Ait Mansour Gorges — Tafraoute Palm CanyonLoop.
Distance
95 km
Duration
1 day
Climb
850 m
Ait Mansour Gorges — Tafraoute Palm Canyon Loop.
A compact Anti-Atlas gem from Tafraoute: past the painted rocks and the Napoleon's Hat boulders, the narrow road drops into the Ait Mansour gorge — a slot of pink granite floored by a continuous palm oasis. Single-lane tarmac winds beneath the palms past mud-brick hamlets before looping back over the plateau to Tafraoute. Short on kilometres, enormous on atmosphere.
Quick facts
SurfaceMixed
Distance95 km
Days1
Total climb850 m
DifficultyModerate
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The route.
TafraouteStart · Start in the pink-granite amphitheatre of Tafraoute. Fuel and supplies here — there is nothing in the gorge. Head south toward Agard Oudad.
Painted RocksPhoto Spot · Jean Verame's 1984 blue-painted granite boulders, a short detour off the road south. Best photographed with the morning sun behind you.
Ait Mansour ForkScenic Point · Turn left at the signed fork to drop into the gorge. The descent is steep, narrow single-lane tarmac with blind bends — sound your horn into the hairpins.
Ait Mansour Palm GorgePhoto Spot · The heart of the oasis: the road runs directly beneath the palm canopy between pink granite walls. Springs feed irrigation channels beside the road. Walk a stretch — the silence is the point.
TafraouteEnd · Loop back over the plateau to Tafraoute. Watch for sand and loose gravel where the wadi crosses the road after rain.
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