The Dadès and Todra gorges on the way to the Sahara

The Dadès and Todra gorges sit between the mountains and the dunes. On the desert trip they are the stop in the middle, and they deserve more than a look through the car window.

The photos in this post are Soukayna's. She took them on her own drives to the desert.

Where the gorges are

Merzouga is nine to ten hours by car from Marrakesh. You split that drive over two days, and the gorges are right where you spend the night. Both cut through the south side of the High Atlas, not far from each other.

On day one you cross the Tizi n'Tichka to Aït Benhaddou. Through Ouarzazate and the Valley of the Roses you drive on to the Dadès Gorge, where you sleep in a kasbah by the river. Day two starts in the Todra Gorge. After lunch in Tinghir it is about four more hours to Merzouga.

The Dadès Gorge

Down by the river the Dadès Valley is green. Trees and small fields line the water, with red rock above.

Further on, wind and water have worn the rock into round shapes. They look like a pile of cushions, or like fingers sticking out of the mountain. A path with steps and a wooden railing runs between them, so you can walk in.

Higher up the gorge, the road climbs the wall in hairpin bends. From the top you see the bends below you, with the river next to them in the valley. If you want that view, ask for it. Soukayna stops wherever you want.

My advice: if you get carsick easily, sit in the front and eat light. The road is good, but winding.

The Todra Gorge

The Todra Gorge is narrower. At its tightest you stand in a cleft with walls about three hundred meters high, with a strip of sky above you.

A stream runs through the gorge, with a road and a path beside it. You simply walk between the walls. The water is cold. Vendors hang scarves and rugs along the side.

The color of the rock depends on the light. In the shade it is gray and brown. Where the sun hits it, it turns red and orange, as in the large photo at the top.

Tinghir and the palm grove

Where the Todra leaves the mountains lies Tinghir. Below the town is a palm grove: a wide band of palm trees along the river, green in an otherwise dry land. This is where you have lunch on day two.

After Tinghir the land gets flatter and drier, until you see the first dunes on the horizon. How the night in the camp works, with the cold and the restrooms, is in a Sahara desert trip as a woman.

What to bring

For the path in the Todra Gorge you need closed shoes. In winter bring a warm layer, because nights in the desert can drop to around freezing. Go between October and April: in summer the days are well above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

My advice is not to rush the gorges. If you want more time, ask for an extra night in the Dadès Valley. That works on a tailor-made trip.

The day-by-day route is on the Sahara desert trip to Merzouga.