadès, but, towered and crenellated, and with high, sheer walls of dark red pisé, they must have been near impregnable in this remote, hillside site.
As ever, it’s impossible to determine exactly how old the ksar of Aït Benhaddou is, although the maze of narrow alleyways and crenulated towers you see these days are mainly from the 17th century, but there could have been buildings here since at least the eleventh century. The importance of the site, which commands the area for miles around, was its position on the trans-Saharan trade route from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate and the south. In the twentieth century, the significance of this route disappeared with the creation of the Tizi n’Tichka, which has led to severe depopulation – there are now only ten resilient families inhabiting the kasbahs, earning a sparse living from the valley’s agriculture and rather more from the tourists who pass through.
It contains a mosque, two cemeteries (Jewish and Muslim), a public square, and by following the network of lanes uphill, you’ll eventually arrive at the ruins of a vast and imposing agadir, or fortified granary, from where there are great views over the surrounding desert.
Spread across a platform above a bend in the river, its fringes hemmed in by canyon walls, TAMDAGHT, 6km further up the valley from Aït Benhaddou, has a more authentic Berber feel than its neighbour. The village, which formerly flourished with the caravan route over the Tizi n’Tichka, is dominated by the remnants of a Glaoui kasbah. Few of the day-trippers that pass through Aït Benhaddou make it this far, but the landscape en route is worth the journey as it passes through some spectacular scenery featured by Ridley Scott in Gladiator and Oliver Stone in Alexander. Following the riverbank on foot, you’ve the added bonus of crossing the lush, terraced gardens below the kasbah: the walk takes 1hr 15min each way from Aït Benhaddou (from where the path can be reached below Defat Kasbah).
A walk through the Ounila Valley
As hard as it is to imagine today, the tranquil Ounila Valley, set amid high, parched hillsides and edged in by remarkably coloured scree slopes, served as the main route over the Atlas until the French constructed the Tizi n’Tichka to the west. The paved road (the P1506) sees relatively little traffic and makes for a fine two-day walk from Telouet following the Oued Ounila as it snakes south to Aït Benhaddou.
The scattered communities here make abundant use of the narrow but fertile valley, which slowly unveils a wealth of dark red and crumbling kasbahs and agadirs, cliff dwellings, terraced orchards and olive trees – and everywhere children calling to each other from the fields, the river or the roadside. The first stop, after 12km, is Anemiter (2hr 30min walk from Telouet), one of the best-preserved fortified villages in Morocco and well worth a visit, even if you go no further. Leaving the village, the main track clings to the valley side, alternately climbing and descending, but with a general downhill trend as you make your way south. After 3km, you cross a sturdy bridge, beyond which the road follows the left bank of the river to the hamlet of Assako (2hr 30min from Anemiter), where it climbs to the left round some spectacular gorges before dropping steeply; walkers should aim to get beyond this exposed high ground before camping. The trail passes the little village of Tourhat (around 3hr 30min from Assako) before bringing you to Tamdaght (another 3hr), a scattered collection of buildings with a classic kasbah. Just 6km from Tamdaght (1hr 15min), along a lush river valley, lies Aït Benhaddou.
If you only wanted to walk part of the way, you could take a grand taxi from Telouet to Anemiter (the daily bus that runs between the two doesn’t leave Telouet until 5pm). You’ll need to take your own provisions, but mules can be hired in both Telouet and Anemiter.
Gîte d’étape de Tighza Tighza, 10km from Anemiter towards Telouet telouet-anmiter.gitemaroc.net. A fine gîte, overlooking terraced fields in the village of Tighza and run by the Bouchahoud brothers, both mountain guides – they can arrange camping trips to turquoise Lake Tamda or walks into the mountains and on to Telouet, Tamdaght or Aït Benhaddou. Most rooms are en suite, some with balconies, and there are more basic cheaper rooms in the older section of the house with shared facilities. Set dinners (€€€) and guests are invited to help out in the kitchen. BB dorm €, double €
Kasbah Tigmi N’Oufella Anguelz, 12.5km from Telouet towards Aït Benhaddou 
0661 235953. Just three en-suite rooms in a restored pisé home – one of which takes over the entire top floor and sleeps four comfortably. They are beautifully decorated with traditional Moroccan furnishings and semi-exposed Tatouine-style ceilings, and have views of the garden. Laoucine is a gracious host, who can cook a mean tajine. BB €€
Beyond Tamdaght, the road leads 40km northwest to Telouet and the Tizi n’Tichka pass – a beautiful route, particularly on foot, the increasingly magnificent landscape punctuated at regular intervals by villages.
Village centre • Knock at the main door (facing the road) • Charge
Quietly crumbling into the valley floor, the relatively little-visited Kasbah Tamdaght – its towers crowned by gigantic storks’ nests – makes an interesting counterpoint to its more illustrious neighbour down the road. One or two wings are on the verge of collapse, but you can visit the only section of the building still inhabited, which was used as a set in both the films Gladiator and The Mummy.
Arrival and information Aït Benhaddou and around
By public transport You can catch a bus (between Ouarzazate and Marrakesh) or a grand taxi from Ouarzazate to the turn-off to Benhaddou (20min), where you can pick up another taxi for the remaining 9km to the village (about 25dh for the whole journey). Leaving town at the end of the day can be tricky: local traffic tends to dry up by 4pm, allowing taxis to charge what they think they can get away with. Back at the turnoff, you can get another grand taxi to Ouarzazate or try your luck flagging down a bus to Marrakesh (they stop if they have seats available). Alternatively negotiate a private hire grand taxi in Ouarzazate.
By car Aït Benhaddou is 9km off the main Tizi n’Tichka pass road, but it has only one lane and is not in great condition, requiring careful driving if you’re arriving by rental car.
Guides Enthusiastic (but entirely unnecessary) guides hang around the parking area in the “new village”, on the west bank of the river, hoping to escort visitors across the bridge (or stepping stones) to the ksar.
Given how difficult it can sometimes be to find transport out of Aït Benhaddou, you may well end up deciding to spend the night here; if you do, get up at dawn to see the ksar at its best. There’s no shortage of options (though note that the best places are actually outside of Aït Benhaddou itself). Cafés and restaurants are somewhat thinner on the ground, with most people opting to eat at their hotel or guesthouse.
Auberge Ayouze Asfalou, 3km north of Aït Benhaddou 0524 883757 or 0671 191706. This little mud-brick auberge is full of atmosphere and has fostered quite a loyal following thanks to its friendly French-Moroccan hosts and their likeable staff – with just six attractive rooms, all except one with private terrace, you’ll often need to book in advance. Good food (dinner €€, book a half board rate or tell them before 5pm), good music and a welcoming pool and bar complete the picture. BB €€
Kasbah Ellouze On the southern edge of Tamdaght kasbah-ellouze.com. Stylish place run by a couple from Nîmes in France – modern, but following traditional lines, with a range of cavernous rooms that combine authentic Moroccan design with mod cons such as a/c and heaters in winter. There’s a small, heated swimming pool and plenty of roof areas for relaxing; beautifully cooked meals are served on a breezy rear terrace overlooking the village orchard (ellouze means “almond” in Arabic). Closed Ramadan and early Jan. HB €€
The extent and speed of Madani (1866–1918) and T’hami el Glaoui’s (1879–1956) rise to power is remarkable. In the mid-nineteenth century, their family were simply local clan leaders, controlling an important Atlas pass between Marrakesh and the south but lacking influence beyond it. Their entrance into national politics began dramatically in 1893. In that year’s terrible winter, Sultan Moulay Hassan, on returning from a disastrous harka (subjugation or burning raid) of the Tafilalt, found himself at the mercy of the brothers. With shrewd political judgement, they rode out to meet the sultan, feting him with every detail of protocol and, miraculously, producing enough food to feed the entire three-thousand-strong force for the duration of their stay.
The extravagance was well rewarded. By the time Moulay Hassan began his return to Marrakesh, he had given caid-ship of all the lands between the High Atlas and the Sahara to the Glaoui and, most important of all, was forced to abandon vast amounts of the royal armoury (including the first cannon to be seen in the Atlas) in Telouet. By 1901, the brothers had eliminated all opposition in the region, and when the French arrived in Morocco in 1912, they were able to dictate the form of government for virtually all the south, putting down the attempted nationalist rebellion of El Hiba, pledging loyalty throughout World War I and having themselves appointed pashas of Marrakesh, with their family becoming caids in all the main Atlas and desert cities. The French were content to concur, arming them, as Gavin Maxwell wrote, “to rule as despots, [and] perpetuating the corruption and oppression that the Europeans had nominally come to purge”.
The Glaoui’s controversial alliance with the Protectorate continued over the next few decades, and in 1953 T’hami again played an influential part in the dethroning of a sultan, conspiring with the French to overthrow Mohammed V. It was his last act of betrayal. Within a few months of Mohammed V’s return to Morocco in 1955, T’hami was dead, his properties seized by the state and ultimately abandoned to the ravages of time.
Lights, Camera, Action! Ouarzazate on the silver screen
Ever since David Lean shot Lawrence of Arabia at nearby Aït Benhaddou in 1962, film directors have been drawn to Ouarzazate, and the area has, over the years, stood in for Afghanistan, Jerusalem, Persia, Somalia, Ancient Egypt and even Tibet. Bernardo Bertolucci came here in 1990 to film Paul Bowles’s novel, The Sheltering Sky, while Martin Scorsese based much of The Last Temptation of Christ (1998) and Kundun (1996) in the surrounding hammada – as a tottering Tibetan temple at the Atlas Corporation Studios just outside of town can testify to. Oliver Stone shot Alexander here in 2004, while Ridley Scott can’t seem to get enough of the place, choosing the region for Gladiator (1999), Black Hawk Down (2001), Kingdom of Heaven (2005) and Prometheus (2012). Proving that Ourzazate has still got what it takes, Clint Eastwood used it in American Sniper (2015), and it’s the backdrop to several scenes in the TV series Game of Thrones (2011–2020). However, Covid-19, travel restrictions forced film producers to look for backdrops closer to home or to create digital worlds, and once restrictions were finally lifted, the film industry never really returned to this area of southern Morocco to the same extent.
Riad Caravane 3km north of Aït Benhaddou riad-caravane.com. Attractive, newly built riad featuring tadelakt walls and spacious, minimalist rooms. The rooftop terrace provides a beautiful view over the oasis, there’s a heated swimming pool, and the food is a superb blend of Moroccan, French and Swiss (set dinner menu €€). There are only eight rooms, all come with private bathrooms and a/c, and one sleeps three and another four – book ahead. BB €€
Riad Ksar Ighnda 2.5km north of Aït Benhaddou ksar.ighnda.net. Classy hotel, oozing luxury chic and beautifully lit at night. Rooms offer the best of both worlds, where wonderful mattresses and DVD players meet smoothly traditional tadelakt bathrooms. Lounge about the immaculate gardens, take a dip in the sleek pool or unwind with an argan-oil treatment in the spa. The classy restaurant welcomes visitors with a reservation and is top-notch, too. HB €€€
Riad Maktoub On the main road in the centre of Aït Benhaddou riadmaktoub.com. Attractive pisé-style building with small but cool rooms and a handful of more elaborate suites, enclosing a courtyard pool. International or Moroccan meals are served in the salon (€€€ set menu), around the pool or on either of the elegant terraces overlooking the kasbah. Hammamand massages are available. BB €€
La Rose du Sable On the main road in the centre of Aït Benhaddou hotellarosedusable.com. Arguably the best value in town, this family-run hotel has eighteen comfy rooms (some sleeping up to six), a decent restaurant (set menus from €€), lovely terrace and a big pool, one end of which is perfect for toddlers. The cheapest rooms without bathrooms are in the basement, and bargain-hunters may enjoy sleeping on a mattress and stargazing on the roof terrace. €
At some stage, you’re likely to spend a night in OUARZAZATE, (pronounced waz-are-zat) the main access point and crossroads of the south, and it can be a useful if functional base from which to visit the ksour and kasbahs of Aït Benhaddou or Skoura. Although lacking the architectural charm of other local settlements, the town nevertheless has a buzzy, almost cosmopolitan feel, contrasting sharply with the sleepier places elsewhere in the region.
Like most of the new Saharan towns, Ouarzazate was created as a Foreign Legion garrison and administrative centre by the French in the late 1920s. During the 1980s, it became something of a boom town, as the tourist industry embarked on a wildly optimistic building programme of luxury hotels, based on Ouarzazate’s marketability as a staging point for the “Saharan Adventure”, and the town was given an additional boost from the attentions of film-makers.
Ouarzazate holds a mystic attraction for Moroccans, too – similar to the resonance of Timbuktu for Europeans – and recent years have seen renewed expansion. Vast residential complexes are springing up in response to the growing demand from young people unwilling to live with their parents, as well as an influx from rural areas. An ill-fated golf course development to the north of the city was, unsurprisingly, abandoned, although the hotel itself is open, and there are plans to build yet more five-star hotels. Whether the region will attract enough visitors in the future to sustain all this development remains to be seen. The city recently completed a huge solar power station, which, alongside hydro and wind plants, is providing half of Morocco’s energy and has generated a large number of jobs.
Off Av Mohammed V, at the eastern (Tinghir) end of town • Charge • A 20min walk from the centre of town
Although built by the Glaoui, the Kasbah Taourirt was never an actual residence of its chiefs, though its location, at this strategic junction of the southern trading routes, meant that it was always controlled by a close relative. In the 1930s, when the Glaoui were the undisputed masters of the south, it was perhaps the largest of all Moroccan kasbahs – an enormous family domain housing numerous sons and cousins of the dynasty, along with several hundred of their servants and labourers, builders and craftsmen, including Jewish tailors, jewellers and moneylenders.
After being taken over by the government following independence, the kasbah fell into drastic decline. Work carried out in the 1990s was only partially successful, with parts of the structure washed away by heavy rains. What you can see – the main reception courtyard and a handful of principal rooms – are lavishly decorated but not especially significant or representative of the old order of things. A small section of the original, a kind of village within the kasbah, remains occupied today, though, and makes for interesting wandering.
Av Mohammed V, opposite Kasbah Taourirt at the eastern end of town • Charge • A 20min walk from the centre of town
Housed in a former studio, the Musée du Cinema is a neat introduction to Ouarzazate’s movie-making history and worth a nose around if you’re unable to get out to the bigger studios on the edge of town: you can wander among dusty props and sets used in international films such as The Mummy and Asterix and Obelix: Mission Cleopatra, as well as an interesting collection of cinematic paraphernalia.
Just off Av Mohammed V, on the western outskirts of town • studiosatlas.com • Charge • Catch the regular yellow bus from Av Mohammed V, or take a petit taxi from the centre of town
Established in 1983 for the production of The Jewel in the Nile, the Atlas Corporation Studios put Ouarzazate on the movie map. Blockbusters such as Gladiator were shot here, while Timothy Dalton’s James Bond bounded about a Moroccan “Afghanistan” in The Living Daylights at Atlas. It’s still a popular studio with the TV networks, and film crews are often on site, in an endless cycle of constructing sets and taking them down again.
Several of the bigger pieces have been kept for posterity, and a few minutes’ wandering will take you from a Buddhist temple (Martin Scorsese’s Kundun) to the pyramids (ABC’s Cleopatra), via a Middle Eastern street scene or two. Many are on the brink of collapse, though, and look like a strong gust could finish them off at any moment – which is strangely part of their appeal.
Just off Av Mohammed V, on the western outskirts of town • Charge • cla-studios.com • Catch the regular yellow bus from Av Mohammed V, or take a petit taxi from the centre of town
The gated CLA Studios, just along the road from the Atlas Corporation Studios, is slicker than its predecessor, but not necessarily more enjoyable. A small museum displays various props from various films, including Body of Lies and Prince of Persia, and there are a couple of large sets some 2km from the studios and visited by car – the settlement you can see in the distance served as Ridley Scott’s “Jerusalem” in Kingdom of Heaven.
From the main road it would be easy to miss the oases of Fint, 20km southwest of Ouarzazate. This entire lush, green secret world is squeezed down in-between soaring canyon walls and from the plateau across which the main road runs there’s almost nothing visible that gives away the presence of this wonderful place. Follow the dirt road sharp downward though and you’ll find yourself in one of the most enjoyable oases in southern Morocco. Thousands of palm trees line a small river and on the edge of this Saharan forest are a number of traditional villages of mud-brick buildings. There’s not much to actually do here aside from gentle walks through the palm groves or clambering up onto the plateau for views down onto the oases. Despite its proximity to Ouarzazate, Fint remains fairly unknown among tourists and the people are exceptionally welcoming. This is definitely the kind of place you could come for a day and stay for a week. There are a couple of places to stay including the excellent Hotel Oasis Fint/La Terrasse des Délices (wterrassesdelices.com), which offers a range of nicely decked out rooms, superb views from the terrace and good meals that, in the evening, are often accompanied by live music. Guides are on-hand to help you explore the confusing web of walkways in the oases.
Arrival and departureOuarzazate
By plane Ouarzazate Aéroport (wonda.ma) is 2km north of town, and served by flights from Casablanca (6 weekly; 1hr 5min) and Marrakesh (3 weekly; 40min); petits taxis make the short run into town (30dh). There's a café, a BMCE Bank exchange counter and car rental desks - all open when flights arrive and depart. RAM has an office at 1 Av Mohammed V (royalairmaroc.com).
By bus Private long-distance buses operate from the gare routière at Mahta, 1km from the centre; it’s a 15min walk into town, or take a petit taxi. If possible, book your ticket at least one day in advance. The CTM office is on Av Mohammed V. It’s worth taking a taxi to the Supratours office, which is out on the western edge of town, near the gare routière.
Destinations Agadir (2 CTM & 14 others daily; 7hr 30min); Agdz (3 CTM, 2 Supratours, 3 others daily; 1hr); Boumalne du Dadès (1 CTM, 3 Supratours & 12 others daily; 1hr 45min–2hr 15min); Beni Mellal (4 daily; 8hr); Casablanca (4 CTM, others hourly; 8hr 15min); El Kelâat M’Gouna (1 CTM, 3 Supratours & 14 others daily; 1hr 35min); Er Rachidia (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 10 others daily; 5hr–5hr 30min); Erfoud (1 Supratours & 2 others daily; 6hr 30min); Fez (transfer in Er Rachidia with Supratours, 5 others daily; 12hr); Foum Zguid (2 daily; 5hr 30min); M’Hamid (1 CTM, 5 others daily; 5hr); Marrakesh (4 CTM, 3 Supratours & others hourly; 4hr–5hr 30min); Meknes (5 daily; 11–12hr, but better to connect in Azrou or Fez); Merzouga (1 Supratours daily; 8hr); Rabat (several daily; 10hr); Rissani (1 Supratours daily; 7hr); Skoura (1 CTM & 2 others daily; 45min); Taliouine (1 CTM & 5 others daily; 3hr); Taroudant (1 CTM & 8 others daily; 5hr); Tata (3 daily; 5hr); Tazenakht (1 CTM & 2 others daily; 1hr 30min); Tinejdad (1 Supratours & 6 others daily; 4hr); Tinghir (1 CTM, 3 Supratours & others hourly; 3hr 30min); Tiznit (1 daily; 9hr 30min); Zagora (3 CTM, 2 Supratours & 7 others daily; 2hr 30min–4hr).
By grand taxi Most grands taxis arrive/collect outside the gare routière in Maha. There are regular runs to Agdz (1hr 30min), Boumalne du Dadès (1hr 30min; for connections to Tinghir 2hr 15min), El Kelâat M’Gouna (1hr 30min), Marrakesh (4hr) and Zagora (2hr 30min). They also go westward toward Tazenakht (2hr), Taliouine (4hr) and Taroudant (5hr). Departures are negotiable for Casablanca (7hr 30min; but better to connect in Marrakesh), Skoura (45min) and Aït Benhaddou (1 hr, but an expensive private trip).
Getting around and information
By car Dozens of car rental agencies operate in Ouarzazate, most from the airport or offices on Av Mohammed V or Pl du 3 Mars. Best of the local firms is ESON Maroc, on Av Mohammed V on the same side of the road and opposite the RAM office across Av Mohammed VI (eson-maroc.com), which has helpful staff and new cars. International companies are more expensive: Avis, Pl du 3 Mars (avis.ma); Budget, 4 Av Mohammed V, next door to ESON Maroc (above) (budget.com); Europcar, airport (europcar.com); Hertz, 35 Av Mohammed V, diagonally opposite the RAM office (hertz.ma). Garage Isuzu on Av Al Maghreb al Arabi is recommended for any necessary repairs.
