After filling up the car in Foum-Zguid, buying water and veggies, and a quick lunch at a restaurant, we hit the road again, to tackle a track leading over the mountains to Tissint. The route was described as very rocky, but the first part was very comfortable, which made us confident it can’t be too bad. Just when we started to climb the first mountain pass, it got very rocky.

The track was not difficult, just that we had to drive annoyingly slow, with 6km/h average speed. After the pass came a valley, but the track didn’t improve. We climbed the second pass and it was even worse. We expected the track to get better after that pass, when the descent to Tissint started, which didn’t happen.


When we spotted an even spot, full of rocks of course, but good enough, we decided to spend the night here and continue the next morning. We had a great view and the evening sky was very special, turning flame red.
Before we left the next day, two rally buggies came along our route, driving with an incredible speed of maybe 80km/h. We couldn’t believe our eyes. They were flying over the rocks which had made us crawl.
The track got only better when we finally reached the plain around Tissint. We stopped at the Cascades Attiq, a little waterfall at the river.


Just north of Tissint, it was worth taking a little detour into the valley, where 2 rivers meet.





Further west, the river was dry, but erosion had formed a fascinating landscape on both sides.
We reached Tata, where we spent 1 night at a campsite with numerous other campers. The owner recommended us a tire shop in town, where we went the next morning. Already for a long time, one of our tires was loosing a little bit of pressure. The ride over the rocks had increased it, and we had it repaired for 8 Euros. A nail was removed and the hole sealed, which took about 45 minutes.

As soon as we had left Tata to the west, the landscape got fascinating. The rock formations and colours of the rocks were a feast for the eye.





We left the main road and followed a track leading to the Akka gold mines south of Afella Ighir. There were road works going on, and soon this track will be a good tar road.



When we reached Afella Ighir, we took the road leading north to Tafraout. From the beginning we drove through a fascinating valley with old mud brick villages, only partly in use nowadays. The route got more and more fascinating, and we finally realised, we were driving through the famous gorge of Aït Mansour. The road was taking us through the narrow river bed, with palm trees surrounding us.



If you come from Tafraoute, this valley is less than 30 km away. There is a parking from where you can explore the valley on foot or with your bikes. For sure worth it!

We reached Tafraoute after sunset and went to the huge parking for campers. An area the town provides for 1.5 Euros per night. There were for sure more than 100 campers, but the place is big enough.
We look forward to exploring Tafraoute and its surrounding from here – more soon!