The Dades Valley

The Dades Valley climbs from the town of Boumalne Dades up into the flank of the High Atlas, and it is one of the loveliest stretches of the route often called the road of a thousand kasbahs, for the fortified earthen villages and old kasbahs that stand along it in the same red mud as the cliffs behind them. The valley floor is a green ribbon of almond and fig trees and small fields watered by the river, hemmed in by dramatic rock: the wind-eroded formations known as the monkey fingers, and higher up, the Dades Gorge, where the road climbs in a famous series of tight hairpin bends against the canyon wall. Neighbouring valleys grow roses harvested each spring for their oil around the town of Kelaat M'Gouna. It is a place to drive slowly, stop at viewpoints, walk between villages and stay a night in a kasbah guesthouse.

What you actually see

• The kasbahs - the red-earth fortified villages along the valley floor.
• The Dades Gorge hairpins - the dramatic switchback road climbing the canyon.
• The monkey fingers - the strange eroded rock formations above the valley.
• The Valley of Roses - the nearby rose-growing valleys around Kelaat M'Gouna.

When to go

Spring is the finest time, with almond blossom, green fields and the rose harvest in the neighbouring valley around April and May; autumn is also pleasant. Summer is hot on the valley floor, winter cold with snow on the high passes. The gorge road is best in daylight and dry conditions.

Honest expectations

It is a driving destination, and getting the most from it means a car and time to stop, not a rushed transit; tour groups often blast through in an afternoon. The famous hairpin viewpoint is well known and can be busy with buses. Roads higher into the gorge narrow and roughen. An overnight in a valley guesthouse, rather than a drive-through, is what turns it from a photo stop into an experience.

Nearby

The Todra Gorge is a short drive east; Ouarzazate, Aït Benhaddou and the desert lie to the southwest.