Ziz Gorges

The N13 from Midelt to Errachidia is the road to the desert and the Ziz gorges are its best stretch: after the Tizi n'Talghomt the road drops into a canyon where the river has cut through red and grey rock, running between walls with tunnels driven through the spurs, and then opens out into the Ziz valley proper - a continuous ribbon of date palms and gardens along the river with ksour on the terraces above, running south for well over a hundred kilometres towards Erfoud and the Tafilalt. The viewpoint above the valley south of the gorges, where the whole green line appears below with desert on both sides, is one of the standard photographs of southern Morocco. The Hassan Addakhil dam upstream, completed in 1971, regulates the river and has changed the flow the palms depend on. Source Bleue de Meski is on the same road further south.

What you actually see

• A cut through the Atlas - the river's canyon with tunnels driven through the spurs.
• The palm ribbon - a continuous green line of dates and gardens running south.
• Ksour on the terraces - fortified villages above the productive land.
• The valley viewpoint - the green strip between desert on both sides.

When to go

Spring and autumn. A day, as the drive south to the desert.

Honest expectations

This is a driving route rather than a destination - the stops are viewpoints. Summer heat in the valley is extreme. The dam upstream has reduced the river's natural flow. Fuel and services are thin between towns.

Nearby

Source Bleue de Meski is south; Midelt is north over the pass.