Tata Oasis

Tata sits on the desert side of the Anti-Atlas where a line of springs supports a palmeraie of several thousand hectares, and the town itself is a grid of pink-washed arcaded streets built in the French period, which gives it a look unlike the older oases further east. The palm grove behind it is worked in the usual layers and is crossed by channels. What brings people with an interest is the surrounding rock: the hills around Tata, at Oum el-Alek, Adrar Metgourine and elsewhere, carry engravings of considerable age - elephants, giraffes, rhinoceros, antelope and cattle pecked into rock faces, made when the Sahara was grassland with standing water and these animals lived here. Their dating is debated but the older ones are usually placed in the Neolithic or earlier. They are unfenced, unsigned and need a guide from the town to find. Akka and Foum el-Hassan further west have more.

What you actually see

• A pink arcaded town - a French-period grid unlike the older oasis settlements.
• Rock engravings - elephant, giraffe and rhinoceros pecked into hills around the town.
• A green Sahara record - animals carved when this was grassland with water.
• A large palmeraie - spring-fed gardens worked in the usual layers.

When to go

October to March; summer here is extreme. Two days.

Honest expectations

Engraving sites are unmarked and unfenced - a local guide is necessary to find them, and touching or chalking them damages them. Tata is a very long drive from anywhere. Accommodation is limited. Summer temperatures are dangerous.

Nearby

Akka and Foum el-Hassan are west; Taliouine and Taroudant are north.