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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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”.