Tourist office The region’s principal tourist office, on Av Mohammed V, just across from the post office (0524 882485), has a few brochures, but you’re better off asking advice from your (or any other) hotel.
Désert et Montagne Maroc Kasbah Douar Talmasla, signed 3km off Route de Zagora desert-montagne.ma. Run by French-qualified mountain guides Jean-Pierre and Zineb Datcharry, and the best option for arranging tailor-made adventure trips into the High Atlas, including trekking and mountaineering, as well as multi-day trips into the Erg Chebbi.
Kart Aventure Av Moulay Rachid kartaventure.com. Runs buggy and 4WD trips and circuits to the desert, gorges and mountains, from a few hours to a week-long adventure.
Ksour Voyages Pl du 3 Mars ksour-voyages.com. Bespoke tours of repute, which range from day trips to the desert near Zagora to three-day tours from Ouarzazate to Fez via Todra Gorge and the Erg Chebbi dunes.
Travel Exploration Lot 24, Al Hassania travel-exploration.com. Winner of the 2014 World Travel awards, Travel Exploration specialize in private tours, offering mid-range to luxury trips into the desert, 4WD and camel excursions, as well as tours all over Morocco to see the imperial cities and more. Pricing can be given via email.
Zbar Travel Pl Al-Mouahidine zbartravel.com. Recommended agency offering tours to the dunes near M’Hamid, where they have another office.
Accommodationmap
Most of the cheaper and unclassified places in Ouarzazate are grouped in the centre of town; the more upmarket chain hotels are mainly set back on the plateau to the north. A more picturesque alternative would be to stay out at Aït Benhaddou.
Bab Sahara Pl Al-Mouahidine 0524 884722. Central place on a quiet square, well located for the market and the restaurants along Av Mohammed V. Rooms are available with showers and some come with a/c. Those that face the square have small balconies. Breakfast and other meals are available in the sunny café (set menu €€). BB €
Dar Bergui Sidi H’ssain Ben Nacer darbergui.com. Hard to find but heavenly when you do. Run by a delightful French couple, Dar Bergui has five airy pisé rooms set around a tremendous pool, and a lovely terrace with stunning Atlas views. There are three double and two family rooms, all en suite with a/c. Fine French Berber fusion cuisine is on offer too (€€€ set menu; reservations required). Can organize guides for day trips to the film studios and desert. BB €€
Dar Daif Douar Talsmasla, 9km east of the city centre on the edge of the palm groves dardaif.ma. Popular with European travellers as they also organize local activities such as mountain-biking and canoeing as well as desert tours (desert-montagne.ma). Beautifully decorated with mosaic tiles and carpets, the inside and outdoor lounges, terraces and cosy nooks are tranquil and peaceful, and facilities include a hammam and restaurant (set dinner from €€€). The standard rooms sleep up to three, and the particularly small doubles are a lower price. BB €€
Dar Kamar Kasbah Taourirt darkamar.com. Wonderfully romantic hotel hidden in the heart of the kasbah, with stylishly rustic African adobe rooms, wall-to-wall candles, a deluxe hammam, massage and a dreamy terrace (which provides beautiful views over the city and Lake Al Mansore Dahabi). The alcohol-licensed restaurant serves set menus for €€€. Manager Mohammed speaks excellent English and French. Quite pricey, but worth the splurge. BB €€€
Dar Rita 39 Rue de la Mosquée, Tassoumate darrita.com. A great find, tucked down the back alleys of one of Ouarzazate’s oldest neighbourhoods and run with pride by its charming Portuguese owner, Rita, and her indefatigable brother. Seven brightly painted rooms are spread across two floors and decorated with lanterns, clay pots and carved wooden doors that the owners have picked up during their time in Morocco. Dinner is a social affair (set menu €€€), and a good forum for honest local sightseeing advice. BB €€
Le Petit Riad Av Moulay Abdallah, Hay Al Wahda lepetitriad.com. A charming and tranquil maison d’hôte run on the eastern outskirts of town, looking out towards the snowcapped Atlas mountains. Six chic rooms, a small pool and fabulous meals cooked by friendly owner Fatima Agoujil, the first officially trained female guide in the region – you can help her out in the kitchen and learn some authentic recipes (with no charge if staying more than one night) and also gain valuable local information. A multi-course menu is reasonably priced at €€€. All rooms come with a/c. BB €€
Royal 24 Av Mohammed V 0524 882258. Clean, well maintained and decent value, fronted by its own pizzeria and with a variety of rooms, priced according to size and if they are en suite and/or have a/c. Cell-like singles with shared bathrooms are cheap. It’s central but can be noisy until about midnight. €
Le Temple des Arts 173–174 Hay Al Wahda templedesarts-ouarzazate.com. Lavish five-star just north of the city centre, bedecked in marble, scattered with sculptures and dedicated to the city’s movie industry, with most of the grand public areas looking like they’re straight off a movie set themselves. Rooms have all mod cons and there's two restaurants and a swimming pool. BB €€€€
Camping-Bivouac La Palmeraie Route de Zagora, 3km south of town camping-ouarzazate.com. Pitch your tent amid fruit trees in a palmery just outside of town. All the usual facilities (hot showers cost a little extra), plus a few simple en-suite rooms, Berber tent mud huts and a wonderfully camp pink dining room where produce from the garden is served and music is occasionally laid on. Free wi-fi and washing machines (extra charge) are available. Camping for two and car €, BB double €, BB Berber tent €
Ouarzazate is one of the few places in the south where you can eat well outside your hotel, with several very good restaurants indeed, and the top-end ones have wine lists. The best bets for cheap eats are the café-grills grouped around the central market at Pl Al-Mouahidine, Rue Al-Mouahidine and along nearby Rue du Marché, where you’ll find the usual brochettes, tajines and kefta, but also traditional dishes like tanjia – and for the more adventurous, braised cow hooves with chickpeas. For breakfast, the sunnier north side of Av Mohammed V is the area to head for, with a row of terrace cafés serving French baguettes, pastries and coffee.
3 Thés Av Moulay Rachid ouarzazate.com/restaurant-3thes. Generous portions of classic Moroccan dishes – follow one of eight salads with a tasty tajine (a week’s worth to choose from) – as well as lighter snacks available all day. Popular with locals and expats alike. €
Basma Food Hay El Hassani. Perhaps the best deal in town, but just far enough back from Av Mohammed V to remain off the radar of most visitors. The brochette and chips is great value, but try and drop by here on a Tuesday or a Saturday (fresh-fish days in Ouarzazate), when you can tuck into fish tajine or a fried-fish meal. €
Habous Pl Al-Mouahidine. Ouarzazate’s top spot for a coffee, serving several kinds of delicious Moroccan bread, in addition to crusty baguettes, croissants and pains au chocolat; they also do the full gamut of sticky local patisserie (sold by weight). The lengthy menu of the adjoining grill features pasta, pizza and various steaks. €
Jardin des Arômes 69 Av Mohamed V. The excellent Moroccan cuisine, intimate lounge areas, tasteful décor, pretty garden (as the name suggests) make this restaurant one of the best spots in town for a romantic evening. The interesting menu includes tajines, couscous and specialities like lamb shank with mushrooms and olives or pastilla with milk and almonds. €€€
La Kasbah des Sables 195 Hay Aït Kasif lakasbahdessables.com. Arguably the finest dining in Ouarzazate, in a rambling refurbished kasbah on the eastern fringes of the city. The half-dozen salons leading off the sprawling central courtyard are full of paintings, sculptures and antiques, making a rather grand setting for dishes that include confit of rabbit with peach nectar and fillet of sea bass with fig en papillote. No wonder film crews celebrate here after wrapping up. Closed July. €€€€
Relais de St Exupéry 13 Av Moulay Abdallah, just off the main Tinghir roadrelais-ouarzazate.com. Excellent Moroccan and French cuisine cooked by Jean-Pierre, the indomitable Bordelais chef-proprietor. Memorabilia from the Aéropostale days of Little Prince author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry adorns the walls, but the food is the real attraction: try the wonderful pigeon pastilla, camel with “Mali” sauce or saffron ice cream. €
The central market (daily) on Rue du Marché is great for spices and souvenir trinkets, while the covered market (daily) on Av Ibn Sinaa sells fruit and veg. Souk days are Saturday, in Tabounte, and Sunday, out by the Zone Industrielle.
Association Horizon Av Ammasr, association-horizon.org. Self-help scheme whose less able-bodied workers craft attractive pottery, weaving and metalwork. You can also visit workshops to watch them in action.
Complexe Artisanal Av Mohammed V, opposite the Kasbah Taourirt. This group of shops sells stone carvings, pottery, metal lamps, embroidered linen and a couple of local specialities such as geometrically patterned, silky woollen carpets and silver necklaces and earrings incorporating tazras (chunky orange copal beads).
Super Marché Av Mohammed V next to BMCE bank. Small supermarket selling beer and wine in addition to the usual groceries. Open until 10pm.
Banks Banks and ATMs are plentiful, with a BMCE, Banque Populaire and a Crédit du Maroc, among others, along Av Mohammed V.
Hospital Hôpital Bougafer, Av Mohammed V (0524 882444), between the tourist office and Kasbah Taourirt.
Post office The post office is on Av Mohammed V.
South of Ouarzazate, on the other side of a tremendous ridge of the Anti-Atlas, begins the Drâa Valley – a 125km belt of date-palm oases that eventually merges into the Sahara near the village of M’Hamid. It is possible to complete a circuit through and out from the Drâa, heading from the valley’s main town, Zagora, west through Foum Zguid and Tata to the Anti-Atlas, or east to the Jebel Saghro or Rissani and Merzouga. However, most visitors content themselves with a return trip along the N9 between Ouarzazate and Zagora: a great route, with plenty of signposted lookout points, taking you well south of anywhere in the Tafilalt, and flanked by an amazing series of turreted and creamy pink ksour and kasbahs; most of the larger and older ones are grouped a little way from the road, up above the terraces of date palms.
By car The road from Ouarzazate to Zagora is well maintained and, for the most part, broad enough for two vehicles, though it narrows beyond Tamegroute, south of Zagora. Be wary of “fake breakdowns”, a scam prevalent throughout the south but refined along this road.
By public transport If you’re taking the bus south from Ouarzazate, get yourself a seat on the left-hand side for the most spectacular views. You could hire a grand taxi for the day from Ouarzazate, stopping to explore some of the kasbahs en route; be very clear to the driver about your plans and agree on a fee before setting off.
You descend into the Drâa Valley at AGDZ (pronounced “Ag-dèz”), 70km from Ouarzazate and a minor administrative centre for the region. Agdz means “Place of Rest”, and it’s certainly worth taking a break here: there are several well-preserved kasbahs in the original town (reached by turning north from the main square), including the seventeenth-century former home of Agdz’s caïd, or chieftain. Just to the north of the village begins a beautiful palmery, and if the river here is low enough (take care to avoid the bilharzia-infested water), you can get across to view a few kasbahs on the far side, in the shadow of Jebel Kissane. A souk is held on Thursdays just outside of town on the road towards Zagora.
A first, magnificent sign of the architecture to come, the ksar at TAMNOUGALT, perched on a hill 6km south of Agdz, is one of the oldest in Morocco and perhaps the most dramatic and extravagant of any in the locality. The village was once the capital of the region, and its assembly of families (the jemaa) administered what was virtually an independent republic. Today, it’s a wild cluster of buildings, each fabulously decorated with pockmarked walls and tapering towers, and populated by Mezguita Berbers. The museum and kasbah of the local caïd next door to Chez Jacob (charge) is worth a look.
Some 15km south of Tamnougalt, on the opposite side of the river, is the Glaoui kasbah of TIMIDERTE, now operating as a guesthouse but also giving travellers the chance to poke around a refurbished mud-brick palace for the price of a lunchtime tajine.
You’ll have to ford the river again, this time on foot – ideally with some local assistance as the best crossing place isn’t all that obvious – to reach another superb kasbah, the Aït Hammou-Sa’d.
Birding at the El Mansour Eddahbi Barrage
Some 15km of bleak, stony hammada from Ouarzazate, a side road leads 11km down to the El Mansour Eddahbi Barrage, an essential stop on any birdwatcher’s itinerary. Throughout the year (especially March–May & late July to Nov), the area attracts a variety of migrants, waterfowl and waders. There have also been sightings of various desert-dwelling species such as blackbellied sandgrouse, thick-billed lark and raptors including lanner falcon. Over the last few decades, freak rains have occasionally flooded the reservoir, and the Drâa has, for the first time in recent memory, run its course to the sea beyond Tan Tan.
The vast palmeries that carpet the Drâa, Dadès and Ziz valleys are the historical lifeblood of the Moroccan south – indeed, oases down here are traditionally measured by the number of their palms, rather than in terms of area or population – and they still play a vital role for their communities. Families continue to toil over individual plots that have been handed down through the generations, growing apricots, pomegranates, figs and almonds among the palms, and tomatoes, carrots, barley and mint in the shaded earth below.
Irrigation methods have barely changed in centuries, either. The fields are watered by a combination of communal wells and khettara, underground channels that can run for large distances across the hammada. Water is funnelled off to each plot in turn, with every family receiving the same amount of time to replenish its crop.
The greatest threat to this traditional way of life is Bayoud disease, a fungus that attacks the roots of palms, killing them off within a year and leaving a gap in the protective wedge of trees through which the wind (and destructive sand) blows through. First detected in the Drâa in the second half of the nineteenth century, Bayoud disease is reckoned to have infected two-thirds of Moroccan palmeries, wiping out nearly twelve million trees over the last century or so. Recent years, however, have seen the successful introduction of disease-resistant hybrids, which, together with increased rainfall, has led to much-improved health in the majority of the region’s palmeries – in addition to the palmery at Agdz, there are fine examples at Skoura, Tinghir and in the Ziz Valley.
Beyond Timiderte, and after the junction with the R108 to Rissani and Merzouga, a striking group of ksour, dominated by a beautiful and imposing caïd’s kasbah, stands back from the road at TINZOULINE. The village hosts a large Monday souk, and with some guidance you can follow a piste 7km west of the village to see a group of three-thousand-year-old rock carvings at Foum Chenna.
Arrival and departureAgdz and the road to Zagora
By bus Buses call in at the Grande Place in Agdz, and pull up next to the Banque Populaire; the CTM office is on the northeast corner of the square, directly opposite the mosque. The Supratours office is around 500m from the Grand Place on the road towards Ouarzazate.
Destinations Agadir (2 CTM; 6hr 30min); Casablanca (1 daily, 9hr); M’Hamid (1 CTM & 1 other daily; 3hr); Marrakesh (3 CTM, 2 Supratours & 2 others daily; 6hr); Ouarzazate (4 CTM, 2 Supratours & 3 others daily; 1hr); Rabat (1 daily; 10hr 30min); Tamegroute (1 CTM; 2hr); Taroudant (2 CTM; 5hr); Zagora (3 CTM, 2 Supratours & 1 other daily; 1hr 55min–3hr).
By grand taxi Grands taxis are also located in the centre of the Grand Place and will frequently run to Tamnougalt (15min), Timiderte (20min), Tinzouline (45min), Ouarzazate (1hr30min), Zagora (1hr 30min) and M’Hamid (2hr 30min).
If you stop in Agdz, travelling on public transport in either direction, you’ll probably have to stay overnight to get a place on the Zagora/Ouarzazate bus; having your own vehicle brings Tamnougalt and Timiderte into play. As befits the ksar-studded Drâa, many of the best choices around here are converted historical kasbahs.
Café Restaurant Sables d’Or Northern side of the Grande Place. Nice little place on the edge of the square, airy inside and with a few tables set back on the outside pavement. Simple menu of omelette breakfasts with coffee and juice turkey and chicken kebabs, slowly roasting on a spit by the entrance. €
Dar Jnane 1.5km along the road north of the Grande Place 0524 843947 or 0673 181314. In a great location, nestled in the palmery north of town in the shadow of meringue-topped Jebel Kissane, this hundred-year-old Kasbah has been restored and sits in a lovely garden full of almond and fruit trees. It offers three a/c en suite rooms, one can sleep four, and with advance notice can organize mattresses in a Berber tent (€). Set dinners available. The owners also operate a two-bedroomed apartment on the main square in the centre of the village. BB €€
Dar Qamar 1.8km along the road north of the Grande Placedar-qamar.com. One of the nicest hotels in the region, run by a charming French couple. Carefully restored rooms (some with four-posters; all with a/c) feature tataoui ceilings and tadelakt baths and are clustered around a pretty garden with a decent-sized pool, which is heated during winter. Relax in the hammam, the library, the jacuzzi or in the cosy firelit salon, and tuck into delicious Moroccan/Mediterranean dishes (three courses €€€€) served under stars on the terrace. BB €€
Bab el Oued 1km off the N9 0660 188484 or 0619 402832, ecolodgemaroc.com. Set at the foot of Tamnougalt ksar and not far from the gurgling Drâa, this friendly French-Moroccan-run eco-lodge – the only green-key certified establishment in Agdz – is a veritable oasis, with several stylish mud-brick “huts” dotted around a serene and colourful garden with an inviting pool. Delicious home-made jams and organic produce straight from the garden are used in the restaurant (set menus for lunch and three-course dinner). BB €€€
Chez Yacob 2km off the N9 0524 843394 or 0666 104305. Perennially popular place offering eight simple but gorgeously cool rooms in a refurbished kasbah and a large roof terrace where you can bed down for the night. Mohammed, the manager, speaks good English and will give you the lowdown on the area. HB terrace €, double €€
Kasbah Timidarte 800m from the N9 kasbahtimidarte.com. Restored by local craftsmen, accommodation at this ksar in the heart of the palm grove is simple, even sparse in parts, but the rooms, en suite and with shared bathrooms, look good in a minimalist sort of way, and the friendly staff can help you meet locals keen to share their experiences of life in Timiderte. Dinner €. BB €
Bank There’s a Banque Populaire on the western side of Agdz’s Grande Place.
Post office Agdz’s post office is 100m along the road that leads north off the Grand Place.
ZAGORA seems unpromising at first sight: a drawn-out modern market town with a big crop of hotels and government buildings and few sights of specific interest. As the region’s main staging post for trips to the fringes of the Sahara, it attracts more tourist attention than it deserves in itself, yet still manages to make a pretty agreeable rest stop, particularly if you’re staying in the Amazrou palmery south of town. The Drâa River, Morocco’s longest, passes through Zagora, though it’s not always full of water as a dam in Ouarzazate halts the river’s flow. But in summer, it is often full when it's typical to see children swimming and local people strolling along the boardwalk. Additionally, an obligatory photo must be taken at the 'Timbuktu, 52 Days' road sign in town. The original sign has been replaced by successive copies throughout the years, and today's mural depicts camels and nomads.
Aside from its relative proximity to the desert, another draw are Zagora’s festivals. The Drâa’s big event, the Moussem of Moulay Abdelkader Jilali, is celebrated here during the Mouloud, and like other national festivals in the town, such as the Fête du Trône in July, is always entertaining.
Across the river to the southeast, 2km from the centre of Zagora, the hamlet and palmery of Amazrou is a great place to spend the afternoon, wandering amid the shade of its gardens and ksour. The village is, inevitably, wise to the ways of tourism – children try to drag you into their houses for tea and will hassle you to adopt them as guides – but, for all that, the traditional ways of oasis life remain largely unaffected.
The local sight, which any of the kids will lead you to, is the old Jewish kasbah, La Kasbah des Juifs. The Jewish community here was active in the silver jewellery trade – a craft continued by Muslim Berbers after their exodus, as a visit to the workshops lining the road to Tamegroute will testify.
Coming by car, turn left at the roundabout just beyond the river in Amazrou and, after 2km, take the rough track opposite Camping de la Montagne; if you’re coming on foot, consider taking a taxi to the trailhead on hot days
Watching the sunset from the slopes of Jebel Zagora, the bulkier of the two mountains southeast of town, is something of a tradition. Strictly speaking, Zagora is the one with a military post on top, though the name is also used for the smaller, sugarloaf hill nearby.
The track up the mountain leads to a pass between the two peaks, then curves back, rising across the hillside to a popular viewpoint; unless you’ve got a 4WD, you’ll need to walk the last few hundred metres. Alternatively, you can walk up the mountain following a zigzag footpath (around 45min) that starts opposite the Palais Asmâa (the grand, kasbah-style hotel on the Route de M’Hamid in Amazrou).
Just below the track are the remnants of a colossal eleventh-century Almoravid fort, built as an outpost against the powerful rulers of the Tafilalt and later used to protect the Timbuktu-bound caravans passing below. The track subsequently goes on to the military fort on the summit (entry forbidden) but the view gains little; from the viewpoint, a footpath runs across the hillside and can be followed back down to the road.
