The short answer
Yes. The two canyons on the kasbah road beyond Ouarzazate are the dramatic middle act of the drive from Marrakech to the Sahara, and they are the main reason we split that drive over two days. Todra narrows to a slot about 300 m deep and barely 10 m wide; the Dades winds past rose-tinted rock and a famous hairpin road.
In more detail
You do not usually visit the gorges as a separate trip; you pass through them on the way to the dunes at Merzouga. The question is whether to stop. We think you should: walk the floor of the Todra Gorge early, before the day's traffic arrives, and stop at the café terrace above the Dades switchbacks for the classic view.
Between the two lie palm oases, earthen kasbahs and the rose fields around Kelaat M'Gouna, harvested each May for rosewater. The Skoura palmery, with its restored kasbahs, sits on the same road. One or two nights along the way turns a long transfer into some of the best scenery of the trip.
The best seasons are spring, with roses in May, and autumn from September to November. Summer is hot in the valleys and winter nights are cold, but the gorges are worth seeing in any season.
Good to know
- Stay a night in the Dades Valley rather than driving straight through.
- Bring walking shoes for the Todra Gorge floor.
- The nearest airports are Ouarzazate and Errachidia.