Dadès Gorges

Hidden on the far side of the High Atlas range, the Dadès Gorges is a wonderland of geology and nature that rarely fails to draw a gasp from the intrepid travellers who pass its way. It is carved from the ochre-hued earth of southern Morocco, over millions and millions of years. The Dadès River has gorged out great clefts of red rock from the ridges, whittling curious shapes in the stone in a great feat of attrition and erosion.

In all, the gorge runs for 28 kilometres through the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Most visitors will get off the bus in the town of Boumalne Dades, which is the perfect place to pick up a Dadès Gorge tour guide and delve deeper into the rock-ribbed valley. Have the camera ready as you hike or hairpin in a minibus through the peaks – you can never tell when the next breathtaking vista of Berber villages and riparian oases will come into view. If anything, the Dadès Gorge is the perfect primer for the even more dramatic rises of the great Todgha Gorge, just one hour's drive away to the east. Also consider adding in an excursion to Merzouga, where the majestic sand sea of the Sahara Desert begins in earnest.