Here, the foothills of the High Atlas meet the
desert sands, creating landscapes of arid beauty
adorned by the luminous green of the palm groves.
A land of contrasts, of deep canyons and valleys
whose rivers disappear at the fringes of the Sahara.
The kasbahs and the kasars, magnificent constructions
made of humble adobe, lead us to seasonal lakes
inhabited by flamingos. And the oases, the soul
of the desert, without which there would be no life.
Magical surroundings for an unforgettable stay,
full of experiences for all the senses.
Erfoud
A quiet city to the north
of Rissani, originating from the French garrison
established in 1917 to pacify the Tafilalet Valley.
From here start the routes to the dunes of Erg Chebbi
in Merzouga.
In October, after the harvest, the colourful Festival
of the Dates is held over three days. This is a
religious and civil celebration which brings together
the local tribes. And at any time of the year, you
can buy here the amazing polished marble incrusted
with fossils, over 300 million years old.
Less than 3 kilometres to the south-east, from the
heights of the small bastion of Borj Est, you can
contemplate the panoramas of the palm groves and
the surrounding desert.
Todra Gorge
Not for the faint-hearted,
the spectacular Todra Gorge is a geological fault
whose sheer walls drop 300 metres down to the river
which cuts its way through to the Tinerhir palm
grove, just a few kilometres away from the town
of the same name, on the road from Errachidia to
Ouarzazate.
Well worth an early morning walk as the sun lights
up the red walls of the cliffs.
OASeS
Fragile islands of fertility
in hostile, arid surroundings, oases exist thanks
to the aquifers which spring up there, and to the
water received from the mountain streams.
The timeless labour of man maintains a system of
subterranean canals, kheftaras and irrigation channels
that supply the water for the crops.
Found in oases since time immemorial, the kasar
is a communal fortification where the settled population
protected their lives and their belongings from
the attacks of nomadic tribes when the harvest was
over.
There are numerous oases in the lands crossed by
the River Ziz and in the more remote Dades and Draa
Valleys.
RISSANI
The capital of the legendary
kingdom of Sijilmassa, whose ruins are conserved
nearby, was in times past the hub of the caravan
routes that wound from Morocco to Mali and Niger.
Standing on the edge of the desert, the road ends
here and, beyond the city, becomes a network of
sandy tracks that disappear into the Sahara.
But first, you must visit the souk, famous for the
hundreds of asses to be found there, and for the
artisan blacksmiths who still work the metal using
age-old techniques.
To the south of the palm
grove, about 2-km away, is the mausoleum of
Mulay Ali Cherif, where non-Muslims may not
enter, surrounded by numerous kasars, such as
the Kasar Aber and the Kasar Fida. The Kasar
Tinrheras is a visit that cannot be missed,
at dusk, when the sight of its palm grove is
quite unique.
ERG CHEBBI
dunes
Close by the small oasis of
Merzouga, the dunes of Erg Chebbi, rising out of
the stony desert, are coloured with infinite nuances
in the evening light, as the sky gives way to a
crystal clear blanket of stars. To contemplate this
exhibition of nature in its purest form is something
that no traveller should miss.
As Paul Bowles said:
“Immediately when
you arrive in the Sahara, for the first time
or the tenth, you notice the stillness. An incredible,
absolute silence prevails outside the towns;
and within, even in busy places like the markets,
there is a hushed quality in the air, as if the
quiet were a constant force which, resenting
the intrusion of sound, minimizes and disperses
it straightaway. Then there is the sky, compared
to which all other skies seem faint-hearted efforts… When
all daylight has gone, and the space is thick
with stars, it is still of an intense and burning
blue, darkest directly overhead and paling towards
the earth, so that the night never really grows
dark”.