The Colorful Tafraoute

Morocco is often described as a colorful destination with plentiful sunshine and vibrant cultures. From the colorful markets of Marrakesh to the blue city of Chefchaouen, Morocco is arguably the most photogenic country I have ever been to. Our two-week swing through Southern Morocco demonstrates why it is the second most-visited country in Africa. Among all the places we visited in Morocco, the little town of Tafraoute left the most profound impression on me. Not only does Tafraoute have some of the most awe-inspiring rock formations, but it is also regarded as “Morocco's Berber heartland” by many. Although Tafraoute is not precisely undiscovered by foreign visitors, it is certainly off the beaten track.

After visiting the desert camp of Erg Chigaga, Brian decided at the last minute to return to New York for a personal emergency. He changed his ticket and flew home from Zagora’s tiny airport, which was so remote that Royal Air Maroc had to issue him a hand-written boarding pass. His early departure left me to finish the rest of the pre-planned itinerary alone. Since we have already visited Marrakesh and the Sahara, I felt Brian did not miss out on the highlights of southern Morocco. Little did he know the best was yet to come.

Anti-Atlas Mountain

From Zagora, it was a nearly six-hour drive to Tafroute. To break up the drive, I stayed a night in the little town of Foum Zguid. This first part of the drive was through a flat rock desert with the mountain range in the distance. The route is desolate and lonely. Besides occasional roaming camels, there was hardly anyone else on the road. I became concerned about a car breakdown or any emergency. I certainly wished Brian was with me for this leg of the journey. For once, I was looking forward to seeing Morocco’s highway patrols.

For the night, I booked a room at Hotel Bab Rimal. The massive resort may not be modest, but it is truly luxurious. Upon entry, visitors are greeted with a beautiful pool and an incredible mountain backdrop. The property exudes wonderful Moroccan charms with the creature comfort of modern amenities. I was stunned to learn at check-in that I was the sole guest for the evening. Given my visit was during Morocco’s tourist high season, perhaps that was the lingering effect of the pandemic.

The next three-hour drive toward Fafroute brought me to the Anti-Atlas, a smaller cousin of the famous Atlas Mountains. The High-Atlas range draws many foreign visitors, including many day-trippers from Marrakesh. On the other hand, the Anti-Atlas is relatively unknown and often overlooked by first-time visitors to Morocco. It may not be as high as High Atlas, but I found the Ant-Atlas far more photogenic and exciting. The geological striation was stunning. I was glad that traffic was sparse as I was distracted by the beautiful scenery most of the way. This may be one of the most enjoyable drives I have ever done.

Along the drive are numerous small townships and settlements. One of my personal favorites is Tissint. The town of nine thousand is made famous by a 2011 meteorite found here. This Martian meteorite contains numerous previously unknown organic compounds. The makeup of the meteorite informed the scientists about how hospitable Mars could be toward organic life. It is an interesting coincidence that the meteorite happened to land in a barren landscape like this one. But what makes Tissint delightful is its oasis and thriving old town composed of mud-adobe houses.

The only notable landmark at Tissint is a beautiful mausoleum. The Yemani-style tomb is painted white and shines like a beacon in the desert plain. It is constructed in the Yemani style, with Amazigh motifs decorating the roof. Although I could not find any information online on the mausoleum, this little structure left a deep impression on me and is one of my favorite buildings in Morocco. Unbeknownst to me then, the various rocks, seemingly scattered around the ground, were tombstones, and the surrounding ground was an active cemetery. A local Berber man was horrified that I wandered through the cemetery and asked me to walk on the designated path. I felt very embarrassed.

The road to Tafraoute may be long, but time flew by in a blink because of the stunning natural beauty of the Anti-Atlas. Considering how sparsely populated and seldom traveled this route was, the road conditions were excellent. There were also numerous infrastructure projects along the way; it seemed like the kingdom made a concerted effort to modernize the rural areas. I could only imagine how quickly the little towns like Tissint and Tata.

Tafraoute

While the Anti-Atlas's geological beauty is stunning, the scenery became even more spectacular as I approached Tafroute. The valley from the city is primarily made up of granite rocks. Shaped by the millennium of wind and erosion, the rock formation here is particularly picturesque and unusual. Most visitors arrive in Tafroute through Ammeln Valley in the north. The early morning light beautifully illuminates the cliff face of the valley with dramatic effects. The locals were keen to identify patterns and symbolism from the natural rock formations. The most famous among them would be the Lion’s Head, on the southern face of Mount Lex overlooking the valley. It looks precisely like Mufasa in Dinsey’s Lion King at the right time of the day.