Musée des Arts et Traditions de la Vallée du Drâa
Located down a covered alleyway in the Ksar Tissergate, abutting the palmery 5km north of Zagora • Charge • Petits taxis run to Tissergate from Zagora
The excellent Museé des Arts et Traditions de la Vallée du Drâa is a dusty old museum in the nicest of senses. Housed in a mud-brick kasbah, its three well-worn floors offer a charming insight into life in the Drâa, from a motley ensemble of agricultural implements to collections of colourful marriage costumes and the forty of so medicinal herbs used by a fakir, or Islamic holy man. The proud gardien is on hand to answer questions (in French), though all the displays are (refreshingly) labelled in English.
Nearly every tourist in town is here for the Sahara, and yet Zagora is still some way from the desert proper, so make sure you know exactly where your trip is headed. The closest dunes are at Nakhla, northeast of town, and Tinfou, about 25km south along the N9, which are easy to get to but not particularly impressive. Closer to M’Hamid lie the Erg Lihoudi and the Erg Ezahar, though the latter – also known as the Screaming Dunes due to the incredible sound they make (the noise is actually caused by vibrating sand grains) – are usually only offered on trips out of M’Hamid. Finally, around 60km southwest of M’Hamid (and a good 3hr from Zagora), is the unforgettable Erg Chigaga, the real deal, offering relative isolation and a sea of golden sand ebbing out into the distance – though getting here involves a much longer (and expensive) journey.
Virtually all the hotels and campsites in Zagora have tie-ins with camel-riding outfits, and there are numerous agencies just itching to get you onto the back of a dromedary. Rates, as ever, are negotiable, so it pays to shop around. Recommended agencies include Amazing Journeys Morocco on Bv Mohammed V north of the post office (morocco-desert-camp.com), Caravane du Sud, on the roundabout just over the Oued Drâa in Amazrou (caravanesud.com), and Zagora Desert Travel on Hay Drâa in the northeast of town (zagoradeserttravel.com).
By plane Aéroport Zagora is 7km southwest of Zagora, on the left-hand side of the N12 when travelling towards Foum Ziguid. It currently offers one weekly flight to Ouarzazate (40min) and two weekly flights to Casablanca (1hr 35min). Check RAM’s website for more details (royalairmaroc.com).
By bus CTM buses depart from the company’s office on Bd Mohammed V; Supratours are based 200m further north along Mohammed V, near the Banque Populaire. Private buses leave from the gare routière on the northern outskirts of town.
Destinations Agadir (1 CTM & 2 others daily; 11hr); Agdz (3 CTM & 3 others daily; 1hr 55min–3hr); Casablanca (2 CTM & 6 others daily; 12hr); Foum Zguid (2 daily; 3–4hr); Inezgane (2 daily); M’Hamid (1 CTM daily & others hourly; 1hr 40min–2hr); Marrakesh (2 CTM & 6 others daily; 7hr 30min–9hr 30min); Ouarzazate (3 CTM, 2 Supratours & 9 others daily; 2hr 30min–4hr); Rabat (4 daily); Salé (2 daily); Tagounite (1 daily); Taliouine (1 CTM & 1 other daily; 5hr 10min–6hr); Tamegroute (1 CTM daily & others hourly; 25min); Taroudant (2 CTM & 1 other daily; 7hr 40min); Tazenakht (2 CTM & 2 others daily; 3–4hr).
By grand taxi Grands taxis run regularly to Tamegroute (20min), Tinfou (30min), Tagounite (1hr), Agdz (1hr 30min), M’Hamid (1hr 30min), Ouarzazate (3hr) and occasionally to Marrakesh (7hr) from the rank on Bd Mohammed V, a 15-minute walk from the newer bus station.
By truck Lorries make the daily haul to Rissani (10hr) and, in the other direction, along the rough road to Foum Zguid (5hr), with more leaving on Mondays (souk day in Foum Zguid, and also a good day for onward travel).
Getting around and information
By taxi Petits taxis run throughout Zagora and are easily flagged down along the main streets. They will only do runs inside of town and to places just outside like Amazrou, Tissergate and the airport; to get further afield, you’ll need a grand taxi (see above).
Tourist information Zagora’s Provincial Tourist Office is in a rather grand-looking building on the roundabout at the far western end of Av Atlas Zaouit el Baraka (0524 848686), and is a friendly source of information.
Accommodation map
There’s a wide range of hotels – in both Zagora and Amazrou, an excellent, fast-growing alternative base – and some nicely located campsites, especially for those with transport. Travellers on tight budgets should also note that many mid-scale hotels will let you bed down on roof terraces or in nomad tents; most hotels are also happy for non-residents to use their pools, bars and restaurants.
Azalai Desert Lodge Near Ksar Tissergate, 7km north of Zagora 0661 164394, azalailifeexperience.com. An African lodge offering eight stylish and contemporary rooms, where huge bay windows lining the back face out to palm groves, which are dotted with hammocks and private dining areas within the oasis. A swimming pool, free bike rental, library, hammam and spa (extra charge) make this lodge a true retreat. The owners also have a luxury desert camp in the dunes. HB €€€
Chez Ali Av Atlas Zaouit el Baraka chezali.net. A haven of greenery on the edge of town, offering clean, secure and relaxing accommodation in 24 comfortable rooms (en suite, and with a/c), and two cheaper bungalows sharing a bathroom in the back garden. The family owners here have provided genuinely hospitable service and have, over more than two decades, created a lovely space filled with flowers, fruit trees and peacocks, while a swimming pool is enclosed by the garden (open to non-guests for a small fee). Altogether the nicest, best-value option in Zagora itself (and with a recommended restaurant to boot), but far from a secret, so book ahead. BB bungalow € room €
Ma Villa au Sahara (Villa Zagora) Route de Nakhla, Amazrou, 100m north of the roundabout mavillaausahara.com. A lovely little place south of the Drâa, with understated pisé-pastel rooms, some with balconies; the luxuriant garden is drenched in bougainvillea and cut through by lantern-lit walkways. The chunky fireplace will keep you warm in the colder months, and there’s a petit pool for hotter days. A comfortable rooftop Berber tent with six beds offers a cheaper option. BB Berber tent/per person €, double €€
La Petite Kasbah Route de M’Hamid, Amazrou hotelzagora.com. A lovely auberge bordering the fringe of the Amezrou palmery. Owner Brahim is a welcoming host and places an emphasis on catering well for small groups. Traditional pisé rooms come with tadelakt bathrooms, a/c and eco-showers. A swimming pool, restaurant and rooftop terrace with views of the palmeries completes the picture. BB €
Prends ton Temps Signed off Bd Mohammed V 1km north of the junction with Av Allal Ben Abdallah 0524 846543 or 0661 466945. “Take Your Time” pretty much sums up this laidback and slightly eccentric joint: a courtyard ringed by funkily decorated little cabins and Berber tents (some en suite and a/c) and a couple of salons. The irrepressible owner Belaid comes from a nomadic tribe and is an accomplished player of the Arabian lute, so expect long evenings of music and folk stories. Set menus are from €€. BB Cabin/tent with shared toilet €, en-suite cabin €
Riad Dar Sofian Route de Nakhla, Amazrou, 700m north of the roundabout riaddarsofian.com. Arguably the most stylish guesthouse in Zagora, set on the fringes of the palmery. Constructed in traditional pisé, the interior is much more contemporary, with a sleek lounge, lightly decorated rooms with embroidered linen and rain showers, and a striking set-piece fountain that cuts through the floors. The charming manager can help arrange tours, though most guests are happy to lounge by the lovely swimming pool, edged with towering palms. Superb food and an alcohol licence, with set menus from 160dh. BB €€
Riad Lamane Route de M’Hamid, Amazrou riadlamane.com378. Swish hotel hidden behind high walls in the heart of the palmery. Rooms are beautifully appointed, with decor looking towards sub-Saharan Africa, tadelakt en-suite bathrooms and private balconies; deceptively grand villas frame the garden, or you can bed down in cosy Berber tents. A library, pool and well- stocked bar add to the charm. Bicycles can be rented to explore the palmeries and guided walks of the Jewish Quarter and an old ksar can be arranged. BB €€€
La Rose des Sables Av Allal Ben Abdallah 0524 847274. This deceptively large budget hotel has a range of clean and comfortable rooms – some with shared bathrooms, others with balconies – and a very friendly owner. The ground-floor restaurant is simple but has some of the best food in town (see below). Rooms with a/c are available. €
Camping Oasis Palmier Route de Nakhla, Amazrou, 400m north of the roundabout 0524 846724 or 0613 985231. Set at the foot of Jebel Zagora, on the far side of the river, this simple campsite has a pleasant mix of well-shaded pitches and Berber tents, with clean toilet blocks (showers cost extra), a relaxing café and friendly management. Two en-suite rooms and a family apartment offer an alternative to camping. Wi-fi connects at the reception and a laundry service is available. Camping € room €
Eating and drinking map
Most people eat in their hotels, particularly if they’re based in the Amazrou palmery, with many places offering competitive half- or full-board deals, though the cafés clustered around the intersection of Bd Mohammed V and Av Allal Ben Abdallah are a good bet for cheaper eats.
Chez Ali Av Atlas Zaouit el Baraka chezali.xtadia.com. For a delightful evening meal, it’s hard to beat the restaurant here: dining is communal, at candlelit tables in the lush grounds, and most of the food – chakchouka salad, makfoul tajine – comes straight from his walled vegetable garden. €€
Dromadaire Gourmand Bd Mohammed V, 2km north of the junction with Av Allal Ben Abdallah. It’s quite a way along the Agdz road from the centre of Zagora, but the “Gourmet Camel” is one of the better places to eat in town, with a pleasant traditional salon and pavement tables. The menu is classic Moroccan, including a “Marriage” tajine; you can ask in advance for mechoui (groups only) and, of course, camel. €€
Hôtel La Rose des Sables Av Allal Ben Abdallah. Good-value Moroccan staples attract locals and tourists alike to this popular hotel restaurant. Choose from tajines with apricots and prunes or push the boat out for a comparatively keenly priced pastilla or mechoui; there are filling brochettes and tasty soups too. €€
Shoppingmap
Caverne du Troc Route de M’Hamid, Amazrou. A treasure-trove of carpets and the usual trinket boxes and crafts, offering a great shopping experience. Carpets are divided into sections according to age and serious buyers may even be taken up to the antique section of the shop, which offers some truly authentic treats.
Maison Berbère Av Hassan II. The Zagora branch of the Alaoui family chain, which has a reputation for its rugs, is one of the best-quality outlets in the south, fairly hassle-free and likely to draw you in for an hour or so’s mint tea-assisted browsing.
Banks BMCE, Banque Populaire and Credit Agricolé on Bd Mohammed V have ATMs and will advance cash against Visa cards.
Post office The Post Office is located on Bd Mohammed V around 50m from the CTM office, towards Agdz.
South to M’Hamid and the Erg Chigaga
The Zagora oasis stretches for some 30km south of town, where the Drâa dries up for a while, to resurface in a final fertile belt before the desert. With a car, it’s a fine journey, with the interesting village of Tamegroute a worthwhile stop on the way down to M’Hamid, the climax of this trip and the gateway to the towering dunes of the Erg Chigaga.
Despite appearances, TAMEGROUTE, 18km from Zagora, was once the most important settlement in the Drâa Valley. It’s an unusual place, a group of ksour and kasbahs wedged tightly together and linked by low, covered passageways. Here, uniquely, the narrow alleys extend beneath the village (locals refer to it as the “underground kasbah”), though you’ll need a guide to venture into the darkness.
Tamegroute’s standout sight is the Zaouia Naciri, but the village is also known for its pottery, which bears the green glaze reminiscent of ceramics from Fez. Wanting to develop Tamegroute, the founders of the Naciri Brotherhood invited merchants and craftsmen from Fez to settle in the village – two families still working in the small potters’ cooperative (Mon–Fri 8am–6pm), on the left as you leave Tamegroute travelling towards Tinfou, claim Fez forebears.
Faux guides will try to show you the way to the zaouia, but it’s easy enough to find unaided: look for the tall white minaret through the archway at the back of the main square (the library is through the other archway, on the square’s northeast corner) • Donations expected • No photography allowed in the library
Tamegroute owes its importance to its ancient and highly prestigious Zaouia Naciri, which was a seat of learning from the eleventh century and, from the seventeenth century, the base of the Naciri Brotherhood. Founded by Abou Abdallah Mohammed Ben Naceur (an inveterate traveller and revered scholar), the zaouia exercised great influence over the Drâa tribes until recent decades. Its sheikhs (or holy leaders) were known as the “peacemakers of the desert”, and it was they who settled disputes among the ksour and between the caravan traders converging on Zagora from the Sudan. They were missionaries, too, and as late as the 1750s sent envoys to convert the wilder, animist-minded Berber tribes of the Atlas and Rif.
The dates of the Zagora oasis are reputedly some of the finest in the country, they are harvested from September to November, a claim you can put to the test at the twice-weekly souk (Wed & Sun), where stallholders sell several dozens of Morocco’s 220 or so different date varieties – look out for mejhoul, bouskri, jihel and, particularly, the sweet boufeggous, which will last for up to four years if stored properly. If you’re not in town for the market, never fear: you can’t get too far along the Drâa’s roads before being accosted by kids brandishing boxes of the sugary snacks, often encouraging you to make a purchase by leaping out in front of your car.
As in centuries past, the zaouia is today a refuge for the sick and mentally ill, whom you’ll see sitting around the courtyard; they come in the hope of miraculous cures and/or to be supported by the charity of the brotherhood and other benevolent visitors. The complex consists of a marabout (the tomb of Naceur), a medersa (still used by up to eighty students, preparing for university) and, in a nearby building, a small but very interesting library that was once the richest in Morocco, containing forty thousand volumes on history, languages, mathematics, astronomy and, above all, Islam. All but about 4,000 of these have now been stolen or dispersed to Koranic schools and other museums around the country, but Tamegroute preserves a number of very early editions of the Koran printed on gazelle hide – the English-speaking curator can point out one dating from 1063 – and some rare ancient books, including a thirteenth-century algebra primer featuring Western Arabic numerals, which, although subsequently dropped in the Arab world, formed the basis of the West’s numbers, through the influence of the universities of Moorish Spain.
You’ll get your first glimpse of the Sahara at TINFOU, 7km on from Tamegroute – though in reality it is little more than that. Abruptly rising from the blackened hammada, the dunes (“dune” would be a more accurate description) are a national monument; it is thought that they cover the ruins of the kasbah of Tiguida, which was once used as a bank for the trans-Saharan nomad traders, and rumour has it that there is still gold hidden beneath the sand.
A small administrative centre built around a café-lined square, M’HAMID (also known as M’Hamid el Ghizlane) was once an important marketplace for nomadic and trans-Saharan trade, but of this role only a rather mundane Monday souk remains. Although M’Hamid is still more low-key than Zagora, you might be forgiven for thinking the village’s main raison d’être these days is getting tourists onto camels – there are any number of operators, official and unofficial, who offer camel trips into the desert proper.
The most easily accessible of the dunes around M’Hamid are those at Erg Lehoudi (“Dunes of the Jews”), 8km north of town, which can be reached, with guidance, in a normal car via a piste just outside the village. They see more than their share of day-trippers (and their rubbish) and hustlers, and despite reaching a height of over 100m, somehow feel rather mundane.
The most dramatic dunes in the entire Zagora region lie some 60km southwest of M’Hamid, where the 300m-high crescents of the Erg Chigaga ripple away into the horizon. The expense and time involved in getting here – a return trip by camel takes around five days; by costly 4WD, you can get there in less than two hours – is well worth it, and with quieter dunes and more spaced-out camps, the desert experience is much more akin to how you might imagine it.
Arrival and DepartureSouth to M’Hamid and the Erg Chigaga
By bus The timing of the daily CTM bus from Zagora to Tamegroute and M’Hamid is inconvenient (it leaves Zagora at 7pm, arriving in Tamegroute 15min later and in M’Hamid after a further 1hr 25min), though local minibuses leave every hour or so. The daily CTM service to Casablanca (13hr 30min) leaves M’Hamid’s main square at 6am, stopping en route at Zagora (1hr 20min), Agdz (3hr 30min), Ouarzazate (4hr 45min) and Marrakesh (9hr 45min); private services run twice daily on the same route.
By grand taxi Taxis leave throughout the day from Zagora to Tamegroute (20min) and M’Hamid (1hr 30min), depending on demand; alternatively, chartering one for an early morning trip to Tamegroute and the sand dunes near Tinfou can be easily arranged.
By car The 94km road from Zagora to M’Hamid is surfaced so the village can be reached in any car. Note that the old road south of Zagora to Anagam, on the south bank of the Drâa (the 6965, still marked on some maps), is now out of use.
A lot of travellers organize their desert trips from Zagora, but there’s no shortage of opportunities in M’Hamid to arrange a (usually cheaper) camel safari – including at most of the hotels. Prices are pretty standard, and should include a guide, camel, all meals and a tent; if you want a longer trip, the day-rate quoted may rise dramatically.
Amazing Journeys Morocco Tagounite centre morocco-desert-camp.com. Owned by professional guide Lahsen Alkouch, who also runs a superb desert camp in a beautiful area of the Erg Chigaga dunes. Able to organize camel and 4WD excursions, treks into the mountains and customized trips.
Iguidi Tours M’Hamid, near the car park just beyond the end of the tarmac 0672 385395. Run by a local Saharwi nomad family, offering trekking as well as overnights in the Erg Lehoudi and multi-day trips into the Erg Chigaga.
Sahara Services At the Hotel Mhamid Kasbah Sahara (below), M’Hamid saharaservices.info. Overnight camel trips to a variety of desert camps, from mobile tents to luxury setups, plus Arabic and cooking courses. They can arrange trips around M’Hamid’s Nomad Festival in mid-March.
Zbar Travel At Hotel Elgizlane in the centre of the village, M’Hamid zbartravel.com. Camel and 4WD excursions, including trips to Erg Ezahar (Screaming Dunes), the nearest big dunes to M’Hamid; Zbar’s trips usually include sandboarding.
Jnane-Dar Diafa Opposite the Zaouia Naciri 0524 840622 or 0661 348149. Homely place run by a good-humoured Moroccan-Swiss couple, with accommodation spread between the kasbah-style main house (nine rooms, some with shared bathrooms) and the well-tended garden (Berber tents). Traditional meals are available. One of the best-value options in the region and also has room for camper vans. BB tent €, double €
Kasbah Hotel SaharaSky Tinfou saharasky.net. Just 500m from Tinfou’s large dune, this specialist hotel, run by German astronomer Fritz Gerd Koring, is the first private observatory in North Africa, the rooftop astro-observatory attracting astro-photographers and astronomers from all over the world. Guests can gaze at the dark Sahara sky through one of eight high-tech GPS telescopes – one with enough power to view galaxies ten billion light years away – and read up about their discoveries in the astronomy library; non-guests can enjoy dinner with guided stargazing (book in advance). The rooms themselves are very comfortable, with fantastic sunset views, the traditional Berber food is good, and a spa with a jacuzzi and sauna completes the experience. Closed during Ramadan. HB €€
Dar Azawad Near Oulad Driss, 4km north of M’Hamid darazawad.com. The most upmarket digs in town: opt for one of the “Saharan” rooms or a slightly bigger and more attractively furnished “Sultan” room – both are in the shady garden and share the same careful craftsmanship, particularly in their Tataouine-style ceilings. There is also cheaper accommodation in Berber tents (€€) Guests can enjoy a heated pool and a swanky hammam and spa, and tuck into dinners created with produce from the hotel’s vegetable garden. Their range of desert bivouacs includes the most luxurious option in M’Hamid, a private camp with king-size beds in a tent with its own bathroom (€€€€). BB €€€
Dar Sidi Bounou Bounou, 4km north of M’Hamid, darsidibounou.com. Run by a delightful Canadian-British artist and her Moroccan musician partner, Sidi Bounou is a real find, with just three comfortable rooms in the main house, magical Berber tents and nwala huts in the garden, and sleeping on the roof can be arranged. Guests are treated as part of the family, meaning excellent food (lunch and dinner €€), local gossip and impromptu music sessions most nights. BB tent or hut €, double €€
Hamada du Drâa 500m south of M’Hamid, on the opposite side of the riverbed hamada-sahara.com. Pitching a tent on the orange earth at Hamada is by far the cheapest option in M’Hamid, though they also have box-shaped mud-brick “nomad tents”, and a/c standard rooms inside the main building. The pool and restaurant are open to everyone, as well as a hammam. Camping €, double €€
Mhamid Kasbah Sahara Services On the main N9 approach road 1km before the centre of the village, 0661 164394. This attractive kasbah hotel is affiliated with Sahara Services for desert trips – they run four dune camps of varying standards. The 12 comfortable and traditionally furnished a/c rooms have excellent gushy hot showers, and are complimented by lovely terraces opening onto an orange orchard and the palmery and a swimming pool. Guests can accompany staff to the market to buy provisions for meals. BB €
There’s little to detain you in the towns lying west of the Drâa, though they can be useful stopovers on the way to the Anti-Atlas or the coast. From Zagora, a rough road (upgraded from a piste but still in poor condition) heads west to tiny FOUM ZGUID, where it joins up with the R111 to Tazenakht and the N12 to Tissint and Tata. The journey is rather monotonous, though the onward roads are quite scenic in parts, the latter charting a wide river valley through some startlingly barren backdrops. The town itself is slowly becoming a base for (much-touted) tours to Lac Iriki, a saltpan 65km south of Foum Zguid.
