Tamellalt Valley

Dadès Gorge


Eighteen kilometres from Boumalne you'll find these extraordinary red rock formations that look like wax, melting right into the green carpet of the palmeraie (palm grove) below Aït Arbi. They’re known locally as Les Doigts de Singes (Monkey’s Fingers) given their bizarre wind-worn shapes. A little further on is the more colourfully named ‘Valley of Human Bodies’, where famished travellers are said to have died of hunger and been turned to stone.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Dadès Gorge attractions

1. Gorge de Miguirne

0.77 MILES

Cresting over a small pass, 14km from Boumalne, is the hidden gem of Gorge de Miguirne, which joins the Dadès Gorge from the south. It offers a fine half…

2. Aït Youl

2.43 MILES

Those art-deco tourism posters you’ll see all over Morocco showing a red-and-white kasbah in a rocky oasis aren’t exaggerating: just 6.5km into the gorge,…

3. La Source de Taghia

23.91 MILES

Water cascades out of the cliff face and down a rocky hillside at these small springs just south of Taghia. It's often a good spot to sit and observe…

4. Lac Izoughar

24.48 MILES

At the very upper (northeastern) end of the Aït Bougmez Valley, the seasonal Lac Izoughar is a favoured watering hole for the nomadic Aït Atta tribe…

5. Tomb of Sidi Said Ahansal

27.55 MILES

The 13th-century tomb of Sidi Said Ahansal is the chief place of religious pilgrimage in the valley, though it is off-limits to non-Muslims. Above the…

6. Ait Sidi Moulay Igherm

27.58 MILES

The largest building in Zaouiat Ahansal dominates the surrounding village. Still home to the saint's descendants, the village's oldest building also…

8. Ait Ben Hmad Igherm

28.74 MILES

This 17th-century igherm (collective granary), still in use by the villagers of Amezray, is one of several historical structures in the region to benefit…