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Tafraoute – Getting There

Approached by beautiful scenic roads through the Anti-Atlas from Tiznit or Agadir, or on a newly surfaced and less traveled road from Igherm and Tata, Tafraoute is worth all the effort and time it takes to reach. The town is the center for villages built among a wind-eroded, jagged panorama of granite tors – “like the badlands of South Dakota”, as Paul Bowles put it, “writ on a grand scale”. To the northwest lies the Ameln Valley, with its many villages built below or high among the quartz range of the Djebel el Kest. A striking feature on it is the Lion’s Face – a rock formation which really does look like the face of a lion in the afternoon light when seen from Tafraoute.

The best time for a visit to Tafraoute is early spring, in order to see the almond trees in full blossom, or in autumn, after the intense heat has subdued. In midsummer, it can be stunningly hot here, destroying almost all incentive to wander round the villages.

The routes from Tiznit and Agadir

Both the main approaches to Tafraoute are rewarding and, if you’re driving, you may well want to take advantage of this by coming in from Tiznit and leaving for Agadir, or vice versa. If you’re doing just one, the Tiznit approach has a distinct edge, winding through a succession of gorges and a grand mountain valley.

Buses and grands taxis cover the route from Tiznit several times daily, but there is only one bus a day along the road from Agadir via Ait Baha.

Tiznit to Tafraout

The Tiznit-Tafraout road passes a succession of oasis-like villages, almost all of them named after the souk that they are host to. In winter and spring the road is sometimes crossed by streams but it is generally passable enough; the drive takes around two hours, but leave plenty of time to see (and navigate) the mountains before dusk.

Tafraout

At ASSAKA (20km from Tiznit), a substantial bridge has been built over the Oued Tazeroualt – the river that causes most difficulty in winter and spring. Around 19km further on, just before Tighmi, a road heads south into the Anti Atlas to the Zaouia of Sidi Ahmed ou Moussa (10km), which for a while in the seventeenth century controlled its own local state, the Tazeroualt, whose capital was at nearby (and now deserted) Illigh. The zaouia remains active and hosts a moussem during the second or third week of August, which would be worth trying to attend. Sidi Ahmed is the patron saint of Morocco’s acrobats, most of whom come from this region of Morocco – and return to perform.

Just beyond TIGHMI (aka Tirhmi; 42km from Tiznit), the road begins its ascent of the Col du Kerdous (1100m). At the top of the pass, the Hotel Kerdous (048 86 20 63, 048 60 03 15), created from an old fortress, is worth at least a stop for a tea and breathtaking views. This area is also a hot spot for paragliding – Mohammed Ouhammou Sahnoun or Houssine Laroussi at the Coin des Nomades shop in Tafraoute has more details.

At the end of the descent is the village of JEMAA IDA OUSSEMLAL (64km from Tiznit), which offers basic rooms at the Hotel de la Victoire, and the last petrol station before Tafraoute. The road divides as you enter the village. The left fork, which runs downhill through the village (and past the hotel), is the” old road”, a picturesque route that drops into the Ameln Valley via Had Tahala (once a Jewish village). The right fork, skirting the village, is a “new road” to Tafraoute, via Ait Ouafka and IZERBI, where the minister of housing has a Disney-style chateau. It is a longer route but well surfaced, flatter and faster going, arriving in Tafraoute through a grand spectacle of mountains and the lunar landscape around Agard Oudad. There’s even a third possibility now, avoiding Izerbi by taking a left where the road forks just after Ait Ouafka.

Agadir/lnezgane to Tafraoute via An Baha

The road runs from Agadir to Tafraoute via Ait Baha. It is a bit drab between Agadir and Ait Baha, but the section from there on to Tafraoute is a highly scenic (and slow and winding) mountain ride past a series of fortified kasbah villages. There’s one daily bus along this route, plus another from Agadir to Ait Baha only.

AIT BAHA is the largest village on the route, and becomes a lively shopping center on souk day (Wednesday). It has two basic hotels, the Tez Jraoute and the El Massira, and a newer, better one, the Al Adarissa (048 25 44 61), two cafes and very little shade.

Beyond, the spectacular fortified village in the region is TIOULIT off to the right of the road, around 35km from Ait Baha (the best views are look ing back once you’ve passed it). Another 25km brings you to a junction of roads, with the left fork heading off to Igherm on the Tata loop (a very rough piste once you pass the village of Att Abdallah), the right to Tafraoute. Around 5km beyond this junction is the village of SIDI ABDALLAH EL JABAR, scene of a small, but lively moussem around its zaouia, celebrated annually October 20-22.