Over the Anti-Atlas to Tafraoute, a small town in a valley of pink granite boulders and almond trees. We visit the famous Painted Rocks, where boulders were painted blue, red and yellow in the desert, walk among the villages of the Ameln Valley under Jbel Lekst, and on Wednesdays explore the weekly Tafraoute souk.
About 165 km each way, roughly 3 hours of mountain driving each way. Market days are subject to change, especially around holidays and Ramadan; we confirm the day with you before the trip.
Pickup from your hotel in Agadir · Drop-off back in Agadir
Around 7:30 AM
A long day with about 6 hours of driving on winding mountain roads. The scenery is the reward. Spring, when the almond trees blossom, is especially beautiful.
We pick you up at your hotel in Agadir at 7:30 and drive south-east across the Souss plain, where argan trees grow between the fields and, if you are lucky, goats climb into their branches to eat the fruit. After Ait Baha, a small market town at the foot of the Anti-Atlas, the road starts to wind up through stone villages, terraces and wide views back towards the coast.
Tafraoute sits in a valley of pink granite boulders and almond groves, and it is one of the quietest, friendliest towns in the south. On Wednesdays the weekly souk fills the centre with farmers from the surrounding villages. On other days we take a short walk through town, which is known for its handmade leather slippers.
A few kilometres outside town, the Belgian artist Jean Vérame painted a field of giant boulders blue, red and pink in 1984, and they have been repainted since. You walk among them with the bare mountains behind, one of the strangest and most photogenic places in Morocco.
Time for lunch in town (not included). Try a tagine, or amlou with fresh bread: amlou is the local paste of almonds, argan oil and honey, made in these valleys.
In the afternoon we drive along the Ameln Valley under the long ridge of Jbel Lekst, past villages of pink and ochre houses among almond and argan trees. We stop to look for the rock face known as the Lion’s Head on the mountainside. If you come in February, the almond trees are in blossom.
We take the road back through Ait Baha and down to the Souss plain, and drop you at your hotel in Agadir around 18:30.
