The Dades Valley is the principal route between the desert and the ancient trading oases of the Tifilalt.
The High Atlas rear to the northern side of the route, and at Todra there is a dramatic gorge cutting into the mountainside that forms one of Morocco’s greatest natural sights and comes complete with a gentle stream and welcoming auberge and café.
At its eastern end, the valley joins that of the Ziz, where towering palms threaten to spill over canyon lips hundreds of feet above.