The stunning cliff face of Ammeln Valley.

Among all the hotels in Tafraoute, one of the most popular accommodations is Auberge Kasbah Chez Amaliya. This little boutique hotel is situated at the foothill of the valley. Their pool has some of the most photogenic backdrops I have ever seen. This beautiful hotel was the lifework of the Dutch owner Liesbeth, who decided to open a hotel after falling in love with this valley twenty-plus years ago. She named the hotel after Princess Catharina-Amalia, the teenage heir presumptive to the Dutch throne. A picture of the young processes hangs over the reception desk. When I asked Liesbeth whether the princess had paid a visit, she kindly smiled and said, “maybe one day.”

Isn’t this one of the coolest roads you have ever seen?

While Americans are thin on the ground, Tafraoute. I met a surprisingly large number of European visitors at the hotel. Most came here for rock climbing and nature hikes and are frequent visitors to this corner of Morocco. This corner of Morocco is remarkably safe for visitors, and the landscape here could be described as “heroic” or “exuberant” by some. Giant granite boulders litter the side of the road; some parts of the city feel more like a bigger-than-life studio movie set.

Tafraoute’s unique rock formation has always drawn visitors from far and wide. The most famous rock in the region is the Napoleon’s Hat (Le Châpeau de Napoléon), situated in the village of Aguerd Oudad just south of central Tafaroute. The conical-shaped rock is said to resemble the cap of the French Emperor. Locals debate its likeness, but I think it is aptly named. Even though this is the most famous landmark in Tafraoute, it took me a while to locate it on Google Maps. I believe I inadvertently trespassed on the private lot to get the “classic” view of Napoleon’s Hat. I even read somewhere that one could summit the peak without technical training and a guide.

The Napoleon’s Hat is definitely memorable.

Although Tafraoute may not be a magnet for foreign visitors, it is domestically known as the heartland of Amazigh culture. More commonly referred to as Berber, the Amazigh is one of the major ethnic groups in Morocco. While Arabic and French are the two dominant languages of the country, the Amazigh language enjoyed a surprising resurgence in recent decades. Understanding the difference between Arabic and Amazing culture could be challenging for first-time visitors like myself. The Amazigh are the Indigenous people of Morocco, and the Arabs arrived in the seventh century.

Amazigh-inspired buildings in central Tafraoute.

Due to Arabization and intermarriage, Amazigh identities survived in various degrees throughout North Africa. In our subsequent visit to Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, the local Sinai Bedouins told us that not much of their indigenous language and culture survived. In contrast, the Berber culture persevered in Morocco, and Tafroute played a central role in their cultural resiliency. Because agriculture is the center of agriculture in Morocco, the traditional ways of life are better preserved here than in the industrial north and the coastal regions. The preservation of Amazigh culture can be found in the architecture and everyday attire here.

Although most buildings in central Tafraoute are modern, every building is imbued with Amazigh decorations and architectural elements. The distinctive geometric patterns can be found in most buildings. The ubiquitous Berber scripts on business and road signs represent Tafraoute’s cultural identity. My favorite is a head-turning stainless steel sculpture on the central square. The triangular disc represents a traditional Berber brooch known as Amazigh fibula. The piece consists of a triangle beneath a ring or semicircle and a pin to hold unsewn garments together. The piece looks as alien as it is magnificent. Similar sculptures could be found at the entrance of many smaller villages across the valley. It seems to have become a powerful symbol of Amazigh identity.

To experience Tafraoute’s Amazigh roots at its best, visit La Maison Traditionnelle in the hilltop settlement of Tazekka, just a few minutes southwest of central Tafraoute. Tazekka is a semi-abandoned village nestled among the rock formations. After parking the car, it was a thrill to wander through the neighborhood. Many houses were built right into the enormous boulders. While most structures were abandoned, a few were restored to their former splendor. La Maison Traditionnelle would be the grandest, with four levels and a massive roof terrace.

This little house museum was the project of Mohamed Mahfoud, who grew up there. Like many other Berbers, his family abandoned their ancestral home to relocate to a modern house on the valley floor. He spent his youth working in Casablanca. It was not until he started his own family that he realized the value of passing on family heritage to his children. He began renovating and preserving the traditional ways of life. I visited just before closing time, but Mohamed took his time to give an in-depth guided tour. His passion for this project was immediately palpable.

