Dades Valley
The Valley Of The Dades Between Boumalne And Msemrir, Known For The Hairpin Switchbacks At Tissdrine, The Eroded Rock Formations Locally Called Monkey Fingers, And A String Of Earthen Kasbahs · Boumalne Dades, Draa-Tafilalet
The Dades rises in the High Atlas and cuts south through red rock toward the pre-Sahara, and the stretch visitors drive is the 60-odd km north of Boumalne Dades on the R704. It is a narrow floor of earthen kasbahs, poplars and walled gardens under conglomerate cliffs, and it builds to the switchbacks at Tissdrine: a stack of tight hairpins climbing a rock wall, looked down on from a terrace at the top, and probably the most reproduced road photograph in Morocco. Below them the eroded pillars locally called monkey fingers stand over the fields, and a string of kasbah villages around Ait Arbi and Ait Oudinar sits where the gorge pinches in. Beyond the hairpins the road keeps climbing to Msemrir, where the tarmac gives out and a rough piste carries on over the mountains toward the Todra side. Honest caveats: the lower valley is a built-up strip of guesthouses in places, the famous view comes with a car park and a cafe terrace, and a coach tour that stops twenty minutes at the viewpoint has handed you the postcard and nothing else.
The Dades valley north of Boumalne Dades on the R704, running past the Tissdrine switchbacks toward Msemrir, Boumalne Dades, Draa-Tafilalet, Morocco
The valley is a public road with no gate, no ticket and no hours - you can drive or walk it at any time of day or year, and the viewpoint terraces above the Tissdrine hairpins are cafes that open from roughly 8:00 until after dark. Guesthouses along the floor are open year round and quiet in midwinter; most serve dinner only to people who ordered it on arrival. Getting there: Boumalne Dades sits on the N10 roughly 120 km east of Ouarzazate and about 53 km west of Tinghir, reached by CTM and Supratours coaches and by grand taxi; from Boumalne, shared grand taxis and minibuses run up the valley to Ait Oudinar and on to Msemrir, thinning out badly in the afternoon. Nothing needs booking except a bed in high season and a four-wheel drive for the piste circuit, which is worth arranging a day ahead. Confirm road conditions above Msemrir after snow or rain.