Demnate

Demnate sits where the plain meets the Atlas foothills in olive country, and it is the market town for a wide district - the Sunday souk is one of the larger ones in the region, with olives, oil, livestock and pottery, and the town has a walled medina with an old kasbah gate and a mellah that recalls a substantial Jewish community that left in the mid-twentieth century. Six kilometres away is Imi n'Ifri, a natural rock bridge where a river has undercut the limestone and left a span with a chamber beneath it - you walk down and through, with bats overhead and pools in the streambed. Above and around Demnate are dinosaur trackways in the Jurassic beds, part of what made the surrounding area a UNESCO geopark, and a guide will take you to them. Ouzoud falls and the Bou Guemez are the routes onward.

History

The town was home to a large Jewish community from the early 12th century until the late 1950s, known in the region for winemaking and for crafts such as leatherwork (Wikipedia, Demnate).

What to look for

• A large Sunday souk - olives, oil, livestock and pottery from a wide district.
• A walled medina - with a kasbah gate and the old mellah quarter.
• Imi n'Ifri - a natural rock bridge with a walkable chamber beneath it.
• Dinosaur trackways - Jurassic prints in the beds around the town, with a guide.

When to go

Spring and autumn; Sunday for the souk. A day.

Things to know

The medina is small and workaday with little visitor infrastructure. Imi n'Ifri's path is slippery and involves scrambling. Trackway sites are unmarked and need a guide. Accommodation in the town is basic.

Nearby

Ouzoud falls are north-east; the Bou Guemez valley is east.

Key facts