Errachidia

In the shadow of the eastern Atlas Mountains, where the rolling Saharan deserts of Algeria meet the dusty plains of southern Morocco, the historic town of Errachidia rises from between the taupe ridges and arid hills in a medley of sandstone walls and adobe houses. Part Berber, part Arab, part Bedouin in character, the city has long been a gateway for travellers looking to explore the dunes and sporadic oases of the Sahara on camel back or by 4X4. Others come simply to wallow in the authentic and unchanged half-nomadic ways of Morocco’s desert folk; sampling paprika-laden homemade tagines and smoking hookah in sun-kissed riad courtyards while chatting with leather-faced locals between the beige walls of the downtown mosques. In the centre there are many Errachidia tour guides at hand to offer trips out into the wild, while the nearby Musee des Sources de Lalla Mimouna is a great stop-off for culture buffs, art lovers and the like.