Taliouine
The Saffron Capital Of Morocco, Which Is Among The World'S Largest Producers After Iran: The Crocus Fields Are Picked At Dawn Through A Few Weeks Of Late Autumn And The Cooperatives Sell At A Fraction Of Export Prices · Taliouine, Souss-Massa
Morocco grows most of its saffron on the slopes around this one small town on the road between Taroudant and Ouarzazate, and in a good year the country ranks among the largest producers in the world after Iran. For a few weeks from late October the crocus fields are picked at dawn, because the flowers open with the light and must be gathered before the sun gets at them, and the whole town spends its mornings separating three red stigmas from each purple flower by hand - about a hundred and fifty thousand flowers to the kilogram of dried saffron, which explains the price. The cooperatives will show you the sorting rooms and sell you the real thing at a fraction of what a European delicatessen charges, and there is a saffron festival in November. Out of season there is much less: a co-op shop, a ruined Glaoui kasbah, and the volcanic bulk of Jbel Siroua behind the town, which is some of the best and least walked trekking country in Morocco.
Saffron country on the N10 between Taroudant and Ouarzazate, under Jbel Siroua, Taliouine, Souss-Massa, Morocco
Cooperative shops and the saffron house keep daytime hours most of the year, shorter in winter, and they are busiest and most interesting during the harvest from late October into November. Picking happens at dawn and the sorting through the morning, so a harvest-season visit means being in the fields early rather than arriving after lunch; ask a co-op the evening before whether you may watch. The November festival runs over a weekend and fills every bed in town. The kasbah ruin is open ground. Nothing here needs a ticket. Buses and shared taxis on the N10 between Taroudant and Ouarzazate stop in town through the day, and Siroua trek guides are arranged in the village or through guesthouses, ideally a day or two ahead.