Tinghir

Tinghir belongs to Tinghir province in the Draa-Tafilalet region¹ and has been its capital since the province was created in 2009; before that the town was part of Ouarzazate province.² In 2024 the municipality had 44,239 inhabitants and the province 323,805.³

The town lies between the Central High Atlas to the north, which rises above 4,000 metres in the Mgoun, and the Djebel Saghro to the south. Through this depression runs the road from Ouarzazate via Skoura, Kelaat M’Gouna and the Dadès to the Tafilalet.⁴

The Todgha is an oasis valley on the southern slopes of the High Atlas; it belongs to the Todgha-Ferkla basin. Around the year 2000 some 70,000 people lived here in 64 ighermane, fortified villages of rammed earth, plus about 25,000 in Tinghir itself.⁵ The oasis stretches for around 30 kilometres along the river and is between 200 metres and 4 kilometres wide.⁶

How the land is irrigated depends on its position in the valley. In the upper Todgha, where the Aït Todoght live, the river carries water all year round and is diverted directly; land is scarce there because the valley is narrow. Around Tinghir the flow is not assured throughout the year, so the villages take turns according to a fixed rota. In the lower Todgha, the territory of the Aït Atta, and in the Ferkla, traditional irrigation depends mainly on khettaras, underground channels that the village communities maintained together.⁷

About fifteen kilometres from Tinghir⁸ the Todgha has cut a gorge through limestone, the Gorges du Todgha, also called the Todra.⁹ For the height of the walls the sources give figures from 300 metres¹⁰ to 400 metres.¹¹ Over the last 600 metres the gorge narrows in places to only about ten metres; in the dry season its floor is usually dry, while in the rainy season the river can flood it completely.¹²

The walls are a popular climbing area with well-equipped routes.¹³ At the foot of the cliffs there is a via ferrata for beginners and experienced climbers, and young people from the area offer guiding, courses and equipment hire.¹⁴