The Souss, Anti Atlas & Western Sahara ﺳو اﻷطﻟس اﻟﺻﻐﯾر و اﻟﺻﺣراء اﻟﻐرﺑﯾّﺔ
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© 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 SaharaWestern & Anti Atlas Souss, The 374 0 50 km 0 30 miles THE SOUSS, ANTI ATLAS & WESTERN SAHARA &WESTERNSAHARA THESOUSS,ANTIATLAS Asni Imi-n-Tanoute N1 Toubkal Oukaïmeden WESTERN SAHARA Fuerteventura Tan Tan M O R O C C O Tamanar National Plage P40 Park Cap Juby Tan Tan Ijoukak Jebel CANARY ISLANDS Tarfaya Toubkal Sidi Akhfennir (4167m) (Spain) Las Palmas de Tindouf Tamri Gran Canaria Reserve Paradise Immouzzer Tizi n'Test H i g h Laâyoune Al-Haggounia Valley Argana (2092m) Tamri des Ida 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 N10 ὄ Aourir Taroudannt Taliouine Agadir A T L A N T I C Oued Aïn Ben Tili Inezgane O C E A N To Tazenakht N1 THE SOUSS Tioute Souss-Massa (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 N1 A Plage 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 Abaïnou N1 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) Tiglite Oued Drâa Las Palmas de N1 Gran Canaria Sidi Akhfennir lonelyplanet.com THE SOUSS VALLEY •• Agadir 375 HISTORY GETTING THERE & AWAY The region’s history is as varied as its land- Agadir is the hub airport of the south, but is scape. Taroudannt in the Souss Valley has now poorly served compared to Marrakesh. a story that parallels Marrakesh, with its Most international services are European walls dating to the 11th century, and its charter flights and a quirk of airline licences glory years in the 16th century as part of an makes it impossible to buy a one-way ticket empire that stretched to Timbuktu. Aga- out of Agadir. Royal Air Maroc (RAM; x022 dir shares a story with the more northerly 311122; www.royalairmaroc.com) operates flights to Atlantic ports, both formerly occupied by and from Laâyoune (Friday, Sunday, Tues- the Portuguese and Spanish. Meanwhile, day) and Dakhla (Wednesday) and others the region’s Chleuh tribes people have a via Casablanca. Direct flights from Aga- long history of dissidence and independ- dir to the Western Sahara are often more ence, many of their communities remain- expensive than via Casablanca, though ing beyond central authority well into none are cheap. Regional Air Lines (RGL; x022 the 1930s. 536940; www.regionalmaroc.com) also operates direct Deeper south lay the wild frontier. The flights to Dakhla and Laâyoune. nomadic desert tribes known collectively There is no train out of Agadir, but Su- as Saharawi (constituting the indigenous pratours (buses run by the rail network) population of the Western Sahara) were runs regular, fast buses to Marrakesh (four even more difficult to control. Their unique daily), Tiznit, Laâyoune and Dakhla. CTM independent spirit ultimately manifested bus services also operate to a range of des- itself in the 20th century in the Polisario tinations including Casablanca and Es- movement. The bid for autonomy for the saouira. Western Saharan province remains a thorn in the current government’s side. For a GETTING AROUND deeper understanding of the situation today, CTM, Satas and other local bus companies read Endgame in the Western Sahara: What operate a range of bus routes across the Future for Africa’s Last Colony? by Toby region, including to Taroudannt, Tiznit, Shelley. An expert on resource politics, he Laâyoune and Dakhla. Grands taxis are the believes there is still hope for a peaceful fastest means of public transport and run to resolution to the conflict. most destinations in the region. The distances involved in touring the CLIMATE region, particularly in the south, make it The south divides into three distinct geo- worthwhile considering car rental. Agadir graphical areas, each with its own micro- is one of the better places to hire a car in climate. The semitropical, verdant Souss Morocco and all the major agencies are Valley is hot and humid, with temperatures represented. ranging between 22°C and a steamy 38°C, when water vapour rises like a mist from the huge citrus groves that fill the valley. THE SOUSS VALLEY The valley is also prone to heavy winds in ﺍﻛﺎﺩﻳﺮ spring. The climate of the barren Anti Atlas AGADIR veers between freezing winters and hot, dry pop 679,000 summers. The deep southern coast enjoys a Agadir feels unlike anywhere else in Mo- more constant year-round sunny climate. rocco. A busy port and seaside town built around a fortified kasbah, it was completely & THE SOUSS, ANTI ATLAS LANGUAGE destroyed by an earthquake in 1960. It has WESTERN SAHARA Arabic remains the lingua franca of all since been rebuilt as Morocco’s premier major cities in the south. The Chleuh tribes beach resort with some 30,000 beds. Laid who dominate the Souss speak Tachelait, out as a large grid of downtown streets, sur- a Berber dialect, most noticeable in the rounded by spacious residential suburbs, villages of the Ameln Valley and the Anti Agadir doesn’t have the bustling street Atlas. French is widely spoken and Span- life found in so many Moroccan cities, al- ish is still heard in some of Spain’s former though the new marina development may territories. soon provide this. Its lure, for now, lies in 376 THE SOUSS VALLEY •• Agadir lonelyplanet.com Agadir 0 500 m AGADIR 0 0.3 miles INFORMATION Musée du Patrimoine Amazigh.........14 B5 Uniprix Supermarket.........................29 B4 Adrar Net...........................................1 C4 Mémoire d'Agadir............................15 B3 Yacout.............................................30 C4 Al Mouggar Bookshop.......................2 C5 Palm Beach......................................16 A6 Bank Populaire (Bureau de Sunset Beach....................................17 A5 DRINKING Change)..........................................3 B5 Tifaouine Argane.............................18 C5 Bar Fly..............................................31 A5 Carlson Wagonlit................................4 B4 Vallée des Oiseaux...........................19 B4 Piano Bar........................................(see 31) Clinique al-Massira.............................5 C4 Complete Tours..................................6 B4 SLEEPING SHOPPING Internet Swiss.....................................7 C5 Hôtel Kamal......................................20 B4 Rip Curl............................................32 B4 Main Post Office................................8 C4 Hôtel La Petite Suède.......................21 A4 Tawarguit......................................(see 18) Newsstand.....................................(see 12) Uniprix Supermarket......................(see