Taroudannt

Taroudannt (also spelled "Taroudant") is a market town in Southern Morocco about 70 km (45 miles) inland from Agadir.

Taroudant, sometimes called little Marrakech, is a rather conservative town and as such attracts quite a lot of even more conservative tourists from Saudi Arabia. When visiting this town, one should dress more conservatively than in nearby Agadir.

The city is pretty unspoiled by tourism without the many touts that define Marrakech.

• A colony of white storks lives in a group of trees near the eastern gate of the town.
• There are also many pigeons, some of which nest in the square holes in the town walls. These holes were made deliberately in order to encourage nesting and thereby provide the town with a source of food in times of siege. Shooting pigeons is a popular sport, with the shooting season ending in mid-August.
• Visit Hotel Salam, once a royal palace, and its exquisite garden.
• For local crafts ask for Aladin Treasures shop and museum. It is well worth a visit
• The tannery is just outside the walls from Bab Taghout. Unlike Fez you can get up close and personal but it is less colourful and lacks the dye vats. High quality leather goods are sold through the cooperative there.
• There are two main souks. The Arab Souk between Place Assaeg and Place Tamoklate which has the butchers and fishmongers but also the jewelers, Tailors and leather goods together with stalls selling musical instruments and Antiques; and the Berber Souk selling vegetables, fruits, household wares and ready-made clothing and some excellent basketware and Handicraft stalls to the rear.

A colony of white storks lives in a group of trees near the eastern gate of the town.

Visit Hotel Salam, once a royal palace, and its exquisite garden.

For local crafts ask for Aladin Treasures shop and museum. It is well worth a visit

The tannery is just outside the walls from Bab Taghout. Unlike Fez you can get up close and personal but it is less colourful and lacks the dye vats. High quality leather goods are sold through the cooperative there.

There are two main souks. The Arab Souk between Place Assaeg and Place Tamoklate which has the butchers and fishmongers but also the jewelers, Tailors and leather goods together with stalls selling musical instruments and Antiques; and the Berber Souk selling vegetables, fruits, household wares and ready-made clothing and some excellent basketware and Handicraft stalls to the rear.

• Take a caleche ride round the walls and through town. This is particularly good after dusk when the driver may light candles to see and the fountains are lit and working.
• Visit the new sculpture park.
• Stroll through the center early evening to the main square.
• Hang out at the fountains outside the city wall after sunset.

Handicrafts are cheaper here than Marrakesh or Essaouira. Buy jewellery, babouches, leather goods and pottery. Although there is no pottery in the town,a wide variety of pots are made in a nearby village in the foothills of the High Atlas. Chillied olives and preserved lemons are a good buy. Speciality of the town include stone carvers who use local limestone and marble, sandal makers, silver jewellers and bamboo craftsmen.

Restaurant Riad Maryam- not the cheapest, but fantastic quality (it apparerntly appears in French food magazines). Hotel Roudani on Place Assareg does 3 course lunches for 55Dh whilst you watch the square life of musicians, snakecharmers and storytellers from your seat.

• Chez Nada, Rue Ferk Lahbab. Typical Moroccan cuisine, very good Harira, and a pigeon tagine, which is hard to get in restaurants. If weather permits, take a table on the roof. 50-70 dirhams for a main.

Chez Nada, Rue Ferk Lahbab. Typical Moroccan cuisine, very good Harira, and a pigeon tagine, which is hard to get in restaurants. If weather permits, take a table on the roof. 50-70 dirhams for a main.

Orange juice from street vendors in Place Tamoklate.

• Marrakech - If you don't have carsickness even on a winding road, consider passing the Tizi n'Test pass in the High Atlas (2100m above sea). All the busses leaving to Marrakech from here are going towards Agadir and around the mountains. You have to catch a grand taxi to Oulad Berhil and from there another one to Marrakech, but state, that you want to go through Tizi n'Test. The journey can take quite some time, depending how long will you have to wait for the taxi to fill in Oulad Berhil and you may stop in a village on the way waiting for more passengers, but the views are magnificent and well worth it. Be sure to start in the morning (there is a bus from Oulad Berhil to Marrakech leaving at 6PM, but since you wouldn't see much of the way, it doesn't pay). Self drive the journey over Tizin'Testto Marrakesh takes 4½-5 hours; by motorway 3 hours.
• Agadir - There are regular buses that serve Agadir, though only a few per day; a shared taxi is what most people use to go to Agadir.
• Ouarzazate - The CTM bus from Agadir that stops in Taroudannt goes on to Quarzazate.
• Tafraoute - A smaller but well maintained road connects Taroudannt with Tafraoute and makes for a beautiful drive if you have your own car or bike.

For a day out visit Tiote or Taliouine.

[[Marrakech]] - If you don't have carsickness even on a winding road, consider passing the Tizi n'Test pass in the High Atlas (2100m above sea). All the busses leaving to Marrakech from here are going towards Agadir and around the mountains. You have to catch a grand taxi to Oulad Berhil and from there another one to Marrakech, but state, that you want to go through Tizi n'Test. The journey can take quite some time, depending how long will you have to wait for the taxi to fill in Oulad Berhil and you may stop in a village on the way waiting for more passengers, but the views are magnificent and well worth it. Be sure to start in the morning (there is a bus from Oulad Berhil to Marrakech leaving at 6PM, but since you wouldn't see much of the way, it doesn't pay). Self drive the journey over Tizin'Testto Marrakesh takes 4½-5 hours; by motorway 3 hours.

[[Agadir]] - There are regular buses that serve Agadir, though only a few per day; a shared taxi is what most people use to go to Agadir.

[[Ouarzazate]] - The CTM bus from Agadir that stops in Taroudannt goes on to Quarzazate.

[[Tafraoute]] - A smaller but well maintained road connects Taroudannt with Tafraoute and makes for a beautiful drive if you have your own car or bike.