North of Foum Zguid, the carpet-weaving town of TAZENAKHT stands at the junction of the Agadir and Ouarzazate roads, at the centre of a wonderfully remote route. If you’re going to buy a rug, this is probably the best place to do so – there are numerous shops on Avenue Hassan II, where attractive weaves are made by women from nearby villages.
Arrival and informationWest of the Drâa
By bus Buses run from the centre of Foum Zguid to Tazenakht (3 daily; 1hr 30min), Tata (2 daily; 2hr 30min) and Zagora (2 daily; 3–4hr), among other destinations.
By truck Pick-ups serve Zagora (5hr), with more on Mondays (souk day in Foum Zguid) and Wednesdays and Sundays (souk days in Zagora).
By bus Tazenakht is quite a transport hub, with buses heading off in all directions.
Destinations Agadir (1 CTM & 3 others daily; 6hr); Foum Zguid (3 daily; 1hr 30min); Marrakesh (3 daily; 6hr 30min); Ouarzazate (1 CTM & 10 others daily; 1hr 35min); Taliouine (1 CTM & 5 others daily: 25min–1hr).
By grand taxi There are regular grands taxis to Ouarzazate (1hr) and (less so) Taliouine (1hr).
Services Tazenakht has a Banque Populaire with an ATM, and a couple of petrol stations.
You’re unlikely to need to spend the night in Tazenakht – and some people find the late evening atmosphere in town can be a little edgy – though stopping off in Foum Zguid can be useful if you’re taking a trip out to Lac Iriki. For cheap meals in Tazenakht, the cafés opposite the bus station turn out grilled kebabs and lentil stews.
Auberge Iriki Hay Alhalawane, Foum Zguid 0528 806568 or 0672 757610. Candy-striped building at the far end of Foum Zguid (on the way out to Tata), with simple but clean and bright rooms and views over Jebel Bani. There's a car park where camping can be negotiated, and decent food in the restaurant. BB €
Stretching northeast from Ouarzazate, the Dadès Valley is at times harsh and desolate, but there’s a bleak beauty on the plain between the parallel ranges of the High Atlas and the Jebel Saghro. Along much of its length, the river is barely visible above ground, making the sudden appearance of its vast oases all the more astonishing. Littered with half-hidden mud-brick houses – the Dadès is also known as the Route of a Thousand Kasbahs, for obvious reasons – the palmeries lie along the N10 from Ouarzazate to Erfoud, offering an excellent and easy opportunity for a close look at a working oasis and, in Skoura, a startling range of imposing kasbahs.
A gruelling slog across 250km of barren hammada and scorching desert, the Marathon des Sables is generally acknowledged as the toughest foot race in the world. Runners are required to carry all their own equipment, including GPS (in 1994, Italian runner Mauro Prosperi spent nine days lost in the desert after getting caught in a sandstorm – he survived by drinking bats’ blood and was eventually found in Algeria, 300km off track) and the dozen litres of water they’ll consume during each of the six days it takes to complete the course.
Founded by a Frenchman, Patrick Bauer, in 1986, the race takes place in March or April, and today attracts around nine hundred runners each year, 250 or so from the UK, from a surprisingly broad range of demographics; in 2012, the French runner Joseph Le Louarn completed his sixth Marathon des Sables at the ripe old age of 78. The constantly changing route has recently included places such as Foum Zguid and Merzouga, although competitors stay overnight in bivouac villages. For further information, see marathondessables.com; UK runners interested in competing should visit marathondessables.co.uk).
Impressive though these are, however, it is the two gorges that cut from the valley into the High Atlas that steal the show: the Dadès Gorge itself, carving up a fertile strip of land behind Boumalne du Dadès, and, to the east, the Todra Gorge, a narrowing cleft in high rock walls north of Tinghir. Beyond both, roads run into the heart of the Atlas, a wonderful (and, from Tinghir, fairly easy) trip that emerges near Beni Mellal in the Middle Atlas.
To the south of the Dadès, the volcanic rock and limestone pinnacles of the Jebel Saghro offers exciting options, either on foot or on its network of rough piste roads in a 4WD.
The Skoura oasis begins quite suddenly, around 30km east of Ouarzazate, along a tributary of the Drâa, the Oued Ameridil. It’s an extraordinary sight even from the road, which for the most part follows its southern edge – a very extensive, very dense palmery, with an incredibly confusing network of tracks winding across fords and through palms to scattered groups of ksour and kasbahs.
2km west of Skoura village • Charge• To get there, follow the footpath behind Kasbah Aït Ben Moro, across the (usually dry) Oued Ameridil; the kasbah can also be reached along a short but bumpy “road” (actually the riverbed; may be flooded in winter) signed right (west) off the road to Ouarzazate, 2km from Skoura village – the kasbah is around 700m along this side road
The grandest and most extravagantly decorated kasbah in the oasis, Kasbah Ameridil may well look familiar: it’s eminently photogenic and features in travel brochures, coffee-table books, and it once graced the back of the fifty-dirham note (Cascades d’Ouzoud, page 219 does that today).
Ameridil was built in the seventeenth century for the caïd of Skoura, and various implements from the original building line one wall of the courtyard, including some ingenious little locks whose keys doubled as toothbrushes. You can poke around a variety of rooms that once served as kitchens – one still retains the ovens used to cook tafarnoute (bread baked over stones on the ground) and tanourte (bread baked on the the side of the oven) – a Koranic school and a mosque, and bedrooms used by the chief and his four wives.
Dar Aït Sous, Dar Lahsoune and Kasbah Aït Abou
Follow signs (green triangles painted on trees) to Dar Lorkham up the main piste at the eastern end of Skoura village, crossing the (dry) riverbed en route; you can also reach Aït Abou by turning left off the road to Toundant
There are several impressive kasbahs in the palmery to the north of Skoura village. After about 4km, you’ll come to a pair of kasbahs, Dar Aït Sous and Dar Lahsoune; the former, small but once very grand, is in a ruinous state, used only for animals; the latter, once a Glaoui residence, is state-owned, and private. A further 2km drive takes you to the magnificent Kasbah Aït Abou, the tallest in the palmery and second in Skoura only to Kasbah Ameridil. It lies on well-farmed land and is still inhabited; you can pop in for a drink or a meal (it’s now a restaurant and there are six rooms in the garden 0614 332429, €€) and soak up the views from its terrace.
Beyond Kasbah Aït Abou, on the edge of the palmery, you can follow a trail to the imposing Marabout Sidi M’Barek, one of seven in the Skoura oasis. A high wall, broken only by a door, encloses the marabout, which doubles as a grain store – a powerful twofold protection on both spiritual and military levels.
Arrival and departureSkoura Oasis
By bus Buses stop in tiny Skoura village, which lies off the main road, at the eastern end of the oasis, with services from Ouarzazate (1 CTM & 4 others daily; 45min), Boumalne du Dadès (1 CTM & 6 others daily; 1hr 15min), El Kelâa M’Gouna (hourly; 35min) and Tinghir (1 CTM & 11 others daily; 2hr 35min); Restaurant La Kasbah (aka Café Jabran), at the junction where the main street peels off the N10, doubles as the CTM office.
Services There’s a post office, a branch of Banque Populaire with an ATM, and a couple of petrol stations on Skoura’s single main street.
Guides Navigating the tiny palmery roads can be confusing, so hiring a guideis definitely worth considering, particularly for the kasbahs north of Skoura, which can otherwise be hard to find; most hotels provide their own guides and run their own excursions and can also organize transfers from Ouarzazate for up to four.
The choice of accommodation around Skoura runs the full gamut, from basic auberges to luxurious hideaways; many places rent bikes for exploring the palmery. Most people dine at their hotels, though the no-frills restaurants ranged around the main junction in Skoura village are handy for a bite to eat if you’re passing through, serving cheap omelettes, salads, tajines and brochettes.
Chez Slimani Signed off the N10 700m west of the village; follow the orange-painted rocks along a piste for 1.5km 0524 852359 0610 229103. Hidden in the palmery beyond Kasbah Ameridil, this is the best budget option: a handful of basic rooms and (clean) shared washrooms surrounding a dusty courtyard, with a sunny roof terrace overlooking the palmery and a pleasant garden. You’ll have livestock for neighbours, but what Slimani lacks in comforts it more than makes up for with atmosphere. HB €
The R307: trans Atlas to Demnate
The spectacular R307 is an attractive alternative to the Tizi n’ Tichka, serving as an adventurous short cut through the heart of the Atlas for drivers bound for Fez. Paved, it is normally passable in a normal car and receives a fair amount of regular maintenance. However, in winter there can be heavy snowfall and mudslicks and rockslides are not uncommon when it is more comfortable in a 4WD; ask oncoming traffic what the road conditions are like ahead.
About 15km east of Ouarzazate and 26km west of Skoura, the road heads north from the N10 towards the mountains, making a dramatic ascent through extremely barren country to reach the Tizi n’Fedrhate (2191m). The road loses this height in the descent to the Vallée de Tessaout and the village of Toufrine, after which there is a long climb, with some tremendous views of vast landscapes and remote villages all round, before the road heads down to Demnate, some 135km (around 3hr 30min in good weather, up to 6hr in bad) after leaving the N10 behind.
Dar Ahlam darahlam.com. Set amid an oasis that was once the local ruler’s private falconry ground, this beautiful Small Luxury Hotels of the World property is so exclusive that there aren’t any signs to it: arrange to be met in the centre of Skoura village to be shown the way. Once there, you’ll find it’s as well appointed as you’d expect for the (extortionate) price, which includes as many Moroccan clay scrubs and Thai massages as your body can handle. Rates are fully inclusive (BB and HB available in low season only). €€€€
Dar Lorkam 7km up the main piste at the eastern end of Skoura village; follow the green triangles painted on trees dar-lorkam.com. Tucked away deep in the palmery, Dar Lorkam has six lovely double rooms and one family suite around a courtyard with a child-friendly swimming pool at its centre. The restaurant serves a fusion of French and Moroccan cuisines. Closed Jan. HB €€
Les Jardins de Skoura Signed off the N10 700m west of Skoura village; follow the orange arrows along a piste for 4km lesjardinsdeskoura.com. A real oasis within the oasis. The eight lovely rooms at this beautifully renovated farmhouse show great attention to detail, the staff are friendly and attentive, and the tranquil gardens that give its name are the perfect place to unwind, ending in an inviting little pool. Dinner (€€€) is recommended because the Moroccan and Mediterranean food is superb. Guided walks are on offer in the palmery. BB €€
Kasbah Aït Ben Moro On the N10, 1.5km west of Skoura village 0524 852116, kasbahaitbenmoro.com. An eighteenth-century kasbah beautifully renovated by its Spanish expat owner and comprising a dozen or so doubles (plus several triples from €100), furnished and decorated in traditional style. The swimming pool, set in a stone terrace at the back, affords good views over the palmery, and the food is top-notch, too (dinner 150dh). BB €
Kasbah Les Nomades 600m up the main piste at the eastern end of Skoura village 0661 896329. Rather grand for the price, this family affair has eight colourful en suite and a/c rooms, four are in turrets that overlook the palmery, and traditional meals are served in the restaurant. Also runs a well-stocked craft shop next to Ben Moro (above), that among other trinkets sells excellent Berber rugs and jewellery. HB €
Travelling through the Dadès in spring, you’ll find the fields around EL KELÂA M’GOUNA, 45km east of Skoura, laced with the bloom of thousands of small pink roses, cultivated into hedgerows dividing the plots. The roses – Rosa damascena, probably brought here from Persia by the Phoenicians – are harvested by local women, who start very early in the morning before the heat dries the bloom. Trucks ferry the petals to Kelâa’s two factories, where they’re distilled into the rose oil that forms the basis of all the moisturizers, hand creams and other rose-related products that you’ll see in the region’s shops. The size of the factories reflects the task at hand: there are an estimated 4200km of rose hedges around Kelâa, with each metre yielding around a kilogram of petals, and ten tonnes of petals are needed to produce just two or three litres of rose oil.
In late May (sometimes early June), a rose festival is held in the village to celebrate the new year’s crops – a good time to visit, with villagers coming down from the mountains for the market, music and dancing.
Cooperative Artisanale des Poignards Azlag
On the N10 on the eastern edge of town
Kelâa’s tradition of dagger-making is still going strong at the Azlag Dagger Cooperative, a one-stop knife shop that provides work for one hundred artisans and their families. It’s laid out with a large showroom in the front, and a series of small workshops in a U-shape around the sides and back. There’s usually someone working away hammering intricate designs into curved (synonymous with the Berber town of Azlag) and straight (Taureg) blades in pretty much the same way that Berber craftsman have for the last seven hundred years.
North of El Kelâa M’Gouna begins one of the most scenic but least explored regions of the central High Atlas. Tourist literature likes to refer to it as the “Vallée des Roses”, but in fact the famous roses are grown not so much in a single valley as a tangle of different ones. A spectacular 35km road runs here from El Kelâa, weaving up the Hdida Valley and traversing the Imi n’Louh plateau (where Berber nomads still pass the winter in little caves) to cross the Jebel Ta’Louit. From the pass (2084m), you can survey the full glory of the M’Goun massif to the north; turn back here unless you have a 4WD, in which case you can drop steeply via some hair-raising switchbacks to Bou Thaghrar (pronounced “Boot-Ag-ra”), a trio of villages on the valley floor that hold some impressive ruined kasbahs.
Arrival and information El Kelâa M’Gouna
By public transport Buses and grands taxis pull into a strip at the centre of El Kelâa outside the post office, with buses running from and to Ouarzazate (hourly; 1hr 35min), Skoura (hourly; 35min), Boumalne du Dadès (hourly; 35min) and Tinghir (hourly; 1hr 30min–1hr 55min) among others. Regular minibuses run from El Kelâa to Bou Thaghrar for the Vallée des Roses (30min).
Services Crédit Agricole in the centre of town has an ATM, and 200m southwest is the post office and a petrol station. The small supermarket next to Crédit Agricole has a good stock (daily 8am–8pm), and the Weds souk sells food.
Kasbah Assafar 1km off the road that runs to Bou Thaghrar, 5km north of El Kelâa kasbahassafar.com. Skilfully restored pisé kasbah in the village of Aït Khyar, with a terrace that makes the most of its lofty position (1400m altitude) – there are eight rooms (two en suite) but make sure you ask for one with valley views. Also operates Assafar Cottage nearby, which has seven dorm rooms with three–ten beds, shared bathrooms and a self-catering kitchen – or eat at the main restaurant. Cooking (€€€, set menus) centres around honest Berber food (cooking classes are available). Owner Boullouz Aziz is a very experienced mountain guide who can organize walking and mountain biking in the Vallée des Roses and the Jebel Saghro. BB dorm €, shared bathroom €, en suite room €€
Kasbah Itran 3.5km north of El Kelâa on road to Bou Thaghrar kasbahitran.com. Run by the hospitable Taghda brothers (all seven of them), the enchanting Kasbah Itran is set high on an escarpment overlooking the mouth of the M’Goun river valley, with its spectacular ruined kasbah, ksour and irrigated gardens. The nine stylishly decorated rooms (two can sleep up to five) make the most of the views, which extend across the Dadès to the distant Jebel Saghro and snow-covered Jebel M’Goun. Breakfasts are served on a magnificent terrace, dinner indoors in a candlelit Moroccan salon (set menu €€). They also run excellent walking trips in the Vallée des Roses and into the M’Goun massif. HB shared bathroom €, en suite room €€
The perfunctory town of BOUMALNE DU DADÈS, 50km east of El Kelâa M’Gouna, holds little of interest – it’s not much more than a straggle of shops and cafés and a large market square where farmers trade their livestock and produce on busy Wednesday and Sunday mornings. That said, there’s a likeable commercial buzz about the place, and as the main gateway to the Dadès Gorge, which starts just a few kilometres to the northwest of town, and the Jebel Saghro, it can serve as a useful base. Boumalne also offers bird-watching possibilities in the expanse of hammada, or desert fringe, to the south of town where red-rumped wheatear, lanner falcon and the elusive Houbara bustard may be spotted by keen twitchers.
Trekking in the Vallée des Roses
Beyond Bou Thaghrar, at the northern end of the Vallée des Roses, the pistes degenerate or disappear altogether, making this prime trekking territory, which for the most part remains blissfully beyond the reach of most 4WDs. Depending on the amount of time you have, a typical route in the region could range from a day hike through the satellite villages of Bou Thaghrar to a ten-day trek north through the magnificent Gorges du M’Goun, a real adventure involving hours of wading waist-deep through meltwater. With three days to spare, the varied (and mostly dry) walk to Ameskar, via Alemdoun and Amejgag – the conventional approach route for mountaineers bound for M’Goun – would be an ideal sampler, passing through a series of pretty villages and some superb gorges.
April and May, while the roses are being harvested, are the best months to walk here, but the routes are practicable in all but the height of summer. Guides are essential, not just to show the way but also to help relate to local Berber people, few of whom see many trekkers; contact Kasbah Itran or Kasbah Assafar, both of which organize highly recommended trips around the region, or El Kelâa’s Bureau des Guides, 500m west of town (0661 796101 or 0662 132192).
Arrival and departure Boumalne du Dadès
By bus Buses drop and pick up from outside the covered market; note that the CTM ticket office is north of the market square near Hôtel-Restaurant Bougafer. Minibuses head off throughout the day to the Dadès Gorge and Msemrir (2hr), departing from a stop just in front of the covered market.
Destinations Agadir (1 daily; 8hr); Casablanca (2 daily; 10hr); El Kelâa M’Gouna (hourly; 35min); Er Rachidia (1 CTM & 1 other daily; 3hr 30min); Erfoud (2 daily; 5hr); Fez (2 daily; 12hr); Goulmim (1 daily; 11hr); Goulmima (1 daily; 2hr); Marrakesh (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 5 others daily; 7hr); Meknes (2 daily; 11hr); Merzouga (1 Supratours; 6hr); Ouarzazate (hourly; 1hr 45min–2hr 15min); Skoura (hourly; 1hr 15min); Tantan (1 daily; 16hr); Taroudant (1 daily; 7hr); Tinejdad (1 daily; 1hr 30min); Tinghir (hourly; 45min); Tiznit (1 daily; 9hr); Zagora (1 daily; 6hr).
By grand taxi Taxis make regular runs from the rank outside the covered market to El Kelâa (30min), Ouarzazate (1hr 20min), Tinghir (40min), Tinejdad (1hr 30min), with several daily services to Msemrir (1hr 30min). Taxis to the Dadès Gorge (20min) can also be negotiated.
Services There’s a Banque Populaire with an ATM on the main street, but the post office is a little harder to find, hidden down a bumpy track at the top end of town. Petrol stations bookend Boumalne.
Guides All the below speak English and French and prices can be negotiated by email. Ilyas Tamlalte runs Berber Nomad Trekking, (berbernomadtrekking.com) and is an expert young and enthusiastic guide who is local to the Dadès region. He can organize walks in the Vallée des Roses, treks (1–3 days) in the Jebel Saghro, and treks between Dadès Gorge and Todra Gorge (3 days). Alternatively, Lhoussain Oufkir (moroccotrekkingguides.wordpress.com) is a Boumalne Du Dadès resident and has been guiding for more than 20 years and can take you on hikes through the Dadès Gorge, or on multi-day trekking trips to Jebel Saghro (he also speaks Dutch). Also, Hamou Aït Lhou, at the Bureau des Guides at the western end of town (0667 593292, 
hamou57@voila.fr), runs similar trips including a day trip to the Dadès Gorge with lunch with a Berber family.
