From Tafraoute, we drove south on a good road in the direction of Igmir. Our final destination was Amtoudi, but on the way we took a detour called “Route des Canyons”, which took us to a fascinating landscape formed by the Aït Mansour, the river we had already followed on our way to Tafraoute.
We drove over a pass, from where we had a last view in the direction of Tafraoute, before we reached the turn-off to the canyons.
The road was general in good condition, just some parts had been washed away by the heavy rains last year.
Suddenly we arrived at an incredible view point, where the riverbed was carved deep into the rocks.
The road took us further down into the valley and past the “Fenêtre de la Vie”, a very unusual rock formation of a rectangular window, which we saw from both sides, as the valley snakes down to the main gorge.
We reached a small village, glued to the side of the gorge, where the road ends. Driving this route all the way back up gave different perspectives and was as much a pleasure as driving down.
Back on the main road, we continued down into the gorge again, just a bit further south, where we reached the village of Igmir, nestled into the gorge.
Further down the valley, where it widened, there were more villages. Along the river, hundreds of uprooted palm trunks were deposited there by the heavy floods, for sure a disaster for the villages along the river.
We reached Amtoudi in the afternoon and went to the campsite, from where we had a great view of the Agadir. The nearly full moon rose in the late afternoon just behind the castle-like building on the mountain top. Tomorrow, we will hike up there – more soon!