Morocco
Ziz Gorge
An old tunnel opens onto a limestone gorge where the river holds villages to the rock.
The plateau tightens around the road until bare limestone occupies the windscreen. Beyond the old tunnel, the N13 follows the upper Ziz between folded walls, cultivated pockets and small settlements held close to the river.
These are the Ziz Gorges of the eastern High Atlas, a series of constrictions cut through calcareous rock rather than the inherited red-sandstone canyon. Their clearest historic marker is the Tunnel du LĂ©gionnaire, built in 1928 to open a passage towards the south. Farther into the gorge, Achbaro turns the drive into an inhabited landscape of oasis pockets, kasbahs and old villages. Stop only where the road provides safe space, notice the exposed rock and the human scale of the river settlements, then continue before dusk. The huge palm panorama develops farther south in the wider Ziz Valley, while Source Bleue de Meski belongs to a separate oasis story; this gorge keeps its own tunnel, limestone and close-walled rhythm.
Solo
Drive from Rich after breakfast, pause at the tunnel and only at proper roadside pull-offs, then arrange an Achbaro walk through your host. Finish before dark and keep off cliff edges and riverbeds; heavy rain or winter ice can make the gorge road unsafe.
Couple
Break the long north-south journey with a traditional gorge stay and a host-cooked supper requested ahead. Share the driving, save photography for safe stops, and let heavy rain, winter ice or poor visibility cancel planned pauses rather than invite risk.
- The upper Ziz cuts a chain of narrow passages through calcareous eastern High Atlas rock.
- The Tunnel du LĂ©gionnaire has carried the southern approach through the gorge since 1928.
- Traditional stopover lodgings turn a through-drive into an inhabited gorge stay.
- Host-led walks connect river-oasis pockets with old villages away from the N13.
Harira Warguia, a Filali soup of rocket, turnip, meat and spices, requested with an Achbaro host meal.
Tafernout bread baked in a traditional koucha, or over hot sand with wood-heated stones.
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