Bougafer Near the market square, just off the main road 0612 212278 or 0668 167757. Best of a mediocre bunch of cheapies, with small rooms (private and shared bathroom options) set off a bare-bones salon, but it’s clean enough and some sleep four making it good value for friends or a family. Breakfast on the little terrace overlooking central Boumalne is a good start to any day. There’s also a popular café on the ground floorserving tajines, couscous and brochettes (mains €€). BB €
Kasbah La Jeanne Clearly signed off the N10 north of town, on the eastern side of the river 0524 830072 or 0667 415697. A beautiful family-run eco-kasbah, built from scratch over five years by environment enthusiast Moha Mansoub. With walls 70cm thick, the kasbah demonstrates how effective pisé builds are during winter. Rooms are spacious and homely, with handmade juniper doors and tadelakt bathrooms. Moha is an authorized guide and can organize treks and excursions into the Vallée des Roses and Jebel Saghro. Dinner €€€. BB €€
La Perle du Dadès 500m down a piste off the N10 (crossing the Oued Dadès en route), 6.5km west of Boumalne; if the river’s too deep, follow blue markers for 6km along a piste signed off the main road at the top of Boumalne itself perledudades.com. A little out of town, but hugely popular with families, as it’s big on room size and even bigger on things to do, including ping pong, billiards, table football, a swimming pool and hammam. There’s a variety of rooms at a variety of prices (including some troglodyte cave rooms), all decorated with mementoes from the French owners’ time in West Africa. BB €€
Riad Soleil Bleu At the end of a piste 500m beyond the Xaluca Dadès 0524 830163 or 0650 499876. Appealing place, with sweeping views of the valley, psychedelic decor and two kinds of room: “standard” on the ground floor and more luxurious ones upstairs with a/c and balconies. There’s space for parking and camping with hot showers. Also serves delicious, inventive meals. Camping €, BB double €
Xaluca Dadès Signed off the N10, near the Shell station xaluca.com. Popular tour-group hotel with 106 nicely designed rooms but the personal touch of a much smaller operation thanks to great staff. There’s a gym, tennis court and a funky bar, and a varied (and tasty) buffet spread each night. Non-residents are welcome to lounge around the beautiful pool drinking beer or wine and enjoying the fine views. BB €€€
Atlas Dadès Bd Mohammed V. Agreeable café covering the seasonal bases with two terraces, a small garden and a fire-heated salon for winter, where you can enjoy a coffee or an orange juice, or tuck into grilled sausages, brochettes, a sandwich or a vegetable tajine. Free wi-fi is available. €€
Oussikis Place de Souk, on the eastern side of the market square 0524 831829. An established spot for local traders and great for people watching over lunch, with a well-kept open kitchen and a menu of traditional Moroccan dishes that change regularly. €€
The 45-km-long Dadès Gorge, with its high cliffs of limestone and weirdly shaped erosions, begins almost immediately north of Boumalne du Dadès. A mixture of modern houses and older ksour edge the road, with fields fronting gentle slopes at first but giving way to increasingly precipitous drop-offs as the road nears Msemrir. Most travellers get as far as Aït Oufi, 25km or so into the gorge, before turning back. It’s a fine day-trip, but it would be a shame not to explore the area further – pushing on, the gorge closes to its narrowest point just 9km further along, while a couple of days’ walking in and around the gorge from one of its many hotels will reward you with superb scenery, with plenty of kasbahs and pisé architecture to admire.
About 8km along the road into the gorge, you pass the old, rust-red Glaoui kasbah of Aït Youl, shortly after which the road climbs over a little pass, flanked by the Hotel-Restaurant Meguirne, a fine place to stop for lunch; its owner takes a proprietary interest in a hidden side-valley nearby, organizing enjoyable one and half to two hour hikes (with or without guide), or rent a mountain bike for a day (80dh).
The most impressive rock formations in this area lie another few kilometres along the road at Tamlalt, just after the Hôtel Tamlalte, where an extraordinary cliff known as the “Monkey’s Fingers” rises from the far side of the valley. The rock, a weathered conglomerate of pebbles thought to have settled where a huge river entered a primordial sea, is a startling sight, looming over the villagers who toil in the fields below; a gorge, in places only a few feet wide, can be followed right through the rocks (ask locally).
Beyond Tamlalt, the valley floor is less fertile and the hills gentler. The road continues through the hamlet of Aït Ali to Aït Oudinar (around 23km from Boumalne), where a bridge spans the river and the gorge narrows quite dramatically.
After passing Les Vieux Chateaux, the road climbs by a coil of hairpin bends before squeezing through the tight, narrow mouth of the gorge to reach Taghia n’Dadès. From here, you can scramble east up the hill to a cave with stalactites, or walk north to a small but impressive gorge (the “Petit Gorge”), with views down over the Dadès Valley.
For a distance beyond Taghia, the east side of the gorge is dominated by the Isk n’Isladene cliffs. Emerging from their shadow, the road follows a canyon to Tidrit where it snakes up and crosses the face of one of the huge canyon loops before the final run to Msemrir; the rock face all along this route is run through with incredible swirling patterns. Two kilometres before Msemrir, the Oussikis valley can be visited by an even rougher piste that runs off to the left, accessing a scenic walk along the Barrage d’Oussikis (2hr return).
Little more than a scattering of dusty government buildings and cafés, Msemrir, 60km from Boumalne, has a desultory, frontier feel to it. The lively Saturday souk provides the only real incentive to stop, but you may want to use the village as a staging post in a longer journey across the mountains – north of Msemrir, pistes run east to join the Todra Gorge at Tamtatoucht and north across the High Atlas.
Arrival and departureDadès Gorge
By public transport Grands taxis, minibuses and Berber pick-ups leave regularly from outside the covered market in Boumalne du Dadès for Aït Ali (45min) and Msemrir (1hr 30min by grand taxi, 2hr by minibus).
By car The road up the Dadès Gorge is surfaced all the way to Msemrir and is accessible – spring floods permitting – throughout the year.
By car With a 4WD, you could tackle the piste that runs from Msemrir to Tamtatoucht, north of the Todra Gorge (map). The route (passable May–Sept) runs northeast off the Msemrir–Agoudal piste (which starts at Tilmi, 15km north of Msemrir) to the Tizi n’Uguent Zegsaoun (2639m), before dropping down through a long valley and across wobbly limestone strata to emerge just north of Tamtatoucht. Note, however, that it’s a long, uphill haul from the Dadès, and the seventy-odd kilometres of piste, often in a shocking state, can take a full day to travel. It’s much easier (and quicker) to backtrack down the Dadès and access the Todra Gorge/Tamtatoucht via Boumalne, the N10 and Tinghir – Boumalne to Tinghir is only about an hour's drive.
On a tour Ilyas Tamlalte of Berber Nomad Trekking, is one of several guides who runs three-day treks along the piste connecting the Dadès and Todra gorges; he can also organize 4WDs and prices can be arranged by email.
By truck Pick-up trucks run daily up the piste from Msemrir to Agoudal, where you can connect with trucks to Imilchil.
By car With a 4WD, you can drive to Agoudal yourself (passable May–Sept), picking up the piste at Tilmi: allow 4hr to Agoudal – it’s 60km or so of very rough driving, cresting the Tizi n’Ouano (2750m) along the way – and a further 2hr 30min along the paved road to Imilchil. Most people, however, cross the Atlas on the paved road from Tamtatoucht.
Most of the hotels in the gorge offer guided walks, either within the gorge itself, to the Petit Gorge or to other hidden canyons; alternatively, several guides in Boumalne run trips in and around the gorge.
The first 10km of the route is speckled with auberges and restaurants, though the gorge’s largest concentration of hotels lies 27km from Boumalne, hemmed in by slabs of cliff. In winter, temperatures in the gorge plummet at night, so check what sort of heating your hotel has if visiting at this time of year. The accommodation below is listed in the order you encounter it coming from Boumalne.
Agdal Msemrir, 60km from Boumalne 0671 532052. This simple hotel-cum-café on Msemrir’s main drag is only of interest if you’re looking for somewhere to stop on a longer journey across the Atlas. It’s the best choice in town, though, thanks to its gregarious owner, who oversees eight en-suite rooms set around a small Berber salon. BB €
Auberge Chez Pierre 25km from Boumalne chezpierre.org. The eponymous Pierre might no longer be in charge, but the current owners of this hospitable auberge have kept the family feel. Twelve tastefully decorated rooms (four luxury suites) occupy a traditional-style pisé building, with its own pool (the only one in the valley) and well-kept gardens, but the main event here is the tremendous food: duck, quail and goat-cheese dishes feature regularly on a locally sourced set menu (priced separately) that combines the best of Moroccan and French cooking. Organized activities include walks to the Gorge of Sidi Boubker. Heated by radiators during winter. BB €€
Auberge Tissadrine 27km from Boumalne 0524 831745 or 0670 233418. Light and airy hotel run by two brothers, whose en suite rooms have been nicely refurbished in authentic style; some come with balconies. Take dinner in the attractive salon or out on the riverside terrace. There’s heating from open fires and electric heaters during the winter. Varied guided walks explore a nearby canyon. HB €
Berbère de la Montagne 34km from Boumalne berbere-montagne.com. One of the best-value mid-price places in the area – with ten tastefully furnished and heated en suite double, triple and quad rooms (wherever you lay your head it’s the same price per person) that have the feel of a Mediterranean villa about them, and carefully prepared Berber meals served on a lovely streamside terrace. The hotel also has a pleasant, wooded campsite (with electricity) and makes a good base for short walks in and around the gorge. Camping €, HB double €€
Riad des Vieilles Charrues 24km from Boumalne riadvieillescharrues.com. Skilfully restored riad in the village of Aït Oudinar, run by the welcoming Naïm family, offering ten spacious rooms (three with a/c), good home cooking set dinner menu for an additional fee) and central heating to help keep you warm in winter. Relax on the suntrap of a terrace or head off into the hills on guided walks. BB €€
Source de Dadès 33km from Boumalne hotel-jardin-source-dades.com. A traditional building that catches the sun in winter, with only three double and one triple rooms, all impeccably clean; charm is derived from its striking location, just before the gorge narrows, and hospitable service. The friendly owners organize numerous walks in the area, including gorge-top hikes and trips to nearby caves. HB €
Hotel Restaurant Meguirne 14km from Boumalne auberge-miguirne-dades.com. The views make this a fine place to stop for lunch (as tour groups do); the food, such as brochette and chips is prepared by Ali, the unfailingly cheerful owner. In summer, the breakfast terrace is the first in the valley to catch the sun. Nine en-suite rooms are available (€€ HB).
Hôtel Café Timzzillite 29km from Boumalne. Worth a coffee stop at least, with stupendous views from a blustery terrace on the edge of the cliffs down over the Dadès’ much-photographed section of switchback turns – though they also do vegetable kebabs and an unusual spaghetti-based menu. Simple en-suite rooms are available with hot water, heaters and extra blankets (€€ BB).
The brooding mountain range looming to the south of the N9 is the Jebel Saghro, a starkly beautiful jumble of volcanic peaks and weirdly eroded tabletop mesas. Dramatically barren (“jebel saghro” means “dry mountain” in Berber), it is quite unlike the High Atlas or Anti-Atlas, and is increasingly attracting trekkers keen to explore its gorges, ruined kasbahs and occasional villages. The austere landscape is punctuated by the black tents of the semi-nomadic Aït Atta tribe – fiercely independent through the centuries, and never subdued by any sultan, the Aït Atta were the last bulwark of resistance against the French, making their final stand on the slopes of Jebel Bou Gafer.
The classic Saghro trek cuts through the heart of the range, from Tagdilt to N’Kob, on the other side of the mountains (three days). Following the piste south out of Tagdilt, you can pick up a path that wends past the Isk n’Alla (2569m) and then up towards the Tizi n’Ouarg, an area of high meadows and a good spot to camp. A side trip up Jebel Kouaouch (2592m) is rewarded with fine views back towards snowcapped M’Goun and south towards N’Kob; or you can push on, past some extraordinary rock formations: the spires of Tassigdelt Tamajgalt and the Tête de Chameau, near Igli, a striking conglomerate that, in the right light, doesn’t look too unlike a camel’s head. From Igli, you can then either follow a path south over the Tizi n’Taggourt or divert east to take in Bab n’Ali, the Saghro’s most notable feature and a spectacular sight at dawn or dusk. The routes converge near the village of Ighazoun n’Imlas, from where a piste heads south down a remarkably green valley before climbing out to wander a barren waste to N’Kob.
An alternative route from Iknioun (five days) heads east, under the shadow of Amalou n’Mansour – at 2712m, the highest summit in the Saghro – to Maddou, from where you can make a side trip north to Jebel Bou Gafer; you’ll probably need to camp here overnight to make the most of a visit to the battlefield. Backtracking to Maddou, the route continues via Tizilit and Imi n’Site to emerge near some rock carvings at the R108, 8km east of N’Kob.
The much longer anticlockwise loop from El Kelâa M’Gouna and back (ten days) follows part of the traverse but also takes in the more diverse scenery of the Saghro’s northern and southern foothills. From El Kelâa (you could also hike a similar circuit to and from Boumalne), the path crosses a plain to the villages of Aït Youl (also reachable in a taxi) and, much further on, Afoughal, at the foot of Jebel Afoughal (2196m). The route continues south over the Tizi n’Tagmoute before heading east along dry river valleys and through chiselled gorges, with views to Tine Ouaiyour (2129m), in the centre of the range.
At Ighazoun n’Imlas, the path picks up the northern section of the “traverse” route, following it to the Tizi n’Ouarg before turning back west to crest both the Tizi n’Tmighcht and the Tizi n’Irhioui, steep mountain passes with breathtaking views as far as the High Atlas. From here on, it’s a downwards hike back to Aït Youl and, ultimately, El Kelâa again.
Arrival and informationJebel Saghro
When planning a trek in the Saghro, bear in mind the harshness of the terrain and the considerable distances involved. With the exception of the Vallée des Oiseaux, off the Boumalne–Iknioun road, which is a feasible destination for day-trips, this is not an area for short treks, nor does it have much infrastructure. Accommodation camping, gîtes and village homes.
By pick-up, taxi or car There’s a daily pick-up truck from Boumalne du Dadès to Tagdilt, off the R6907, and taxis run most days from Tinghir and Boumalne to Iknioun, further along the road. The N’Kob souk is on a Sunday, so you may also be able to pick up a ride south on the Saturday. You can also access Iknioun on a piste from Tinghir, a very beautiful road but one that’s only passable in a 4WD.
When to visit The Jebel Saghro is a popular trekking destination between October and April, when the High Atlas is too cold and snow-covered for walking; in the summer, it’s too hot and exposed and water is impossible to find.
Guides Hiring a guide is recommended for trekking and for exploring by (4WD) vehicle – road signs are rare and navigating isn’t easy, while flash floods often lead to diversions or worse. There are bureau des guides and/or independent guides in Boumalne du Dadès, Tinghir, El Kelâa M’Gouna and, to the south, N’Kob; you might hire guides and muleteers in the villages at the northern base of the mountains.
Tours Pathfinders Treks in Marrakech (pathfinderstreks.com), or adventure tour companies abroad, including Explore (explore.co.uk), Walks Worldwide (walksworldwide.com) and On The Go Tours (onthegotours.com).
For three centuries or more, the Aït Atta tribe were the great warriors of the south, dominating the Jebel Saghro and its eastern extension, the Jebel Ougnat. As guerrilla fighters, they resisted the French occupation from the outset, finally retreating in early 1933 to the rocky stronghold of the Jebel Bou Gafer, a chaos of gorges and pinnacles. Despite the Aït Atta being vastly outnumbered by superior French forces, what followed was, according to David Hart in The Aït ‘Atta of Southern Morocco, “the hardest single battle which the French had ever had to fight in the course of their ‘pacification’ of Morocco”.
The French first attacked the stronghold on February 21, after which they launched almost daily attacks on the ground and from the air – the French are believed to have used four air squadrons at the battle, in addition to some 83,000 troops (the Aït Atta, in comparison, numbered around a thousand fighting men). Many died on both sides, but the Aït Atta, under the command of Hassou Ba Salem, did not surrender for over a month, by which time they were reduced to half their strength and had run short of ammunition.
Ba Salem’s conditions on surrender included a promise that the Aït Atta could maintain their tribal structures and customs, and that they would not be “ruled” by the infamous T’hami el Glaoui, the pasha of Marrakesh, whom they regarded as a traitor to their homeland. The French were content to accept, the battle meaning that their “pacification” was virtually complete, and giving them access to the valuable silver and copper mines at Moudou.
Ba Salem died in 1960 and was buried at Taghia, his birthplace, 5km from Tinghir. Ali, his son, succeeded him as leader of the tribe, and took part in the 1975 Green March into the Western Sahara; he died in 1992 and is also buried at Taghia. As for the battlefield itself, local guides will show you the sites, including ruins of the stronghold. It is still littered with spent bullets, which are covered in spring by colourful clumps of thyme, rockroses and broom.
Despite serving largely as a base for the trip up into the Todra Gorge, TINGHIR is a more interesting place than other administrative centres along the N10: overlooked by an abandoned but ornamental Glaoui kasbah and flanked by extensive palmeries that feel a world apart, with their groups of ksour built at intervals into the rocky hills above. Tinghir’s own ksar has been extensively restored in parts (one of its mosques has even been rebuilt in pink concrete), but the Aït el Haj Ali district, in the south, retains an appealing air of authenticity. The Monday souk, just west of town, is one of the largest in the south and a good place to pick up pottery from the palmery village of El Hart.
The lushness of Tinghir’s palmeries seems all the more special after the journey from Boumalne, a bleak 53km drive across desolate plains with only the hazy Jebel Saghro for company, the barren outlines of its mountains looming to the south like something from the steppes of Central Asia.
You can access the Tinghir palmery through the town’s ksar, or by heading east (right) off the N10 just beyond the Todra Gorge turning; for the Todra palmery, catch a taxi to the entrance to the Todra Gorge and head south into the palmery on foot from there
Lining both sides of the Oued Todra to the north of town, the Tinghir and Todra palmeries are major attractions in themselves, dotted with picturesque villages whose ksour and kasbahs are incised with extraordinarily complex patterns. Walk or ride on the west side of the valley for the best panoramas of the Todra palmery, a blanket of palms shielding olives, figs, almonds and alfalfa; the Hôtel Saghro enjoys fine views of the Tinghir palmery from its terrace bar.
The small village of Afanour makes a pleasant destination for an afternoon ramble around the Tinghir palmery, with its restored pisé mosque. Consider though a longer walk which means you could also take in Souk el Khemis (Thursday souk) and El Hart, 15km southeast of Tinghir and comprising El Hart n’Igourramen, with a marabout that is the focus of a June/July moussem, and the larger El Hart n’Iaamine, famous for its earthenware pottery; note that the potters can be difficult to find without a guide, as they work out of their (unmarked) homes. The tombs of the Aït Atta chief, Hassou Ba Salem, and his son, Ali Ba Salem can also be visited at nearby Taghia.
Signed off the N10, just north of the turning to the Todra Gorge; follow the white arrows for 300m • Charge
Despite its ancient appearance, the nineteenth-century Ikelane Mosque was a fully functioning focus of the community until a decade or so ago, until which time it served as both mosque and medersa for the people of Afanour – the ksar itself was abandoned in 2002.
The whole complex has been lovingly restored, and you can wander around the mud-brick ablutions room (complete with well) and peek into the prayer hall, with its characterfully cockeyed supporting pillars. The reward for climbing up on to the roof – once the Koranic school’s “classroom” – is far-reaching views across the palmery.
By bus All buses arrive at and depart from the main road, Av Mohammed V (the N10), next to the Pl Principale. Both the CTM and Supratours offices are located on Rue Hassan II.
Destinations Agadir (3 daily; 14hr); Boumalne du Dadès (1 CTM daily & others hourly; 45min); Casablanca (3 daily; 11hr); Er Rachidia (1 Supratours & 4 others daily; 4 hr); Erfoud (1 daily; 3hr 30min); Fez (3 daily; 15hr); Marrakesh (1 CTM, 2 Supratours & 5 others daily; 7hr 30min); Meknes (4 daily; 9hr); Merzouga (1 Supratours daily; 5hr); Ouarzazate (2 Supratours & 9 others daily; 2hr 30min); Rabat (3 daily; 12hr); Rissani (1 daily; 4hr); Tangier (1 daily; 16hr); Tinejdad (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 10 others daily; 1hr); Zagora (2 daily; 6hr).
