Deep in the Berber country, the Draa valley is a long succession of palm groves, along the river, between the last slopes of the Anti-Atlas and the first stone and sand deserts. From Ouarzazate to Zagora, the road goes first through the plateaus of the jebel Tifemine, fast a desert, the it climbs between steep canyons, to the pass of Tizi n’Tinififlt, at 1.660m. Then appear splendid landscapes, with palm trees, fig trees, apricot trees, small cereals fields, with wheat, henna, mint, all far away, in the irrigated area, small lots split by little water canals and narrow paths. There, the space is more than precious, adobe houses are relegated a little bit higher away, their deep walls protecting from the heat, their terraces welcoming family and friends at the end of the day, one even sleep there during the warm summer nights.

From place to place, more important ksours, fortified common lofts, some watchtowers remind that the place rebelled for very long time against the central power, remained agitated and restless, with never-ending tribal wars, and was finally pacified only in the 30ies. One still remembers from these times the heroic battle of Bougafer, the last and desperate fight of the Aït Atta fighting the French, a battle where the women fought with the men, and won the right to wear a tattooed beard as a witness of their courage. One must visits the wonderful Tamnougalt Ksour, among the slopes of the jebel Sahro.

Skoura, Agdz, N’Kob, Tazzarine, Zagora, for each name a palm grove, a small city battered by a burning sun, where one appreciates highly a hot tea sipped in the shadows of the arcades. Men pass by, trotting on the back of a heavily loaded donkey and women, wearing bounty dresses, carry water or fodder. Oleanders and acacias multiply, their fragrances mixing in the evening.