The Souss, Anti Atlas & Western Sahara
© Lonely Planet Publications 373 The Souss, Anti Atlas & Western Sahara ﺳﻮ ﺍﻷﻃﻠﺲ ﺍﻟﺼﻐﻴﺮ ﻭ ﺍﻟﺼﺤﺮﺍء ﺍﻟﻐﺮﺑﻴّﺔ The fertile plains, sudden granite mountains and long stretches of pristine beach of Morocco’s southwest corner announce that you are arriving somewhere different. And you are. The Souss and the Anti Atlas are the most geographically varied regions of Morocco and also the most culturally distinct. And as if the vast, challenging nature of the landscape has had a softening effect on the character of the people, the sort of hassle visitors can suffer elsewhere in Morocco, is rare here, while the hospitality is legendary.
The Souss plain, with red-walled Taroudannt at its centre, is one of Morocco’s most important agricultural zones. To the south lies the Anti Atlas, not as challenging as the High Atlas, but less visited and with plenty worth visiting, including the contorted slopes of Jebel Bani, prehistoric rock carvings in the Akka Oasis and the idyllically peaceful Ameln Valley.
On the coast, Agadir is both the principal port of the south and Morocco’s premier beach resort. The glorious coast runs hundreds of kilometres south, past nature reserves, the art-deco splendours of Sidi Ifni and the tiny town of Tarfaya.
Further south, the Western Sahara is a vast, desolate and lightly populated tract of hammada (stony desert). Inhabited by free-spirited Saharawis, fishing communities and industrious Moroc- cans, it is a hotly disputed territory and is watched over by the ever-present security forces. .
HIGHLIGHTS Taghazout Ride killer waves or watch others in the ocean at Morocco’s top surfing spot of Ameln Valley Mirleft Tata Taghazout ( p385 ) Anti Atlas Commune with Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s Tarfaya Little Prince at Tarfaya ( p410 ) Escape the crowds and find prehistoric rock carvings around Tata ( p407 )
Hang loose in Mirleft (p395 ), the coolest Western THE SOUSS, ANTI ATLAS & spot in the south with six fabulous beaches Sahara Lose yourself among the pink-hued rock WESTERN SAHARA faces and lush green palmeraies of the peaceful Ameln Valley ( p406 ) Trek or drive through the foothills of the Anti Atlas (p402 ), concertinaed like mille- feuille Travel to the end of the road in the Western Sahara ( p408 ) beyond the town of Dakhla THE SOUSS, ANTI ATLAS & WESTERN SAHARA The Souss, Anti Atlas & Western Sahara 374 0 50 km 0 30 miles
THE SOUSS, ANTI ATLAS & WESTERN SAHARA THESOUSS,ANTIATLAS &WESTERNSAHARA Asni Imi-n-Tanoute Toubkal Oukaïmeden WESTERN SAHARA Fuerteventura Tan Tan M O R O C C O Tamanar National Plage Park Cap Juby Tan Tan Ijoukak Jebel CANARY ISLANDS Tarfaya Toubkal Sidi Akhfennir (4167m) (Spain) Las Palmas de Tindouf Tamri Reserve N1 Paradise Immouzzer Tizi n'Test H i g h Gran Canaria Laâyoune Al-Haggounia Valley Argana Tamri des Ida (2092m) P40 A t l a s Aksri Outanane Afensou To Jebel Foum el-Oued Cap Rhir Smara Tichka Oued Aoulouz Siroua Plateau Behril (40km) Taghazout Tamraght Boujdour Bou Craa Souss ὄ Aourir Taroudannt Taliouine Agadir A T L A N T I C Oued Aïn Ben Tili Inezgane O C E A N N10 To Tazenakht N1 THE SOUSS Souss-Massa Tioute (54km) W e s t e r n Bîr Mogrein National Tifnite S a h a r a Park M O R O C C O A T L A N T I C Sidi R'bat Aït Baha Massa Igherm Dakhla Tropic of Cancer O C E A N s Oue Mijek a ὄὄὄ Aglou ὈMas d Jebel Lekst Ida-ou-Gnidif l s Jebel Bani Imlili Plage a (2359m) t Aoussard Zouérat S a h a r a Ameln Valley A Tiznit Assaka Tafraoute Tizi i Tata Aghoninit Col de Mlil t Tichla Mirleft Bir-Gandouz M A U R I T A N I A Kerdous n Legzira Tlata Tasrite A Plage N1 Afella-Ighir La Gueguarat 0 200 km Gouéra Nouâdhibou 0 120 miles Sidi Ifni Le Chapeau Ukas Akka Sidi Ouarsik Tizi Migghert de Napoléon & Mesti the Painted Rocks Oum El-Alek Bouzakarne Bou Jerif Amtoudi Aït Herbil N12 Plage AbaïnouN1 Blanche Taghjicht Goulmime Tighmert Drâa Tircht Oued Lanzarote Cap Drâa Tadalt
See Inset for Western Sahara
Tan Tan Plage lonelyplanet.com Fuerteventura Assa A L G E R I A Tan Tan Âouïnet- CANARY ISLANDS Torkoz (Spain) N1 Tiglite Oued Drâa Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Sidi Akhfennir