By grand taxi Taxis run regularly from Pl Principale to Boumalne du Dadès (40min), Kelaa M’Gouna (1hr 30min), Ouarzazate (2hr), Tinejdad (45min) and Er Rachidia (2hr), and occasionally to Erfoud (best to connect in Tinejdad) and Rissani (2hr 15min). It is possible to negotiate taxis to the Todra Gorge and Imilchil.
By truck Berber lorries also leave from Pl Principale, bound for villages in the Todra Gorge and beyond; after the Monday souk, numerous lorries set out for villages in the High Atlas, passing Imilchil on their way to Aghbala.
Services There’s a Banque Populaire opposite Pl Principale, and a Crédit du Maroc and BMCE further south along the N10. The post office is on the northeastern corner of the municipal gardens.
Tours Hôtel Tomboctou runs a variety of local trips. These include walks and donkey rides around the palmery, a visit to the potteries at El Hart n’Iaamine 15km from Tinghir, and 4hr treks in the Todra Gorge. They also hire out 4WDs with fuel and a driver for a circuit of Todra and Dades gorgescontact the highly recommended SupraTeam Travel, which operates out of the hotel, for multi-day packages in the High Atlas or the desert (supratravel.com). You can also arrange trips for the gorge (or beyond) at Camping Ourti, near the Shell station on the N10 towards Boumalne, around 1km from the centre.
Accommodation map and this map
L’Avenir In the pedestrian zone near the central market 0672 521389. A very decent little budget hotel above a cluster of shops, with good-value rooms and a great roof terrace – its very central location means possible noise; try to get rooms in the rear, facing quieter streets. An excellent source of information on climbing in the gorge. HB €
Kasbah Lamrani On the N10, 1km west of the centre kasbahlamrani.com. A large, upscale hotel in ersatz kasbah style, though the 22 well-equipped rooms have been smartly done and there are plenty of facilities, including a big pool, huge terraces, a bar and two decent restaurants. Bike rental is available too. HB €€€
Du Todra Av Hassan II 0524 834249. Open since 1935, this place has seen better days and is in need of some TLC. Rooms are somewhat basic but its comfortable communal area, interesting decor and central location make it a passable and affordable overnight stop. €
Tomboctou Av Bir Anzarane hoteltomboctou.com. A kasbah built for Sheikh Bassou in 1944, tastefully converted by Moroccophile Spaniard Roger Mimó, Tomboctou is one of the country’s memorable small hotels. There’s a range of tasteful and cosy rooms (all cool in summer and heated in winter) and friendly staff on hand to help with exploring the local area. There’s also a pool in the courtyard, a good restaurant (set menus €€€) and a small bar. BB €€
Eating and drinkingmap
Tinghir isn’t a place for fancy dining, though you can get tasty meals at the Hôtel Tomboctou. There are plenty of cheap cafés and grills around the centre, where you can fill up at any time of day; stock up at the market on trekking and picnic food for trips up the gorge.
Saghro On the hill north of the centre. It’s worth venturing up to the Hôtel Saghro to enjoy a drink at the bar, or more accurately the bar’s panoramic terrasse, which enjoys superb views across the Tinghir palmery. €€
Café La Terrasse On the N10, at the eastern end of the municipal gardens. A good blend of tourists and locals, all tucking into above-average tajines and brochettes and the like, either at pavement tables or on the eponymous terrace. €€
Shoppingmap
Maison Berbère Next to the mosque, near Pl Principale. Well-stocked branch of the excellent crafts chain, heaving with high-quality rugs, carpets and silver.
Few people visit the south without taking in the Todra Gorge, and with good reason. At its deepest and narrowest point, only 15km from Tinghir, this trench through the High Atlas presents an arresting spectacle, its gigantic rock walls changing colour to magical effect as the day unfolds. Faux guides hang around the gorge, but the hassle is generally low-key, and at weekends and holidays there’s a cheerfully laidback vibe – locals more than outnumber tourists, and families come to picnic by the river.
En route to the gorge proper, the road climbs along the west flank of the Todra palmery, a last, fertile shaft of land, narrowing at points to a ribbon of palms between the cliffs. The really enclosed section of the gorge itself extends for just a few hundred metres and should certainly be walked, even if you’re not going any further, for the drama of the scenery. However, if you do press on a little further, after a kilometre or so you’ll reach the beautiful family-run guesthouse and truly welcoming Berber hospitality of Dar Ayour.
The road up the Todra Gorge grows gradually less spectacular as you progress uphill, but with your own vehicle it’s worth pressing on to TAMTATOUCHT, 18km beyond the gorge, for a taste of the high mountains. A sizeable sprawl with a growing number of attractive hotels and cafés, the village is situated beneath a ring of beautiful peaks, and with local guidance you can head off for rewarding day-walks in the area.
Just beyond Tamtatoucht, a rough piste heads west to the Dadès Gorge, scaling huge slabs of unstable limestone (this is 4WD-only territory) on its way. Staying on the main route will bring you to Aït Hani, 15km further on and set in a high and barren landscape. From here, surfaced roads lead east to Rich (for Midelt) and north across the High Atlas to Imilchil and Aghbala – a superb journey, offering a real experience of Berber mountain life and some of the most exciting scenery in Morocco, in a succession of passes, mountains, rivers and gorges.
Most of the guides hanging around the gorge try to lead visitors on walks, but the following route (1hr 30min–2hr) can be hiked without assistance. Once through the cliffs that mark the narrowest section of the gorge, look for a side valley leading quite steeply left (south) from the roadside to a pronounced saddle between two peaks – you’ll be able to make out the path climbing on the left flank of the hillside. An easy ascent takes you to the pass (around 45min), from where you could head for the peaks for splendid views over the gorge, or follow the path dropping downhill to your left, keeping to a line of silvery-grey rocks that fringe a dry riverbed. After around thirty minutes, the path then climbs briefly to a second pass, from where it descends to Tizgui, a well-preserved ksar on the edge of the Todra palmery.
Arrival and departure The Todra Gorge
By bus Minibuses run regularly from Tinghir to Tamtatoucht (45min), beyond the gorge itself, and on to Aït Hani, 35km north of Tinghir.
By petit taxi Taxis ferry back and forth between Tinghir and the group of hotels just before the narrowing of the gorge, as well as further on to Tamtatoucht.
By car The road north from Aït Hani was paved in 2011, shortening the journey to Agoudal dramatically and opening up the route to normal tourist cars. At Agoudal, you can join the surfaced road to Imilchil and Aghbala, which eventually seesaws down to Kasba Tadla and the N8 (the Beni Mellal–Fez road).
By grand taxi Grands taxis run from Tinghir to Imilchil (2hr 30min), where you can connect with other taxis heading further north.
By truck Not so long ago, travelling on a succession of Berber lorries was the only real way of negotiating this stretch of the Atlas, and without your own transport they can still provide a useful (and memorable) service. The lorries are timed to coincide with local village souks: promising days to start out are Wednesday (for Aït Hani’s Thursday souk) and Friday (for Imilchil’s Saturday souk), but there’s usually at least one lorry heading north each day. Setting out from Todra, the managers of the hotels at the mouth of the gorge usually have an idea of when the next one will pass through – and will help arrange your first ride.
Money There are no banks between Tinghir and Kasba Tadla, so you’ll need to carry enough money for the journey. Don’t underestimate the expense of buying food in the mountains (up to twice the normal rate), nor the prices charged for rides in Berber lorries.
Police There are police stations at Aït Hani and Imilchil if you need serious help or advice on the state of the area’s pistes.
Given the traffic and crowds of tourists and hustlers who mill around them through the day, the cluster of small hotels at the foot of the cliffs are far from peaceful, and in winter can be very cold as the sun only reaches them at noon. However, things calm down considerably in the evening after the day-trippers have left, and their rooftops make ideal vantage points from which to admire the escarpments. The accommodation below is listed in the order you encounter it from Tinghir.
En route to the gorge, map
Camping Source des Poissons Sacrés 9km from Tinghir 0629 889729. Flanking a particularly luxuriant stretch of the palmery, this is the best choice of a string of well-established campsites, with simple rooms and the option of rooftop sleeping or shady tent camping. It also boasts a spring flowing into a pool where a shoal of supposed sacred fish swim. Terrace €, Berber tent €, camping €, double €
Dar Ayour 15km from Tinghir 0524 895271, darayour.com. A little gem, this brightly furnished guesthouse in the village of Tizgui has a range of individually designed rooms (it’s worth looking at a couple first, as they are very different), some with lovely little balconies. The cushion-strewn lounge is a great place to relax, as is the swimming pool and garden that runs down to the Oued Todra. Breakfast and Moroccan/French set menu dinners are served on a gorgeous terrace. The gorge is just a 10min walk away. HB €€
La Vallée 15.5km from Tinghir 0524 895126 or 0667 050810. Pick of the budget places just before the entrance to the gorge, offering simple en-suite rooms (and a few cheaper ones with shared facilities) that are generally cleaner than the competition. Popular with climbers, thanks to its logbook with useful route descriptions (climbing gear also available to rent). HB €
In the gorge, map
Le Festival 5km from the mouth of the gorge, 22km from Tinghir aubergelefestival-todragorge.com. This intimate solar-powered eco-auberge, the only accommodation between the mouth of the gorge and Tamtatoucht, has a truly rustic feel and provides an excellent base for climbers and trekkers. There are two “tower” rooms in a castle-like building that sleep up to four, and five inventive double/twin en-suite “cave rooms” built into the rock below. The resident chef presents excellent meals from an open kitchen using produce from the garden (€€€ set dinner menu), and climbing gear and bikes can be hired. A different and atmospheric place to spend the night. BB €€
Les Amis At the entrance to the village 0670 234374. The nicest of the group of hotels that has sprung up at the entrance to town, with 15 clean and spacious rooms, hearty food and impromptu music sessions. Guests are welcome to sleep on the terrace during summer (€), which provides a stunning view of the wind-eroded landscape, and there's also a campsite with bathrooms and electric points. Mohammed is the oldest of seven brothers that run the place and speaks multiple languages fluently and enjoys sitting with his guests and talking about the region. Camping €, HB double €€
Baddou Near the entrance to the village auberge-baddou-todra.com. Just up the road from Les Amis, this friendly place has 16 rooms of varying sizes, en suite or sharing bathrooms, plus a good campsite enclosed by a stone wall with some shade, hot showers and electricity. The sunny terrace with kidney-shaped pool equipped with little fountain is a lovely place to relax, and in warm weather dinner is served in a semi-open Berber tent. Camping €, HB double €
After the comparatively populous area around the gorges, the run east to Er Rachidia, Erfoud and the great palmeries of the Tafilalt is a desolate one. The N10 to Er Rachidia (for Midelt and the road to Fez) is a fast but dull highway through barren country that’s broken only by the long, straggling oasis of Goulmima. The more attractive R702 to Erfoud (for Merzouga) is, in parts, eerily impressive, with sections of the road occasionally submerged in sand.
The R702 branches off the N10 3km east of Tinejdad, from where it follows a course of lush oases – populated by the Aït Atta tribe, traditional warriors of the south who once controlled land and exacted tribute as far afield as the Drâa. After leaving the oasis at Mellab, which has a fine ksar, it is more or less continuous desert hammada until the beginning of the vast palmery of El Jorf, the Tafilalt’s largest ksar, on the approach to Erfoud. Over much of the journey from Mellab to Erfoud, the land is pockmarked by parallel lines of strange, volcanic-shaped humps – actually man-made entries to the old underground irrigation channels or khettara.
Climbers have been scaling the Todra Gorge’s craggy cliffs since 1977, when a group of Frenchmen opened the West Pillar way, and there are now over four hundred routes spread across forty different sectors. The routes are fairly technical, with most ranging from French Grades 5 to 8 and varying in length from 25m to 300m, so tend to suit experienced climbers more – though the Plage Mansour has several easy climbing routes and is ideal for those relatively new to rock climbing.
A number of hotels and guides in and around the gorge rent equipment and run climbing trips. Aventures Verticales have a small shop in Tizgui village, 400m before the entrance to the gorge (climbing-in-morocco.com). They offer guided climbing and instruction, equipment rental, sell maps and guides, and also do lots of work in the upkeep of the fixed equipment in the gorge. If you’re climbing on your own, it’s worth consulting the logbooks at various hotels in the gorge first, which will alert you to any problems on the rock – over the past few years, kids have been known to tamper with several access bolts, and even fixtures for top ropes.
The long fields of pointed stones that you’ll see thrust into the ground, both here and elsewhere along the oasis routes are Berber cemeteries. Otherwise unidentified, they are usually walled off from the desert at the edge of the ksour: a wholly practical measure to prevent jackals from unearthing bodies – and in so doing, frustrating the dead’s entry to paradise.
TINEJDAD itself is one long street, but the town is distinguished by having two of the best museums in the region just a few kilometres to the west along the N10. There are further impressive kasbahs and ksour in the Ferkla oasis, which spreads to the north and west of Tinejdad: ask directions to Ksar Asrir, the one-time capital of the oasis, in the palmery north of the main road; or head to El Khorbat, an immaculate nineteenth-century ksar further towards Tinghir that is also home to the Musée des Oasis.
The extraordinary Musée Sources Lalla Mimouna achieves that rare combination of inspirational setting and absorbing content. Its owner, Zaid, has spent the last thirty years collecting artefacts including eighteenth- and nineteenth-century agricultural tools, pottery from Fez and Tamegroute, Berber jewellery and textiles, all displayed here in a beautiful complex of pisé buildings set around exposed underground springs. Don’t miss the wooden Koran tablets in the last room, or Zaid’s demonstration of a tanassa, an ancient Berber water clock that ensured every plot within the palmery received its equal share.
800m off the N10, 2km west of Tinejdad • Charge
Spread over three beautifully restored buildings in the heart of El Khorbat, the informative Musée des Oasis houses a collection of artefacts and photos showcasing rural life, from local festivals to the economy of the Salt Road. It’s all been thoughtfully put together by Spanish writer and architectural conservationist Roger Mimó, though the displays on the tribal system and the pisé construction underlying the region’s many kasbahs and ksour are particularly pertinent for travelling in the south.
Arrival and information East to the Tafilalt
By public transport Most buses heading east from Tinghir stop in the centre of Tinejdad (hourly; 1hr). Grands taxis pull into the eastern end of Tinejdad.
Services Banque Populaire and Crédit Agricole banks with ATMs are in the centre on the main street (N10), as is the post office.
Gîte El Khorbat 800m off the N10, 2km west of Tinejdad elkhorbat.com. A handful of rooms stylishly converted, with en suite bathrooms and Berber textiles. You can also eat here at a swish little restaurant, with tasty local (including camel tajine) and Mediterranean dishes, as well as vegetarian options (set diners €€-€€€). The owner, Spanish writer and hotelier Roger Mimó, restored the adjacent kasbah that houses an impressive museum that depicts the region’s Berber, Jewish, and agricultural history. BB €€
Panorama On the main street (N10) in the centre of town. Pleasant daytime café popular with passing trade with a wicker-shaded roadside terrace shaded by palms, offering a decent range of Moroccan staples including tajines, plus salads and pastas, and there are clean bathrooms and sometimes wi-fi. €
The great date-palm oases of the Oued Ziz and the Tafilalt come as near as anywhere in Morocco to fulfilling Western fantasies about the Sahara. They do so by occupying the last desert stretches of the Ziz Valley: a route shot through with lush, cinematic scenes, from the river’s fertile beginnings at the Source Bleue, the spring water pool that is the oasis meeting point of Meski, to a climax amid the rolling sand dunes of Merzouga. Along the way, once again, are an impressive succession of ksour, and an extraordinarily rich palmery – historically the most important territory this side of the Atlas.
Strictly speaking, the Tafilalt (or Tafilalet) comprises the oases south of Erfoud, its principal town and gateway. Nowadays, however, the provincial capital is the French-built garrison town and administrative centre of Er Rachidia, a convenient pitstop heading north, through the great canyon of the Ziz Gorges, to Midelt and Fez.
ER RACHIDIA was established by the French as a regional capital – when it was known as Ksar es Souk, after their Foreign Legion fort. Today, it represents more than anywhere else the new face of the Moroccan south: a shift away from the old desert markets and trading routes to a modern, urban centre. The town’s role as a military outpost, originally against tribal dissidence, particularly from the Aït Atta, was maintained after independence by the threat of territorial claims from Algeria, and there is still a significant garrison here – not that you’d ever really know that from the relaxed air that pervades its orderly grid of tidy streets.
Signed off the N13 17km south of Er Rachidia • Charge • Coming by bus, ask to get out by the turn-off, from where it’s a 400m walk down to the pool (note, though, that going on to Erfoud or back to Er Rachidia can be tricky, since most of the buses pass by full and don’t stop)
The small palm grove of Meski is watered by a natural spring water pool: the famous Source Bleue, extended by the French Foreign Legion and long a postcard image and favourite campsite for travellers. It’s set on the riverbank, below a huge ruined ksar on the opposite bank and with several of the springs channelled into a naturally heated swimming pool. The fish-frequented pool is perfectly safe to swim in, though as it’s a popular hangout for local boys, women bathers may feel self-conscious; be warned, though, that the river is likely infected with bilharzia.
The Tafilalt was for centuries the main Moroccan terminus of the caravan routes – the famous Salt Road across the Sahara to West Africa, by way of Timbuktu. Merchants travelling south carried weapons, cloth and spices, part of which they traded en route at Taghaza (in modern-day Mali) for local salt, the most sought-after commodity in West Africa. They would continue south, and then make the return trip from the old Kingdom of Ghana, to the west of Timbuktu, loaded with gold (one ounce of gold was exchanged for one pound of salt at the beginning of the nineteenth century) and, until European colonists brought an end to the trade, slaves.
These were long journeys: Taghaza was twenty days by camel from the Tafilalt, Timbuktu sixty, and merchants might be away for more than a year if they made a circuit via southern Libya (where slaves were still sold up until the Italian occupation in 1911). They also, of course, brought an unusual degree of contact with other cultures, which ensured the Tafilalt a reputation as one of the most unstable parts of the Moroccan empire, frequently riven by religious dissent and separatism.
Dissent began when the Filalis, as the Tafilalt’s predominantly Berber population is known, adopted the Kharijite heresy, a movement that used a Berber version of the Koran (orthodox Islam forbids any translation of God’s direct Arabic revelation to Mohammed). Separatist tendencies date back much further though, to the eighth century, when the region prospered as the independent kingdom of Sijilmassa.
In the fifteenth century, the region again emerged as a centre of trouble, fostering the marabout uprising that toppled the Wattasid dynasty, but it is with the establishment of the Alaouite (or, after their birthplace, Filali) dynasty that the Tafilalt is most closely associated. Mounted from a zaouia in Rissani by Moulay Rachid, and secured by his successor Moulay Ismail, this is the dynasty that still holds power in Morocco, through Mohammed VI. The Tafilalt also proved a major centre of resistance to the French, who were limited to their garrison at Erfoud and an outpost of the Foreign Legion at Ouled Zohra until 1931.
Deprived of its contacts to the south, the Tafilalt today is something of a backwater, with a population estimated at around eighty thousand and declining, as the effects of drought and Bayoud disease have taken hold on the palms. Most of the population are smallholding farmers, with thirty or so palms for each family, from which they could hope to produce around a thousand kilos of dates in a reasonable year – with the market price of hybrid dates around 15dh a kilo, there are certainly no fortunes to be made.
Outside midsummer, you might also consider walking part of the way downstream in the valley bottom, southeast of Meski. The superb four-hour trek along the Oued Ziz will bring you to Oulad Aïssa, a ksar with fabulous views over the upper Tafilalt.
Arrival and departure Er Rachidia and around
By plane Er Rachidia's Aéroport de Errachidia Moulay Ali Cherif is 4km northeast of the city and is served by flights from Casablanca (4 weekly; 1hr 10min); petits taxis make the short run into town.
By bus The bus station is on Pl Principale, just south of Av Moulay Ali Cherif, the main street that runs all the way through town.
Destinations Casablanca (1 CTM & 2 others daily; 10hr); Erfoud (1 CTM, 2 Supratours & 12 others daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Fez (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 10 others daily; 7hr 15min–8hr); Figuig (2 daily, via Bouarfa; 7hr); Marrakesh (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 10hr); Meknes (1 CTM & 5 others daily; 5hr 30min); Merzouga (1 Supratours daily: 2hr 15min); Midelt (3 CTM, 1 Supratours & 7 others daily; 2hr); Ouarzazate (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 5 others daily; 5hr 30min); Rich (8 daily; 1hr 15min); Rissani (1 CTM & 5 others daily; 2hr); Tinejdad (2 daily; 1hr 30min); Tinghir (1 CTM & 8 others daily; 2–3hr).
