| Imilchil Vacations and Luxury Travel Packages |
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Route 3424 (for four-wheel drive or vehicles with good clearance only!) continues west from Jaffar, passing groves of pines, then via the P 3425 through the high valleys (dry starting in May) to the Saturday market of Imilchil (2,000 m/6,400 ft, about 165 km/99 mi from Midelt; 110 km/66 mi from El Ksiba). The nearby Plateau des Lacs is swathed in a romantic legend. The two factions of the Ait Haddidou tribe, the Ait Brahim from the upper course of the Assif Melloul and the Ait Yazza from the lower course of the same river were once enemies. A young man of the Ait Brahim fell in love with a girl from the Ait Yazza tribe. However, their parents were against the marriage. The lovers then cried until their tears created Lac Tislit (lake of the bride) and Lac Isli (lake of the groom). Every year in September, the semi-nomadic Ait Haddidou - the descendants of the Sanhadja who once were much-feared caravan robbers - celebrate a huge moussem at the grave of their patron saint, Sidi Ahmed Oulmghani in Agoudal (30 km/18 mi south of Imilchil). Perceived by Koranic scholars as a questionable pre-Islamic custom, this is a harvest festival with the chance to choose a new partner: Divorced or widowed Berber women-recognizable by their pointed bonnets - seek out their intended themselves.
Continuing south from Agoudal, boneshaking P 6905 soon passes through some impressive scenery and over the Tizi n'Ouanu (2,800 m/8,960 ft) before, reaching the breathtaking Dades Gorges just beyond Msemrir. Passing All Oudinar (1,800 m/5,760), a total 125 km/75 mi brings us to Boumalne (1,600 m/5120 ft) and the veritable realm of the date palm. Track 3445 is also appealing, guiding the traveler over the Tirherhouzine Pass (2,700 m/8,640 ft) into the Todhra Gorges and further on to Tinerhir (1,350 m/4320 ft, 88 km/53 mi). |
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