Napoleon's Hat - What's that? (Tafraoute (Morocco))

Member Name: dangaroo

Product:	Tafraoute (Morocco)
Date:	14/05/08 (49 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Crazy landscape

Disadvantages: Town itself has nothing interesting in

Tafraoute is located in the south east of Morocco, just above the territory of Western Sahara. About 200km south of Agadir, Tafraoute is a small town nesteld in the pink valleys of the Atlas mountains and is well known for it's amazing rock features and great hiking and cycling opportunities.

History
======
550 Million years ago, a few large continental plates hit each other to form Africa and due to the heat, rocks began to melt. These granite rocks can now be found in the valleys around Tafraoute, after years of being sculptured by the weather they have taken rather amazing shapes leaving behind a pink lunar landscape!

Getting there
===========

We took a bus from Tiznit having come from Mirhlef on the coast, there are several grand taxis going but they are a bit more expensive. The journey takes much longer than it looks on the map because the bus twists and turns along the narrow road which is stuck to the sides of the mountains. We left to Innezgane (the bus station south of Agadir) which allowed us to change to Taroudant. There are also connections to Marrakech, as in anywhere in Morocco, you'll be hard pushed not to have a bus able to take you somewhere! There's no point me giving you schedules because the bus timetables change so often and they don't even leave at the right time anyway!

Sightseeing
=========
You will need either a lot of spare time, to rent a bicycle or a car with you to see all of the things in the surrounding area.

Blue Rocks - Does exactly what it says on the tin, they are blue rocks painted by a Belgian artist in 1984, they are a bit faded though.

Ameln Valley - A lush valley that runs for about 30km from Tafraoute along a river and past various strange naturally sculptured rocks. There are 26 small berber villages here that have little contact with the outside world, so it's important to obey tradition!

Napoleon's Hat - 3km south of Tafraoute, lies perhaps the strangest formation of all, one that resembles Napoleon's Hat!

You can buy a map which has all the sights in the region in the village and there are definitely a lot of possibilities for hiking or cycling between all of these interesting places.

Carpets made by berbers are also incredibly cheap here, so if you want a carpet, you may be best off buying one here if you are good at bargaining.


Places to stay
============

The Lonely Planet recommended Hotel Reddouane and whilst it's location is slap bang in the centre of the small town exactly where the bus stops, it's a pretty grim building with all the charm of an Iraqi prison. I chose it because it was cheap (about 4 pounds a night) but I looked in envy at the somewhat classier Hotel Salama opposite the road! Learn from my mistake and stay in the Hotel Salama!

Eating
======
Plenty of places offering standard Moroccan fare, Restaurant L'Etoile D'Agadir, is the one which took our liking. Good food and a good place to drink coffee too.

Banks
=====
None for around 100km, so make sure you get some in Agadir or Tiznit!

Internet
=======
Internet can be found on the road towards the campsite, from the main square, go across the river, up the hill and it is on your left opposite a bike rental shop.


People
=====
The people there seemed less in your face than in much of Morocco (except for one guy from Merzouga with a wonky eye), they were still willing to help but kept themselves to themselves. This was a bonus for me!

Summary: Tafraoute is strictly a base for visiting the surroundings!