By grand taxi There’s a large rank southeast of the bus station, from where grands taxis make fairly frequent runs to Rissani (1hr 30min), Erfoud (1hr; you can get dropped off at the Meski turning, for the same price), Merzouga (2hr), Tinejdad (1hr 30min), Tinghir (2hr) and Midelt (2hr). Taxis will go to Fez and beyond, but best to negotiate price with a group.
Accommodation and eatingmap
Despite its size, Er Rachidia has a limited choice of decent hotels within the city centre and if you want to camp, the Source Bleue at Meski is the nearest possibility. A couple of the hotels listed below host decent restaurants, and there are also many good grills and cafés clustered around the centre. The covered market is a reliable source of fresh fruit and vegetables.
Auberge Tinit 3km west of the city centre on the N10 to Tinejdad auberge-tinit.info. Squat kasbah-style modern complex with spotless en-suite rooms around a central courtyard garden, an on-site restaurant (menus from €€) and a refreshing swimming pool. BB €€
Le Riad 4km west of the city centre on the N10 to Tinejdad hotelleriad.com. The most upscale option in town (or at least near it), with 30 comfortable rooms – each with a small sitting area and fitted with all mod cons – facing into a courtyard with a huge swimming pool, restaurant and bar. It’s a little dated though so pricey for what you get, and service can be half-hearted at times. BB €€
Vallée Ziz 3 Rue El Houria, off Av Moulay Ali Cherif hotelvalleeziz.com. A spotless three-star hotel with a light and modern (if business-like) feel and very centrally located within walking distance to restaurants, buses etc. All 21 rooms come with en-suite bathrooms, a/c and satellite TVs; reliably good value and a perfect overnight stopoff. BB €€
Zerda Boucherie & Restaurant 47 Av Moulay Ali Cherif. Popular restaurant with outside tables on the main street diagonally opposite the covered market, attracting savvy travellers with its delicious brochettes and bargain omelettes. €
Source Bleue Meski, 17km south of Er Rachidia 0671 560144. Shaded by bamboo, palms and tamarisks, the famous Source Bleue campsite is run by the local commune of M’Daghra, with a pool, shower block (extra charge), electric points, and the inevitable souvenir shops, although the traders can be pushy. At times a simple restaurant has operated, but if not, bread, dates, and basic provisions can be bought. €
Trailing the final section of the Oued Ziz, the road south of Er Rachidia (the N13) is one of the most pleasing of all the southern routes – a dry red belt of desert just beyond Meski, it suddenly drops into the great Ziz Valley, a massive palmery and a prelude of the Tafilalt, leading into Erfoud. Away from the road, ksour are almost continuous, glimpsed through the trees and high walls enclosing gardens and plots of cultivated land.
If you want to stop and take a closer look, the ksar at AOUFOUSS, 40km from Er Rachidia and the site of a Thursday souk, is perhaps the most accessible, offering a lovely glimpse of life within the palmeries. Drivers can follow a scenic “Circuit Touristique” through the area around the village, while a stunning viewpoint off the N13 overlooks the green river of palm trees running through the valley, dotted with crumbling kasbahs. Alternatively, Maadid, off to the left of the N13 as you approach Erfoud, is also interesting – a really massive ksar, which is considered to be the start of the Tafilalt proper.
Guides Abdel Karim 0662 294386 or 0667 768907, or arrange through Ifrane-based Journey Beyond Travel journeybeyondtravel.com. Known locally as Tata, Abdel leads treks into the surrounding kasbah-filled valley and palm groves, and can arrange desert trips into Erg Chebbi alongside 4WD excursions into nomadic areas. He is president of a tourism association in Aoufouss, and also has a background as a farmer with a degree in animal husbandry.
The following places are all in or around Aoufouss: some are on the main road through the valley (the N13), and some are on (or reached via) the byroad through the village itself, clearly signed from a turning on the N13. Directions below assume you’re driving southbound along the N13, towards Erfoud.
Gîte Dar Ul From the N13 take the right turn for Aoufouss, then the second right turn (signposted) in the village over a small bridge – then keep looking for signs 0668 158553 or 0634 564242. This clean, well-managed gîte offers four simple but charming rooms in a peaceful location. Owner Hassan’s friendly hospitality makes for a comfortable stay, and the family farms organically and serves up delightfully fresh meals in the restaurant (meals €-€€). A little tricky to find, but if you call ahead Hassan will come and meet you at the turning into Aoufouss. €
Maison d’Hôtes Sahara Aoufouss byroad, 5km from the turning off the N13 maisondhotessahara.com. Perched up against the side of the valley, this Berber family-run guesthouse provides welcoming hospitality alongside amazing views over the palm groves. A small carpet weaving cooperative works from inside the hotel and walks to the kasbahs can be arranged, as well as harvesting fruit and vegetables in the oasis with locals. All rooms are en suite with a/c. HB €€
Maison d’Hôte Zouala N13, 30km south of Er Rachidia and 15km before Aoufouss 0535 578182 or 0672 144633. Pleasant little guesthouse in a Berber farmhouse with traditional en-suite rooms and hot showers – and delicious evening meals served in a vast salon. Trickier to find than the Gîte dans la Palmerie, but worth seeking out for the warm welcome and tranquil location. HB €€
Camping Tissirt Ziz Aoufouss byroad, on the right-hand side shortly before it rejoins the N13 0662 141378. Tucked into the heart of the palm grove and immersed by fig, olive, almond and palm trees, this campsite is well run and has all the usual amenities. Two simple rooms and a Berber tent offer an alternative to camping. The owners can provide meals; breakfast €, tajines for dinner €€. Camping €, double room and Berber tents BB €
ERFOUD, like Er Rachidia, is largely a French-built administrative centre, and its desultory frontier-town atmosphere fulfils little of the promise of the Tafilalt. Arriving from Er Rachidia, however, you get a first, powerful sense of proximity to the desert, with frequent sandblasts ripping through the streets, and total darkness in the event of a (not uncommon) electrical blackout. Erfoud once functioned as a launchpad for trips to the dunes at Merzouga, but has been left high and dry with the surfacing of the Rissani–Merzouga road. Now, unless they’re here for the date festival, it tends to be bypassed by travellers who arrive early enough in the day to pick up onward transport.
500m out of town on the road towards Er Rachidia • Free • fossilserfoudmorocco.com
Erfoud’s only point of (minor) interest is the local marble industry, which produces the attractive black marble that adorns every bar top and reception desk in town. Uniquely, the high-quality stone contains hundreds of little fossils – mostly ammonites and cone-shaped orthoceras – which you can see being slowly revealed in 3D at the Fossils D’Erfoud. It takes an hour for hefty-looking saws to cut the huge blocks into workable chunks, which are then carved, and polished up at smaller hand-held machines. Small decorative products are for sale, such as jewellery boxes and paperweights, though you'd be hard pushed to transport a bathroom basin home.
Arrival and information Erfoud
By bus CTM and Supratours buses depart from Pl des FAR near their offices on Blvd Mohammed V; others, including local buses and minibuses for Merzouga (you may have to change at Rissani), leave from the gare routière which lies just outside of Erfoud on the road towards Tinghir.
Destinations Er Rachidia (1 CTM, 2 Supratours & 12 others daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Fez (1 CTM & 3 Supratours daily via Er Rachidia; 8hr 30min); Marrakesh (1 Supratours daily; 11hr); Meknes (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 7hr 30min); Merzouga (2 Supratours & 4 others daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Midelt (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 3hr–3hr 20min); Ouarzazate (3 Supratours & 4 others daily; 6hr 30min); Rissani (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 5 others daily; 30min–1hr); Tinghir (2 daily; 3hr 30min).
By grand taxi Grands taxis leave from opposite the post office on Av Moulay Ismail, making fairly frequent runs to Er Rachidia (1hr 30min), Rissani (30min), Merzouga (1hr).
Services Most of what you may need – banks, internet, post office, the hospital and a little supermarket – can be found along Av Moulay Ismail.
Accommodation map
Canne 85 Av Moulay Hassan hotelrestaurantcannes.com. Good value, if noisy, central spot run by a team of efficient women, the dated Canne has spotlessly clean a/c rooms, most are triples, as well as a lively café below. Breakfast €€
Kasbah Tizimi 2km west of town on the R702 to Tinghir kasbah-tizimi.com. A modern pisé building featuring traditional wood beams, ironwork and immaculate tiling. The rooms are attractively decorated and ranged around patios and a flower-filled garden, and there’s a large pool, tea room, bar and spacious terrace. Meals are a la carte or buffet depending on occupancy. BB €€
Merzouga 114 Blvd Mohammed V 0535 576532. Best of the rock-bottom options, this hotel has reasonably clean en-suite rooms with hot showers, or you can sleep on the terrace for next to nothing. Breakfast is decent value. Terrace €, double €
Xaluca Arfoud 7km north of town on the N13 to Er Rachidia xaluca.com. Smart pisé hotel complex, part of a small Spanish-owned chain, offering good value at this level. Swish rooms, opening onto small courtyards, are dominated by pastel colours, and the furniture, decor and fittings make use of regional arts and crafts – all the bathrooms are made from the local fossil-filled marble. The poolside bar is open to non-residents, as is the restaurant for the decent buffet lunch and dinner (€€€€). BB €€€
Camping Tifina 8km south of town, on the N13 to Rissani tifina-maroc.com. Far more appealing than Erfoud’s shabby municipal campsite is this well-appointed complex spread across several acres, with camping, Berber tents or West African-style bungalows. Facilities include a nice pool, jacuzzi, hammam, BBQ area and bar. Set dinners €€€. Camping €, Berber tent €, bungalow €
Eating and drinkingmap
Most cafés and restaurants are found on Blvd Av Mohammed V and around Pl des FAR. Try to sample the local specialities: khalia, a spicy stew of mutton or kid, flavoured with over forty spices and served in a tajine with vegetables, egg and parsley; or madfouna, a wheat-flour base topped with onions, tomatoes, olives, minced lamb and cheese that is southern Morocco’s answer to pizza.
As with all such events, Erfoud’s lively Festival of Dates, held over three days in early October, is a mixture of symbolism, sacred rites and entertainment – traditionally, dates bring good luck, whether tied to a baby’s arm (to ensure a sweet nature), thrown at a bride (to encourage fertility) or offered to strangers (to signify friendship).
On the first morning of the festival, prayers are said at the zaouia of Moulay Ali Shereef at Rissani, followed in the evening by a fashion show of traditional costumes: a pride of embroidered silk, silver and gold headdresses, sequins and elaborate jewellery. Then there are processions, camel races and, on the last night, traditional music and spiritual songs.
Dadani Cnr Rue Allal Ben Abdellah and Blvd Mohammed V. Grab a drink and some patisserie at this congenial corner café with a large terrace, or head to the upstairs restaurant for Moroccan staples (including khalia) prepared with fresh ingredients and served in huge portions. Good coffee, too. €
Des Dunes Av Moulay Ismail restaurantdesdunes.com. Smart little restaurant with a welcome greeting: the mouthwatering waft of pizza freshly baked in a wood-fired oven. Moroccan is also on the menu, but it’s difficult to look past their speciality, with eight varieties to choose from – though given the surroundings you should probably go for heart of palm. €€
RISSANI stands at the last visible point of the Oued Ziz; beyond it, steadily encroaching on the present town and its ancient ksour ruins, begins the desert. From the eighth to the fourteenth centuries, this was the site of the first independent kingdom of the south, Sijilmassa, traces of which survive to the west of town. Much later, it became the first capital of the Tafilalt, and served for centuries as the last stop on the great caravan routes – the British journalist Walter Harris reported thriving gold and slave auctions in Rissani as late as the 1890s.
A quarter of today’s population still live in a large seventeenth-century ksar, in addition to which there is just Place al Massira and a single street, lined by the usual administrative buildings you’ll see across the country. It’s a pretty quiet town, coming to life only for its famous weekly souk (Tues, Thurs & Sun), which can often turn up a fine selection of Berber jewellery, including the crude, almost iconographic designs of the desert.
Clearly visible at the beginning of the last century, the ruins of Sijilmassa have all but vanished, its crumbling buildings methodically worn away by the relentless shifting of the sands. The most accessible and visible remains of this once-powerful kingdom are to be found a little to the west of Rissani, on the east bank of the Oued Ziz, and within the right angle formed by the N13 as it turns east to run into town – here you can trace the walls of a mosque with an early mihrab facing south, an adjoining medersa and the waffle-like walls of the citadel, topped by towers on the length by the river.
Just south of El Mansouriya, again on the east bank of the Oued Ziz, you can still see the gate that marked the ancient city’s northern extremity. Known locally as the Bab er Rih, it is thought to date from the Merenid period but has certainly undergone restoration since then.
The circuit is signed off the N13 1.5km west of Rissani but is better driven in a clockwise direction, starting at Ksar Akbar and the Zaouia of Moulay Ali Shereef; from Pl al Massira in Rissani, head towards Merzouga and turn right at the first roundabout (about 1.5km from the square)
The local tourist office has strung together a number of well-preserved medieval ksour to the south of Rissani on a waymarked 21km “Circuit Touristique” through the palmeries. While no longer the bustling communities they once were, the ksour make an interesting and thought-provoking side excursion – it is especially beautiful in the golden light of sunset.
Heading clockwise around the circuit, the first ksar you’ll encounter, about 2.5km southeast of Rissani, is the still impressive, nineteenth-century Ksar Akbar. The ksar is an awesomely grandiose yellow-hued stone ruin that was once a palace in exile, housing the unwanted members of the Alaouite family and the wives of the dead sultans. Most of the structure, which still bears considerable traces of its former decoration, including some tilework, dates from the beginning of the nineteenth century.
The ancient city of Sijilmassa was founded in 757 AD by Berber dissidents, who had broken away from orthodox Islam, and until its collapse under civil unrest in 1393, dominated southern Morocco. The kingdom’s wealth was built on the fertility of the oases south of Erfoud, a string of lush palmeries that are watered by the Oued Gheris and Oued Ziz, which led to Sijilmassa’s description as the “Mesopotamia of Morocco”. Harvests were further improved by diverting the Ziz, just south of modern-day Erfoud, to the west of its natural channel, thus bringing it closer to the Gheris and raising the water table. Such natural wealth was reinforced by Sijilmassa’s trading role on the Salt Road to West Africa, which persisted until the coast was opened up to sea trade, particularly by the Portuguese, in the fifteenth century – coins from Sijilmassa in this period have been found as far afield as Aqaba in Jordan.
Most historians agree that Sijilmassa stretched for 14km, from just south of El Mansouriya to a point near the ksar of Gaouz, on the “Circuit Touristique”, though opinion is still divided over its plan: some see it as a fragmented city, comprising several dispersed ksour, much as it was after the civil war at the end of the fourteenth century, others as a single, elongated city, spread along the banks of the rivers.
The garrison underwent a major restoration by the Alaouites, who brought Sijilmassa to renewed prominence as the provincial capital of the Tafilalt in the seventeenth century, but it was destroyed – this time for good – by the Aït Atta in the early part of the nineteenth century.
In the mid-1990s, the ruins were on the radar of the World Monuments Fund as an endangered site. But despite a decade of excavation, no further preservation work has been carried out since 1998, and the ruins continue to erode into the dry earth of the Tafilalt.
With thanks to Dr Ron Messier
2km southeast of Rissani • Mosque and tomb closed to non-Muslims • Free
Standing proud beside Ksar Akbar is the popular but peaceful Zaouia of Moulay Ali Shereef, the original Alaouite stronghold and mausoleum of the dynasty’s founder. It was from this zaouia (which is still an important national shrine) that the ruling Alaouite dynasty launched its bid for power, conquering first the oases of the south, then the vital Taza Gap, before triumphing finally in Fez and Marrakesh. It has had several face-lifts in its time – most significantly when it was rebuilt in 1965 following the flooding of the Ziz – and owes its modern appearance to the latest round of aesthetic tweaking, in 1997. Although you’re unable to venture beyond the central courtyard, you can still make out the tomb from the entrance, and peer into the mosque next door.
A second royal ksar, Ksar Oualed Abdelhalim, stands 2km further down the road. Although notable for its huge ramparts and the elaborate decorative effects of its blind arches and unplastered brick patterning, it’s unfortunately in a pretty poor state of repair. A ksar was first built here in the fourteenth century, though the current ruins date from 1846, when it was constructed to house the governor of the Tafilalt.
Asserghine, Tabassant and Tingheras
The circuit continues round, passing Asserghine and half a dozen or so other ksour on its way to Tabassant, to the left and some distance from the road. On the way back up to Rissani, a turning to the left leads to Tingheras, perhaps the most interesting ksar on the entire route, set on a knoll and enjoying fine views over the Tafilalt.
2km northeast of Rissani• Donation expected • Coming by car, follow signs from the N13 towards Mezguida
The nineteenth-century Ksar al Fida served as the caïd’s palace until 1965. Today, the welcoming owner is normally on hand to give you a whistle-stop tour of the building in a mixture of French and Arabic; even if you speak neither language, you’ll get his drift. Unfortunately, most of its antique items have been moved to Er Rachidia, but it’s still well worth a visit.
By bus CTM services run from their office in busy Pl al Massira; private buses pull into the bus station 500m to the north. Minibus vans leave for Merzouga hourly from the square. All northbound services go via Erfoud and Er Rachidia.
Destinations Er Rachidia (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 5 others daily; 1hr 45min); Erfoud (1 CTM, 1 Supratours & 4 others daily; 30–45min); Fez (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 8hr 15min–9hr); Marrakesh (1 Supratours & 3 others daily; 12hr); Meknes (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 8–9hr); Merzouga (2 Supratours daily; 30min); Midelt (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 4hr); Ouarzazate (1 Supratours; 7hr 30min); Tinghir (1 Supratours daily; 4hr 30min); Zagora (1 daily; 6hr).
By grand taxi Taxis to and from Erfoud (30min) use a rank opposite Hôtel Sijilmassa, just north of Pl al Massira; taxis for Merzouga (30min) leave from opposite the pharmacy on the corner of the square.
Money Both the Banque Populaire and Crédit Agricole on Pl al Massira have ATMs (the last chance to get money out before the Sahara, as there are no ATMs in Merzouga).
Accommodation and eatingmap
With the dunes just down the road, few travellers spend the night in Rissani, instead visiting on a day-trip from Merzouga (or Erfoud) or taking in the ksour en route elsewhere. Those that do stop over tend to stay at places just outside of town, on the N13 to Erfoud – the small hotels in the centre are generally grubby and overpriced. Eating options are equally limited: head for the area around the souk for standard café food.
El Manzah Opposite the Ksar Ouled Abdelhalim, along the Circuit Touristique. A peaceful place to stop off for lunch when touring the Circuit Touristique, conveniently sited next to one of its main highlights. The brochettes are tasty, but of course the madfouna is a speciality. €
Kasbah Ennasra Next to the Ziz petrol station 3km north of town, on the N13 to Erfoud ennasra.com. Rissani’s best luxury option: highlights include four-poster beds (in spacious rooms), an attractive patio and swimming pool, hammam, and a first-class restaurant (set menus from €€€). Non-residents can drop by for lunch or dinner (mains €€-€€€) and a dip in the pool. BB €€
No one who has stayed in the Sahara for awhile is quite the same as when he came… Once a man has been under the spell of the vast, luminous, silent country, no other place is quite strong enough for him, no other surroundings can provide the supremely satisfying sensation of existing in the midst of something that is absolute.
Their Heads are Green and their Hands are Blue, Paul Bowles
The Erg Chebbi dunes at MERZOUGA are indisputably one of the great sights of Morocco. Rising to 150m in places, these giant sand hills lining the Algerian border may not be as imposing nor as extensive as some in North Africa, but they come closer than anywhere else in the country (at least, anywhere else that’s relatively accessible) to fulfilling most people’s expectations of what a true desert should be. The result, though, is that Merzouga can sometimes feel less like the désert profond than a Saharan circus, with groups of luxuriously turbaned tourists posing for photographs with hommes bleus under the acacia trees or astride camels.
To stand any chance of experiencing the scenery in its essential state, you should aim to come here out of season (Jan & Feb are the quietest months) and choose your spot very carefully. At the height of summer, the few visitors who brave the fierce heat to reach Merzouga are mostly Moroccans, attracted by the reputed power of the sands to cure rheumatism. Sufferers are buried up to the neck for a few minutes in the afternoon – any longer (and earlier) than that can be fatal.