One thing that immediately jumped out was how low the ceiling was on the main floor, so it is not difficult to understand why so many traditional houses were left abandoned. Mohamed recalled many childhood memories of gathering around the wood-burning hearth in the kitchen to stay warm in the winter. The home also houses an impressive collection of artifacts, ranging from farming tools to textiles and family heirlooms. As interesting as the physical house and objects were, the highlight of the visit was to speak with Mohamed and listen to his perspective on Morocco’s future.

Like any rural community across the world, Tafraoute has a difficult time retaining its youth population. Most young people move to Casablanca or Rabat soon after graduation; very few return to their ancestral homes. As we stood on the rooftop terrace, Mohamed pointed at the villas on the valley floor and explained that they were vacationing homes for wealthy elites in coastal cities. Little by little, the soul of Tafraoute erodes. Compounding the challenge is climate change. The once-thriving date and almond groves are dying and may never come back. Tafraoute is changing and at an inflection point.

The smaller carving on the cliff face is said to be only a few centuries old.

The visit also includes a visit to the two prehistoric carved gazelles nearby. The giant petroglyph on a sizeable fallen rock is believed to be from the Neolithic, while the smaller one on the rock face is only a couple hundred years old. They are evidence of human activities in Tafraoute. While I am not sure these carvings depict gazelles, they are nevertheless wonderfully evocative. One must wonder how many pre-historic carvings like these are yet to be discovered in this valley.

The Painted Rocks

The most intriguing landmark near Tafraoute is a relatively new addition: The Painted Rocks (Les Rorches Peintes). When I first saw the pictures of this place, they immediately took me there. Landscape art has always fascinated me, and I certainly did not expect it on the desert plain of Anti-Atlas. Locally known as the Blue Rocks, this multi-color work was created by Belgian artist Jean Verame in 1984 as a tribute to the artist’s late wife. With the commercial success of artists like Ugo and Christo Jeanne-Claude, I am surprised that little information is available on the artist in English.

When he arrived in Tafraoute, he had already used rocks as his canvas for nearly a decade. He had previously worked in the desert landscapes of Egypt, Chad, and Texas. This monumental work took more than four months years to complete. With the help of local fire departments and countless local helpers, he used more than 1,500 barrels of specially formulated paint. I wonder whether they used a fire hose to paint these enormous boulders. Working in the middle of the desert for an extended period must be harsh.

The azure color with electric pink or yellow reminds me of a psychedelic dreamscape. Given the region’s conservative culture today, I doubted this was a part of the hippie trails of the 1970s. I am genuinely curious about what the locals thought of the project back then. Even today, the project seems controversial in some quarters. For some, the paint is a blight on the landscape in terms of environmental impacts. Many considered it a visually insensitive imposition on the natural landscape.

Over the decades, the paint faded under the intense desert sun, and there was plenty of graffiti. The work was at risk of being lost forever. Just imagine my excitement when I discovered the rocks were repainted quite recently. The vibrancy of the colors was stunning. It demonstrates how the local authority values its artistic quality and tourism potential. I was absolutely in awe when I arrived at the site. The sheer scale and contrast between the pristine landscape and the psychedelic colors were surreal. Scrambling over these brightly colored boulders gave us a sense of adventure and varying perspective across the valley. Flocks of wandering goats only added to the intrigue.

Despite its popularity with visitors, monetizing this work is impossible. There was no ticket booth or souvenir stand around. Visitors could drive up to the rocks with no restriction whatsoever. There was no perimeter fence, security guard, or opening hours. Many visitors came here with their camper vans. I could hardly think of a more exciting place to spend a night. This is easily one of my favorite spots on the entire trip. I felt bad that Brian did not get to enjoy it.

The Road to Taroudant

With only twenty four hours, I barely scratched the surface of Tafraoute. I certainly did not expect to fall in love with this place so quickly. I could see why Liesbeth fell in love with this place. With numerous hiking trails in the area, this would would be an ideal home base for an outdoor holiday. The city may not have the best dining options, but it is certainly a place to slow down to soak up the natural beauty and serenity. I would glad to return and use it as a home base for exploring southern Morocco.

The fortified village of Kasbah Tizourgane.

The road to Taroudant is just as scenic as the route from Zagora. I made the point to pay a visit to Kasbah Tizourgane. The fortified citadel sits atop a hill and reminded me of Civita di Bagnoregio in Italy. The citadel includes fifty homes and is accessible by a defensive gate. The entire complex is now a massive guesthouse. I could imagine Aman Resort would turn it into an ultra-luxury resort. In the meantime, let’ hope the the region’s limited tourism could help preseve this place for the future generation.

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Anti-Atlas Mountain

Tafraoute

The Painted Rocks

The Road to Taroudant

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