Region · South-east
Draa-Tafilalet
12 places in Draa-Tafilalet, each with its own story. From north to south.
- MideltCapital of Midelt province on the high plateau between the Middle and High Atlas; the municipality had 62,648 inhabitants in 2024. Since 2013 the apples of the area have carried a protected geographical indication.
- ErrachidiaCapital of the Draa-Tafilalet region on the Oued Ziz, with 97,687 inhabitants (2024). The reservoir of the Hassan Addakhil dam is part of the Oasis du Tafilalet Ramsar site.
- TinghirCapital of Tinghir province in the oasis valley of the Todgha on the southern slopes of the High Atlas; north of the town the river has cut a limestone gorge.
- ErfoudErfoud, listed as Arfoud in the official statistics, is a municipality in Errachidia province with 28,912 inhabitants (2024). It hosts the international date fair SIDATTES, and a fossil-rich limestone traded as “Marbre d'Erfoud” is quarried and worked here.
- Boumalne DadèsBoumalne Dadès is an urban municipality in Tinghir province in the Draa-Tafilalet region and had 12,391 inhabitants in 2024. Between Boumalne and M'semrir the Dadès has cut a gorge about five kilometres long and more than 200 metres deep into Lower Jurassic limestone.
- RissaniRissani grew out of the ksour of the oasis of Sijilmassa, the caravan city founded on the Ziz in the 8th century that is regarded as the cradle of the Alaouites.
- Kelaat M’GounaA town in Tinghir province with 17,737 inhabitants (2024). It gives its name to the protected designation of origin “Rose de Kelâat M’Gouna-Dadès”, in force since 2011, and every May it hosts the Salon international de la rose à parfum.
- MerzougaA village at the foot of Erg Chebbi, whose highest dune rises more than 200 metres above the plain; next to it lies the rain-fed lake Dayet Srij.
- SkouraAn oasis in Ouarzazate province, watered by three rivers from the High Atlas and by underground khettaras; the municipality of Skoura Ahl El Oust had 24,053 inhabitants in 2024, 4,576 of them in the urban centre of Skoura.
- Aït Ben HaddouThe ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou in the Ounila valley of Ouarzazate province has been a World Heritage site since 1987: earthen houses behind high walls with corner towers, the oldest probably from the 17th century.
- OuarzazateCapital of Ouarzazate province, where the Dadès and the Imini meet to form the Drâa; the same province is home to the ksar of Aït-Ben-Haddou, a World Heritage site since 1987.
- ZagoraCapital of Zagora province in the Drâa valley; on Jbel Zagora, opposite the town, lie the remains of an 11th-century Almoravid fortress.