Skoura

Skoura is a palmery — a long, narrow oasis of date palms, olive trees, and almond groves watered by the Dadès River and a network of seguias — irrigation channels — that have been maintained for centuries. The palmery is about 20 kilometres long and 5 kilometres wide. Inside it, hidden among the trees, stand some of the most beautiful kasbahs in southern Morocco.

Kasbah Amridil is the most famous — a 17th-century fortress that appeared on the 50-dirham banknote. It is privately owned and open to visitors. The towers rise above the palm canopy like a sandcastle that refused to erode.

The palmery is best explored on foot or by bicycle. The paths wind through the trees, past irrigation channels, through small villages, and alongside crumbling kasbahs that no guidebook has ever mentioned. A local guide is useful — the paths are unmarked and the palmery is larger than it looks from the road.

Skoura is 40 kilometres east of Ouarzazate on the N10. Most travelers drive through without stopping. The ones who turn off the highway and enter the palmery are always glad they did.