Todgha Gorge
We had a very pleasant and relaxing day today motoring to Todra gorge where we are staying in a very welcoming B&B overnight. The journey itself was very enjoyable and the scenery was good. We were making our way up the side of the High Atlas Mountain and the roads zigzagged through terraces cut into the slopes. I was hoping that the huge trucks hurtling down the other side of the road had an alert driver who wasn’t sampling the local herb.
We arrived at the B&B sometime this afternoon around 2 or 3pm. I suppose I could check my Google maps timeline to see the exact time I arrived but somehow it doesn’t really matter. I arrived and that’s all that matters.
I had a shower and then went out for a meal with a few people on the trip. It was mediocre and very expensive, for Morocco. After that, the 3 of us went for a meander up the gorge. There were several recommended routes and the biggest one was eight to 10 km and looped back to the village again. This was meant to be fairly steep. So naturally, we took the wimp option and went far a fairly leisurely stroll on the flat. It was about 6km in total.
I was worried that my foot would be sore as it’s being acting up quite a lot over the past month or so. I went for a walk in Fez and despite taking meds, it hurt. Today I wore my sandals instead of the walking shoes I’ve recently bought. To my surprise, I had no pain at all. I’m guessing something about the fitting of the shoe is hurting my foot so I won’t wear them again unless I have to.
It’s really lovely just rambling along the street and walking past scenery and locals and seeing how they do things differently here in Morocco. I get a lot of joy out of seeing something I haven’t seen before, even something as simple as a light switch or a particular knob to open a window or door. No shortage of these type of delights here in the Arabian world.
There were a lot of children around, some really young about 9, 10, 11 and thereabouts. They were begging or trying to sell little paper flowers they had made. This presents from me a real disconnect between my reason and my emotion. Reason tells me that this is their job, almost, and the money they make is really important and is how they and their families can survive. Yes it breaks my heart to hear them beg. There was one young boy who almost whimpered in a very low voice. I found it quite heartbreaking, I didn’t know what to do.
We met 2 young English lads who had a rock climbing school here in the town. They were delightful, full of energy, bright intelligence and loved what they were doing. They gave us an insight into owning a small business in a small Moroccan town.
We had a group meal on the hotel at 7:15pm. It was provided by the hotel. I stuffed myself with tasty Moroccan grub.
Off tomorrow morning for our next bushcamp and a visit to a Moroccan abode castle on the way.
Here’s some Wikipedia blurb on the gorge:
The Todgha Gorges (Berber languages: ⵜⵉⵣⵉ ⵏ ⵜⵓⴷⵖⴰ; Arabic: مضيق تودغا) are a series of limestone river canyons, or wadi, in the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco, near the town of Tinerhir. Both the Todgha and neighbouring Dades Rivers are responsible for carving out these deep cliff-sided canyons, on their final 40 kilometres (25 mi) through the mountains. The height of the canyon walls can vary, but in some places can be up to 400 metres (1,312 ft) high.
The last 600 metres (1,969 ft) of the Todgha gorge are the most spectacular. Here the canyon narrows to a flat stony track, in places as little as 10 metres (33 ft) wide, with sheer and smooth rock walls up to 160 metres (525 ft) high on each side.
During the dry season, the canyon floor is mostly dry; at most there will be a small stream of water. During this time, the wadi floor is easily traversed by travelers. During the rainy season, however, the Todra can expand massively, covering the canyon floor in a strong torrent.
Access
The area is no longer as remote as it once was. A well-maintained asphalt road leads up the valley from Tinerhir to the gorge. A concrete road continues up the valley, past the hotels at the mouth of the gorge all the way to the villages of Aït Hani, and Tamtatouchte.
Thanks to its robust rock sides with many uneven surfaces, Todgha Gorge is popular among rock climbers. More than 150 routes rated French Grade 5+ to 8 have been bolted in the canyon.
Floor elevation: approx. 1,500 metres (4,921 ft)
Length: 15 miles (24 km)
Width: 10 to 1,000 metres (33 to 3,281 ft)
Coordinates: 31°33′N 5°33′W
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