Experience the best of Errachidia

Errachidia lies on the Ziz River in south-eastern Morocco, between the High Atlas mountains to the north and the Sahara to the south. The town was known as Ksar es-Souk until it was renamed in the twentieth century, and it serves as the regional centre of the Tafilalet. It is a modern, practical town, with a market, a reservoir to the north, and the Ziz valley's palm groves stretching below.

North of town the Ziz Gorges cut through red rock, the road passing through the Legionnaires' Tunnel, and the Ziz valley fills with palm groves and earth-walled villages known as ksour. The Blue Spring at Meski, a pool among palms, lies to the south. Further south-east, Erfoud and Rissani, with its market, lead to the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi near Merzouga.

Dates from the Tafilalet are prized, and tagine, couscous and madfouna, a baked stuffed bread known as Berber pizza, are the dishes to look for, with sweet mint tea at every pause. Summer is fiercely hot, spring and autumn are the milder seasons, and winter nights are cold.