Skoura
The great oasis east of Ouarzazate — thousands of palms, mud-brick kasbahs and birdsong, on the doorstep of the Thousand Kasbahs route.
Skoura is what people mean when they say oasis: a dense, working palm grove many kilometres across, fed by khettara water channels, where almond and olive trees grow in the palm shade and kasbahs appear between the fronds like ships in a green harbour. The most famous of them, Kasbah Amridil, is one of the finest earthen buildings in southern Morocco — grand enough to have appeared on the old fifty-dirham note.
What I love here is the pace. The palmeraie is best explored on foot or by bicycle along dirt lanes, greeting farmers, crossing irrigation ditches, losing your sense of direction in the nicest way. Most visitors give Skoura an hour on the way to the Dades. Give it a night instead, and you will hear the oasis wake up — which is to say, you will hear birds and water and almost nothing else.
Kasbah Amridil
A superbly preserved 17th-century kasbah with its original oil press, wells and grain stores — a museum that is still a home.
Palmeraie by bicycle
Flat sandy lanes wind for kilometres between gardens and kasbah ruins — the classic way to take in the oasis.
Birdlife in the palms
The water and shade draw birds you will not see in the desert an hour away — bring binoculars if you care.
The khettara channels
The ancient underground water system still threads the grove — ask a local guide to show you how it works.
Mild, clear days perfect for walking and cycling the grove; cold crisp nights.
Warm — but the palm shade is real, and mornings stay comfortable.
Hot, though greener and more bearable than the open desert. Better in the cool months.
How Skoura fits your journey
Skoura is the first great stop on the Thousand Kasbahs road east of Ouarzazate — the natural night between Ait Ben Haddou and the Valley of Roses or the Dades Gorge, and a gentler counterpoint to the mountain stages either side.
He has broken the Ouarzazate–Dades drive here more times than he can count.
Ready to explore Skoura?
Tell Mustapha your dates and he will build Skoura into a journey that is yours alone.