Amtoudi Granaries

The agadir - collective granary - is a southern Moroccan institution: a fortified store built on a defensible height where each family of a village held a locked cell for grain, oil, dates, silver and documents, administered by rules agreed between the families and guarded by a watchman, so that in a bad year or a raid the community's reserves survived. Amtoudi has two of the best preserved. Agadir Id Aissa stands on a cliff above the village, reached by a stiff climb of about forty minutes, and is a compact fortress of stacked stone cells on several levels with a cistern and a guard's room; Agadir Aguelluy is smaller and older. Below them the canyon has a palm grove, springs and pools, and the walk up the gorge is worth doing separately. Some granaries were in use into the twentieth century.

What you actually see

• A collective granary - individually locked family cells inside one fortified store.
• A cliff position - stacked stone cells on several levels with a cistern and guard room.
• A forty-minute climb - the approach to Agadir Id Aissa from the village.
• The canyon below - palms, springs and pools in the gorge under the granaries.

When to go

October to April. A day, including the gorge walk.

Honest expectations

The climb is steep and exposed with no shade. A guide holds the keys and is effectively required. The village is remote with limited accommodation. Summer heat makes the ascent unwise.

Nearby

Tafraout is north-east; Guelmim is south-west.