Morocco
Boumalne Dadès
Rose-red canyon walls and switchback roads carved into the rock where vultures wheel in thermals.
The road into the gorge begins here — an ascent through rose-red canyon walls that tightens with every kilometre until the famous switchbacks appear, hairpin bends so extreme they have become a landmark in their own right. Above, vultures ride thermals between the 'monkey fingers' — eroded rock formations that look exactly like their name. Boumalne Dadès is the gateway, the last flat ground before the canyon takes over.
Boumalne Dadès is a town on the Route des Kasbahs, serving as the gateway to the Dadès Gorge. The road north from town enters the gorge, passing the 'monkey fingers' rock formations — pillars of eroded sandstone that resemble clustered digits — before reaching a series of switchbacks that are among the most photographed road features in Morocco. Beyond the switchbacks, the gorge opens into the upper Dadès Valley, with hiking routes connecting to Aït Bouguemez and the central High Atlas. The town's location between the Dadès Gorge and the Todra Gorge makes it a natural base for exploring both canyon systems.
Solo
The gorge road is one of Morocco's great driving experiences. Solo travellers with a hire car can take it at their own pace, stopping for the monkey fingers, the switchbacks, and the views.
Friends
Road-tripping through the gorge together — someone navigates, someone photographs, everyone holds on at the switchbacks. The shared adrenaline is half the point.
- The road into the Dadès Gorge passes the 'monkey fingers' — eroded rock formations like petrified hands.
- Canyon-edge guesthouses offer rooms where the balcony hangs over a three-hundred-metre drop.
- Griffon vultures and Bonelli's eagles wheel in the gorge thermals at eye level from the road.
- The switchback road carved into the canyon wall is one of Morocco's most dramatic drives.
Mountain tagine with rose petals and almonds at canyon-edge guesthouses.
Fresh squeezed pomegranate juice at roadside stalls near the monkey fingers rock formation.
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