Tafraoute Off The Beaten Path

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All over Morocco throughout the year there are festivals in celebration of something happening - there are the established remembrance ones for events that are on the annual calendar - such as Throne Day, the Green March day, birth of Prophet Mohammad and so on - then there are special events happening in different areas around Morocco famed for its eg dates in Erfoud/Rissani so theres a Date Festival - which is usually in October - or the Rose Festival in Kelaa Mgouna at the rose harvest in May - then each community has its own festivals to just get together in the summer and celebrate life and culture and togetherness with entertainment provided by local tribes and groups or special entertainers brought in. Morocco and its people is well known for love of music and music incline - along with its usual colourful and vibrant delivery ie costumes and attire, interesting instruments etc and theres an amazing range of music to be heard.

Tafraoute is well known for its Almond Blossom festival in February with the peak of the blossoming of thousands of almond trees around the area - its a beautiful time to visit but if you can time your visit with the 3 day long festival you wont be disappointed.

Another festival to aim for here in Tafraoute is in July - starting at 10pm each night til about 3-4 in the morning!, with the first night a berber marriage arrangement then various music and entertainers through the 3 nights - and people milling about, stalls advertising the local products such as the many uses that can be found for Argane of which the trees, similar to the almond but without any blossom flower, grow here in abundance.

There are also moussems which are days that celebrate or remember the life of a 'saint' - someone from bygone days revered in the community and remembered - usually will have a marabout somewhere - though this is an issue that conflicts with fundamental practices of Islam.

As for the festivals be geared to join in with the Moroccan thing of being up all night - the festival here in July didnt start until 10pm each night, finishing about 3-4 in the morning - add any difficulties such as traffic jams from cars being parked pretty much anywhere and everywhere...! But in the summer heat of July the locals dont usually plan to do much during the day but rest and relax and recover and then get back out for an all nighter at the all weekend festival. this is similar format to the weddings of which there are many during the summer months....allnight, all weekend, or all week long affairs bringing families and communities together

When you are on your way to Tafraoute through the mountains of the Anti Atlas, you see a varied landscape of coloured mountains, terraces, gorges, valleys and scattered villages in earth colours.
Sometimes the landscape is very green with a lot of trees, then it is barren and then you see again an oued with scattered green.
We liked these changes.

On our way from Agadir to Tafraoute through the Anti Atlas we saw a lot of villages at the hillsides, sometimes at the most unlikely places.
The Tizergane Kasbah, on a solitary hilltop, was one of the most striking ones.
We didn't visit this Berber kasbah, but it's possible. There is some restoration done and you are asked to give a voluntary donation.
Tizergane is 50 KM from Tafraoute.

The route to Tafraoute through the Anti Atlas is very scenic.
There are Berber mud-brick (pise) villages surrounded by cultivated terraces. The terraces are worked mostly by women.
Most Berbers in this area are Souss Chleuh.

The mud-brick villages made of the local natural materials form an unity with their environment. So you have to enlarge the picture to have a good look at the village.