Rising dramatically from a plain of blackened hammada, the dunes of the Erg Chebbi stretch 28km from north to south and are 7km across at their widest point – a relatively modest sea of sand compared with the great Erg Occidental of southern Algeria but still an impressive taste of the Sahara’s grandeur. The highest dunes are those near, or just south of, Merzouga itself, peaking with the aptly named Grande Dune de Merzouga, a golden mountain recognizable – in addition to being the tallest dune around – by the distinctive tamarisk tree at its base. The dunes are spectacular at any time of day, but early morning and late afternoon are the best times to view them; to find a relatively peaceful ridge free of footprints, however, you’ll have to be prepared to walk for an hour, or else arrange a camel trip.
Arrival and departure Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi
Thanks to the paved road from Rissani, getting to Merzouga is easy, though getting to your hotel isn’t quite so smooth. Pistes – marked with posts – peel east off the main road at regular intervals (at junctions flagged by signboards); if you’re driving in a standard rental car, don’t be tempted to improvise, as there are many patches of soft sand where you might easily get stuck. To avoid the faux guides who greet buses and grands taxis, book your accommodation in advance and try to get your hotel to meet you on arrival.
By bus Both CTM and Supratours make the long journey down from Marrakech to Merzouga, stopping in Ouarzazate, Tinghir, Erfoud and Rissani. Supratours also has a direct service down from Fez, stopping in most of the major towns including Er Rachidia and Rissani. There are also local buses from Erfoud and Rissani.
Destinations Er Rachidia (1 Supratours daily: 2hr 15min); Erfoud (1 CTM, 2 Supratours & 4 others daily; 1hr–1hr 30min); Fez (1 Supratours daily; 10hr 45min); Marrakesh (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 12hr 30min); Ouarzazate (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 8hr); Rissani (1 CTM & 2 Supratours daily; 30–45min); Tinghir (1 CTM & 1 Supratours daily; 5hr).
By grand taxi Grands taxis regularly ply the route from Rissani to Merzouga village (30min), leaving from the corner of Pl al Massira.
Having crossed Morocco to stand at the edge of the Sahara, you can hardly leave without hopping onto a camel and heading off into the dunes. Rides range from a one- to two-hour lollop over the crescents to catch the sunrise or sunset to a fifteen-night expedition deep into the desert; most people opt for an overnight stay at a Berber camp where you’ll enjoy the clearest of night skies and a memorable sunrise the following day. A cameleer, meals, tea and blankets are included in the price, but it’s advisable to bring extra clothes and a sleeping bag, as nights can get excruciatingly cold. If you’ve never been to the desert before, think about starting with a short trip before signing up for longer journeys – the feeling of pure isolation, surrounded by a seemingly never-ending sea of sand, is an incredible experience (described as a “baptism of solitude” by Paul Bowles), but it’s not to everyone’s taste.
You can arrange a trip through your hotel or at one of the other auberges around Merzouga; Kasbah Mohayut and Nomad Palace are particularly recommended, or you could contact Trips in Morocco (tripsinmorocco.com), a local operator who also specializes in longer trips and tours from Marrakesh and Fez. Whatever company you chose to go through, each is likely to use its own jealously guarded routes and camps – the smaller, more expensive setups (usually no more than six people) are more atmospheric but less comfortable than the permanent camps – but it can be a matter of luck whether you hit a crowded section of the dunes or not. Generally, the further from the main group of auberges you go, the more chance you have of avoiding other camel trains and (even more importantly) 4WD drivers and quad bikers, though their noisy antics have been more limited in recent years. Note, too, that the longer multi-day trips stop operating after February, after which time it just gets too hot.
Camel rides The most popular activity in Merzouga can be arranged at hotels and auberges, or with tour companies Best of Merzouga or Trips in Morocco.
Sandboarding Most operaters that organize overnight stays at Berber camps offer sandboarding as part of the itinerary and you can go sandboarding on the dunes south of the village; Le Grand Dépôt de Merzouga, 300m down the street from Café des Amis, on the corner of the main road through Merzouga village, rents boards.
Guided tours Several hotels run guided tours of the oasis at the end of Hassi Labiad or to nearby villages to listen to Gnaoua music. Additionally, you can contact Abdel Karim who can set up guided and driving tours of the region.
Accommodation and eatingmap
Merzouga’s accommodation is strung out over a wide area, nestled at the foot of the dunes in a straggling line; much of it is actually around Hassi Labiad, the small village north of Merzouga proper. It helps to know where your chosen hotel actually is before you arrive, as the final leg off the N13 from Rissani is across rough hammada and can be a long one if you stay at the northernmost group of hotels, some of which lie a considerable way from the tarmac. Outside high season, rates are surprisingly low, mainly because most places make their real money on camel trips. With just a few unremarkable café-restaurants to choose from, you’ll get a much better deal if you eat at your hotel, paying an inclusive half- or full-board rate. The accommodation below is listed in the order you encounter it from Rissani.
Auberge Derkaoua 23km north of Merzouga village; 5km from the main road 0535 577140 or 0661 343677. Beautiful pisé complex in traditional style, set amid olive, almond and fruit orchards on the northern fringes of Erg Chebbi. The traditionally decorated en-suite rooms are very comfortable, but you’ll probably want to spend more time lazing in the lovely garden, which has a pool and a pretty terrace restaurant. Closed Jan, July & Aug. BB €€
Auberge Kasbah Mohayut 4.5km north of Merzouga village; 2km from the main road hotelmohayut.com. Welcoming duneside kasbah, run with a smile by Moha and his cousin, whose cheerily decorated rooms flank shady corridors or are dotted around a pleasant pool. You can tuck into tasty meals in an attractive tree-dappled courtyard; there’s a good buffet breakfast, too. Organizes a variety of camel rides as well as more unusual trips, such as a mule-back tour of the Hassi Labiad oasis. BB €€
Auberge l’Oasis 6.5km north of Merzouga village, at Hassi Labiad; 2.5km from the main road aubergeoasismerzouga.com. Previously a Koran school, this jolly little setup has simple en-suite rooms around a central garden and swimming pool, and the option of bunking down on the roof terrace or pitching a tent (with light, water and power). Bargain dinner menu. Terrace €, camping €, BB double €
Chez Julia 100m behind the mosque in Merzouga village chezjulia.xtadia.com. In a traditional desert house in Merzouga itself, this perennial favourite is defined by an appealing combination of comfort and authenticity. Owned and run by Austrian painter Julia Günther, the auberge has half a dozen uniquely decorated colour-themed rooms, sharing three bathrooms between them. The good menu features a freshly prepared combination of Moroccan and Austrian dishes (from Schnitzel to pastilla) and set dinners are decent value. BB €€
Dar el Janoub 3.5km north of Merzouga village; 2km from the main road dareljanoub.com. One of the better top-end places, with large, minimalist rooms, a shady courtyard, a lovely pool that’s softly lit at night, and a perfect terrace for sundowners, right by the desert’s edge. If you really want to push the boat out, take one of the two suites that enjoy their own lounge and private terrace overlooking the dunes (€€€€). HB €€€
Kanz Erremal 4km north of Merzouga village; 2km from the main road 0535 578482. Stylish kasbah with variety of lantern-lit rooms adorned with hand-crafted local knick-knacks – some come with private terrace and dune views, and all have swish little bathrooms. The large public areas leading off the central atrium make a pleasant retreat from the sun, though the highlights lie outside: a chic terrace at the edge of the sand and a superb infinity pool that gives the impression you’re actually taking a dip in the Sahara. BB €€
Kasbah Yasmina 18km north of Merzouga village; 11km from the main road merzougayasminahotel.com. Established auberge right on the dunes, beside a seasonal lake where you might see flamingos – the location is spectacular, the views from the sunny rear terrace superb and there’s also a nice pool. The cool rooms and suites vary widely in price depending on the view and size, and there’s also a large grouping of cheaper Berber tents at the edge of the sand. HB Berber tent €, double €€
Maison Merzouga Guest House 6.5km north of Merzouga village, at Hassi Labiad; 2.5km from the main road merzouga-guesthouse.com. Ten doubles and triples in the pisé guesthouse of the Seggaoui family, set back from the dunes but with cosy rooms, a keyhole pool and plenty of good old-fashioned hospitality. Sandboarding and Berber cooking classes can be arranged as well as the usual desert tours. BB €€
Nomad Palace 7km south of Merzouga village, at Ksar Mezguida hotelnomadpalace.com. The dunes aren’t as high at this far southern end of the Erg Chebbi, but the area’s much more peaceful as a result. The auberge boasts a huge Moroccan salon with an open fire, and well-furnished rooms opening onto a quiet courtyard garden and swimming pool. The owner also runs excellent camel trips to a less frequented area on the far, east side of Erg Chebbi, via a more varied route than normal. HB €€
Panorama 2km north of Merzouga village; 1km from the main road 0668 967625. Run by the hospitable Aït Bahaddou family, this budget auberge stands further from the sand than most, at the top of a hill outside Merzouga, but the views are stupendous: the sunset terrace enjoys arguably the best panorama this side of the Atlas. The rooms (some sleeping three or four) are well aired and the restaurant serves tasty tajines and madfouna (“Berber pizza”). They run various tours including visits to hear Gnaoua music at a nearby village. HB €
Riad Madu 4.5km north of Merzouga village; 2km from the main roadriadmadu.com. A very stylish and contemporary option with an original feel. Ten rooms (four luxury suites and six standard) come with their own unique decor centred around a particular colour. The open-view kitchen serves delightful Moroccan and Berber food with a modern twist (fixed price set menu). A swimming pool and roof terrace complete the picture. The riad also owns its own luxury camp in the dunes for the same rates. HB €€€
At first glance, the desert seems harsh and inhospitable, a scorched habitat devoid of life bar the occasional scarab beetle leaving tiny tracks across the sand. But there are acacias, tamarisk and calotropis here, and lichens and algae that survive on the dew that clings to the undersides of rocks and stones.
Such modest pickings provide sustenance for the many birds that pass through on their spring and autumn migrations, as well as native desert-dwelling species. Spotted sandgrouse, white-crowned wheatears, Egyptian nightjars, eagle owls and Houbara bustards are just a few of the magnificent species that can be seen, while, incredibly, greater flamingos can sometimes be found at Dayet Sriji and other lakes near Merzouga – but bear in mind that these can disappear to nothing in dry years.
The desert and hammada also house reptiles such as Berber skink, Montpellier snake and fringe-toed lizard, whose feet are perfectly adapted for their desert environment, as well as nocturnal mammals; you’re less likely to see them, but jerboa, desert hedgehogs and fennec (desert fox) make their presence felt by leaving footprints in the morning sand.
Money Note that there are no ATMs in Merzouga, so you’ll need to get cash out in Rissani if necessary.
Post office There’s a post office at the northern end of Merzouga village, just beyond the turn-off to Nomad Palace.
Around 3km north of Rissani, the N12 branches west off the main Erfoud road towards Alnif, Tazzarine, N’Kob and, ultimately, Zagora. The route sees little tourist traffic but provides a scenic link between the Tafilalt and the Drâa Valley, with the barren majesty of the Jebel Saghro shadowing the road for much of its length. Aside from the landscape, fossils are this region’s main attraction – the stretch between Alnif and Tazzarine, in particular, has become the centre of a low-scale mining industry whose principal export is large trilobites, sold from dozens of roadside stalls.
Trilobites and potatoes are the stock in trade of ALNIF, 90km west of Rissani – the former scraped from ancient canyon walls around the town, the latter grown in the palmery winding northwards into the hills. It’s along the line of this old watercourse that a well-frequented piste cuts across a saddle dividing the Jebel Saghro and Jebel Ougnat ranges to join the N10, the main Dadès highway, 21km southeast of Tinghir. In town, the Ihmadi Trilobites Centre (on the main road) sells genuine fossils with fixed pricing – the owner, Mohand, spent time mapping the area for the British Geological Survey and runs short trips to local fossil sites (0666 221593, alnifearth@gmail.com).
Beyond Alnif, the scenery grows wilder as you approach TAZZARINE, 66km to the west and set in a grassy oasis surrounded by bare mountains. There’s a straggling row of shops but little you’d really want to stop for in town. Further afield, though, at Tiouririne (7km away) and Aït Ouazik (26km), you can find some vivid prehistoric rock carvings (gravures rupestres), the six-thousand-year-old drawings depicting giraffes, ostriches, buffalo, antelope and other animals from a time when the surrounding area was grassy steppe – ask at Camping Amasttou, 800m down a track to the left at the Taghbalte/N’Kob junction just west of town.
The rambling ksar of N’KOB, 190km west of Rissani and only 40km from the junction with the Drâa Valley road, dominates the most spectacular stretch of the N12, its kasbah-studded old quarter looking north from the rim of an escarpment across a large palmery to the peaks of the Jebel Saghro. The number of grand houses in N’Kob testify to its former prominence as a market hub for the region, but today the town is a refreshingly off-track destination – other than a couple of prehistoric rock-carving sites across the valley (which you’ll need help from your hotel or guesthouse to find), there’s nothing much to see, but the traditional pisé architecture and fine views from the roof terraces tempt many visitors into staying longer than they intended.
Precious stones? Buying rocks and fossils in the south
Throughout the south, boys bound into the paths of oncoming cars to offer crystalline mementoes of Morocco, and rocks and fossils fill most tourist shops across the region. But before you part with your hard-earned dirhams, it’s worth knowing what to look out for: tennis-ball-sized crystals in a hollow geode can cost more on the Moroccan hard-shoulder than they would in Britain or the US, while brilliant orange and red geodes look attractive but are unknown to natural science, as are the rock crystal (quartz) given an iridescent metal coating by vendors.
Attractive spirals of ammonites (Carboniferous to Jurassic) are common in limestone areas of Britain, but in Morocco they can be bought sliced and polished as well as “raw”. Don’t rely on the names you’re given by the shopkeeper – look at the centre spiral of the ammonite and the ridge around its shell to check how far features have been “enhanced” by a chisel.
Slightly older than ammonites, trilobites appear in shops as identical beige-coloured fossils on grey slate. In nature, they are rarely so perfect – beware plaster casts. The early trilobite Paradoxides is about the size of a hand, with long whisker-like spines. A deep-sea inhabitant, it is often found looking rather squashed sideways, where the silts on which it lived have been sheared by pressure. The Calymene and Phacops types of trilobites are about 200 million years younger than Paradoxides, and measure about two inches long, with a crab-like outer skeleton. The half-rounded shield-like skull, often found separated from the exo-skeleton, can appear in a shop with the skeleton carved around it as a tribute to modern Moroccan craftsmanship.
In the black limestone regions near Erfoud, the white crystalline shapes of nautilus and orthoceras are cross-sectioned and polished to emphasize their internal structure before being formed into ashtrays and coffee tables. They can of course be transported for you at a cost – though they never quite seem to look so good back home.
For trekkers, N’Kob serves as an important staging post for trips across the Jebel Saghro, though you can also explore the mountains from a spectacular piste that heads north of town to crest the Saghro via the Tazi n’ Tazazert, eventually dropping into the Dadès Valley at Iknioun, near Boumalne du Dadès. Winding through dramatic rock formations and gorges, the route rivals the crossing of the High Atlas, with superb views from the pass. An added incentive is the spectacular pinnacles of Bab n’Ali, which you can reach in a half-day’s walk from a pleasant, conveniently situated gîte, 8km along the road from N’Kob.
Arrival and information West to the Drâa
By public transport Buses cover the route between Rissani and Zagora (1 daily; 6hr), leaving Rissani’s gare routière at 10am; grands taxis depart from the rank near Hôtel Sijilmassa (1hr) for Alnif, where you can pick up another taxi for the next onwards leg.
By car It’s a long haul to the Drâa (295km from Rissani to Zagora), but the road is good; there are petrol stations in Mecissi, Alnif and Tazzarine. Leaving Tazzarine, make sure you turn right to stay on the N12/R108 for Zagora – the road that heads straight on, to Zagora via Taghbalte, is a rough piste that, despite being much shorter, will actually take you a lot longer.
Guides The Bureau des Guides in N’Kob (0667 487509) arrange various treks into the Jebel Saghro, including a reverse of the classic three-day Tagdilt–N’Kob crossing; alternatively any of the hotels in N’Kob can arrange excursions into the range.
Most people cover the road between Rissani and the Drâa in one go, but given the distance, you may want to break the journey in two; if so, it’s worth pushing on to N’Kob, by far the most appealing place to stay along this route, with a good choice of accommodation.
Etoile du Sud In the centre of town, on the left as you head towards Tazzarine The best place for a quick meal if you’re just passing through, this simple café has friendly staff and reasonably priced traditional food – the menu includes tasty beef skewers, brochette and good chips. €
La Gazelle du Sud At the top end of town 0670 233942.There’s no denying this place is bright: done out in pink, with the handful of small and simple rooms (three en suite) a contrasting shade of mint green. The clean bathrooms are spiked with incense, and there’s also an on-site restaurant open to all (mains €). €
Auberge Ouadjou 500m west of town aubergeouadjou.com. The best camping option in the area with very good facilities, though you can also sleep in Berber tents or in one of the seven compact but clean rooms in a pisé kasbah complex. There’s a swimming pool and a cheerful restaurant and Berber cooking classes can be arranged. Camping €, HB Berber tent €, HB double €
Kasbah Baha Baha The old quarter kasbahabaha.com. This splendidly renovated kasbah is owned by an ethnographer from Marrakesh, with a library of interesting academic papers, a small museum and some lovely rooms in the square towers on the upper floors, decorated with plush Moroccan textiles and carpets. Outside, the garden features a couple of mock-Berber encampments flanking a pool, and the whole site enjoys a wonderful panorama over the valley. Mule trips into the Jebel Saghro and camel rides into the hammada can be arranged. BB €
Ksar Jenna 2km west of town 0524 839790. Owned and run by an Italian-Moroccan couple, this self-consciously chic place has just seven rooms, all stylishly furnished with ceramics and expensive textiles – though the highlight is a lush garden filled with flowers, fruit trees and water features. Lunch and dinner (open to non-residents) is a daily-changing affair. HB €€
Hard up against the Algerian border, in the far southeast of the country, and once a stop on the route between Tangier and Timbuktu across the Sahara, the charming oasis town of FIGUIG (pronounced “F’geeg”) today is literally the end of the road. The border has been closed since 1994, turning Figuig into an isolated outpost, and so the long slog to get here from Er Rachidia is a somewhat perverse route to take – a lot of travelling in order to complete a loop via Bouarfa to Oujda in northern Morocco. For those that do make the trip (and not many do), the journey is half the fun: spectacular in its isolation and scenically extraordinary, dominated by huge empty landscapes, blank red mountains, mining settlements and military garrisons.
The other half is the town itself, nestled in its oasis of possibly 200,000 date palms, and studded with seven strange, archaic shapeed, pink-tinged ksour, their watchtowers having evolved as much from internal tension within the ksour as from any need to protect themselves from the nomadic tribes of the desert. It’s a laidback place, where life ticks by at an addictively slower rhythm, and the simple pleasure of wandering its shady alleys never seems to fade.
By bus Buses stop at the gare routière on Blvd Hassan II, the main road through the new town, with services to Oujda (2 daily; 6–7hr) via Bouarfa (2hr), where you can connect to Er Rachidia (2 daily; 5hr).
By car It’s a very long journey from both Er Rachidia (378km) and Oujda (386km) but easy enough in a normal tourist car, the only diversion being the roadside gendarmerie who pass the time collecting car numbers and your mother’s maiden name (the “undefined boundary” with Algeria runs parallel to the road).
Guides It can be worth hiring a guide through your hotel to help you navigate the the palm groves and the confusing network of alleyways that make up Figuig’s various ksour.
Services A petrol station and Crédit Agricole and Banques Populaires, with ATMs, are on Blvd Hassan II in the new town.
Figuig Blvd Hassan II 0536 899309. Friendly place with slightly shabby but spacious and spotless en suite rooms in the modern part of town, with stunning views down the valley to the closed border, and Algeria beyond. There’s also a secure area for camping and a café that benefits from the same memorable vista (tajines or couscous but order in advance), though the pool can sometimes lack its essential ingredient. Guides can be arranged here to help you navigate the confusing network of alleyways in town. Camping €, double €
Maison Nana Rue Ouled Sellam Ksar Zenaga 0536 897570 or 0658 579573. The hotch-potch of seven en suite rooms may lack character, but the warmth of hosts Sylvie and Mostapha more than makes up for it, as does the food, made with vegetables from their own garden. Great views and stargazing are to be had on the panoramic terrace. HB €€
