The best option is to visit the carving as part of a tour of Tazekka’s Maison Berbere
Traditionnelle ( 0673 82 90 54; Maisonber [email protected]; adult Dh15; 8am-6pm) , in
the largely uninhabited hilltop old village, where bulging boulders have been incorporated into
the pisé walls of the centuries-old houses. It’s possible to stay the night (Dh150 per person
including breakfast) in the four-floor dwelling, where the knowledgeable proprietor Mahfoud’s
family lived until five years ago.
TIRNMATMAT
To find the rock engravings at Tirnmatmat, take Rte 104 towards Tiznit, then after 14km take
Rte 7148 north from Tahala towards Aït Omar. Just before the village, an unmarked piste
(track), opposite a well, leads to Tirnmatmat, where you will find the gravures (engravings)
along the riverbed (the local kids will lead you there, or engage a guide from Tafraoute). The
village sits in a lovely spot and there are excellent walks in all directions.
LE CHÂPEAU DE NAPOLÉON & THE PAINTED ROCKS
The village of Aguerd-Oudad, 3km south of Tafraoute, makes for a nice stroll or bike ride. From
the roundabout by the Afriquia petrol station in Tafraoute, take the road to Tiznit via Izerbi. On
the way you will see the unmistakable rock formation known as Le Châpeau de Napoléon
(Napoleon’s Hat).
Some 8km south of Tafraoute, just past the foot of the road to the Afella-Ighir oasis, a ‘
touritique piste’ leads uphill to the right – to the Pierres Bleues (Painted Rocks), the work of
Belgian artist Jean Verame.
Verame spray-painted the smooth, rounded boulders in shades of blue, red, purple and black
in 1984 and, although the rocks have a faded air, they remain strange and impressive against
the landscape. Local lore has it that the villagers give these incongruous tourist attractions a
fresh coat of paint every year.
The packed earth track is passable in a normal car, but this is prime mountain-biking territory.
You can see the rocks after 3km on the track, then follow the yellow arrow to the left and ride
right up to the rocks some 5km away.
AFELLA-IGHIR
Southeast of Tafraoute is the pretty oasis of Afella-Ighir. Leave Tafraoute on the Aguerd Oudad
road, turning left a few kilometres south of the village, and travel roughly 20km over a mountain
pass through Tlata Tasrirte to the start of the dramatic Aït Mansour Gorges . You can see the
Pierres Bleues from the road up to the pass, which is sometimes snowed over in winter.
You can drive through the gorges in a normal car if it hasn’t rained, but walking or mountain
biking is the best way to appreciate this atmospheric area, where red cliff faces tower above
the palms. In the village of Aït Mansour at the beginning of the gorges, the water running
across the road marks the start of the Afella-Ighir oasis. A little further on, the gîte (trekkers’
hostel) Chez Messaoud ( 0528 21 83 38, 0670 79 35 67; r per person Dh60) serves tea
and sells water and basic provisions. Breakfast (Dh45) and meals (Dh50) are available if you
book ahead.
The road begins to disintegrate in the village, with sections of tarmac and piste . Keep right
and follow the road through a string of villages perched above the oasis, until you reach the T-
junction in Gdourt after about 8km. Turn right here for Izerbi, or left for Souq el-Had Issi, a
rather depressing town that accommodates workers from the nearby gold mine, Mine de Akka.