Win Timdouine Cave

Win Timdouine, sometimes written Wit Tamdoun, is a river cave in the limestone of the western High Atlas north-east of Agadir, and with roughly nineteen kilometres surveyed it is generally cited as the longest known cave system in Africa. It was explored from the 1950s by French cavers and has been extended by expeditions since. It is an active system: a river runs through it, with sumps, lakes, gour pools and large galleries, and it floods - which is the central fact for anyone considering going in. This is emphatically not a show cave. There is no lighting, no walkway, no ticket office and no rescue capacity; entry means a caving expedition with proper equipment, experienced leadership and an assessment of the weather, and people have been trapped by rising water. Visitors without that background should treat it as a place to know about rather than to enter.

What you actually see

• Africa's longest cave - around nineteen kilometres surveyed in western High Atlas limestone.
• An active river system - sumps, lakes and gour pools through large galleries.
• No tourist infrastructure - no lighting, walkway or ticket office of any kind.
• A flood-prone cave - water levels that rise fast and have trapped people.

When to go

Dry season only, roughly May to October, and only as a proper caving trip.

Honest expectations

This is not a show cave and should not be entered casually - it floods, there is no lighting and there is no rescue service. Proper equipment, experience and local guidance are the minimum. Weather upstream determines whether it is safe. Most visitors should admire it from the literature.

Nearby

Immouzer and its waterfalls are south-west; Agadir is on the coast.