The Ramparts of Taroudant

Taroudant keeps something most Moroccan towns have lost: a full ring of walls, built of rammed earth in the sixteenth century when the town was a Saadian capital, running for several kilometres with towers and five main gates, and still enclosing the whole old town rather than a fragment of it. The colour changes through the day from pale brown to deep orange, and the standard way to see them is a slow circuit by horse-drawn calèche from the main square, which takes about an hour. Inside, the town is a working market centre for the Souss plain, with two souks - one general, one for Amazigh silver, spices and leather - and a pace that has led to it being called a smaller, quieter Marrakech, which undersells how different it feels.

The main sights

• The wall circuit - kilometres of rammed earth ramparts with towers and gates.
• The calèche ride - the standard horse-drawn loop around the outside of the walls.
• The Arab souk - the general market at the centre of the old town.
• The Berber souk - silver, spices, leather and rugs in a separate quarter.

When to go

Winter and spring; the Souss plain is fiercely hot from June to September, well into the forties, and the walls give no shade. Late afternoon light on the earth walls is the best of the day. The town works as a stop between Agadir and the Anti Atlas or on the way to the Sahara.

Before you go

The walls are the attraction and they are one thing seen many times; the interior of the town is pleasant but has no major monument. Calèche drivers quote high and the price needs agreeing in advance, per carriage rather than per person. Summer heat is genuinely dangerous for walking the circuit. Some stretches of wall are patched with modern render and look it.

Nearby

Agadir is an hour and a half west; the Anti Atlas and Tiznit lie south.