The Dadès Gorge

The area we are in is generally known as the Valley of the Roses and the Dadès Gorge. Having done the rose component in the name, now it was time to see the gorge which was interesting on two counts - first it is really narrow and deep and you can see that from the photos I’ve taken. Secondly it was rammed with people enjoying the sunshine and relaxing in the waters of the river flowing through the gorge, not more than a few centimetres deep in places. People were having picnics and chatting, there were families and couples and everyone was having a great time. It was a really relaxed atmosphere here, a bit like the local park in Wolverhampton on a sunny day ... okay, nothing like that but I’m sure you get the idea.

On the left hand side of the gorge is a narrow concrete road so you could drive through it but today it was mayhem with so many cars and buses (and our minibus of course) all trying to get past each other with some going up the gorge and others coming down. Everyone got out of our bus and I got off to take a phone photo for this footprint before going back to collect my proper camera. What I wasn’t expecting was that as soon as I alighted the vehicle it disappeared up the gorge to go and turn around ... and my camera went with it. Doh!

Not having my camera at first seemed a bit of a disaster but in reality I found I didn’t mind after all. I took time to take in the scene and simply experience it for what it was with me as a tourist rather than a photographer. After a while Monique lent me one of her cameras so I took some shots for her, but soon our bus arrived back and we climbed on board where we sat and relaxed as our driver did battle with the other vehicles attempting to get back to the main road. Battle is the right word because within moments our minibus was bumped by another vehicle as they all tried to squash into too little a space along that road.

Footnote: before writing this footprint I did a quick spot of Googling, as one does, and it appears there’s rather more to this gorge than we thought or saw. Have a look for yourself and discover why the road through Dadès is another of one of the most dangerous in the world. Shame we never experienced that - it’s further up the road from where we were.Read more