Where to Stay in Taroudant, Souss-Massa

What is Taroudant known for?

On the plain between the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas, it was once a capital of the Saadians who rose from the south, and it keeps a full ring of tall red-earth ramparts around the old town, busy Berber and Arab souks within the walls, the orange groves and argan trees of the valley, and a quiet air far from the tourist cities. The red walls run for miles. The mountains stand on either hand.

What are the main landmarks in Taroudant?

The red ramparts are the glory of Taroudant. The long circuit of earthen walls, glowing ochre and rising above the palms, rings the whole old town, the emblem of the city, around its heart. Great gates break the wall.

The old kasbah gates open through the ramparts into the medina, while the Berber souk, the tanneries, and the orange groves mark the town of Taroudant.

What is the history of Taroudant?

Taroudant was an old capital of the Souss. A town grew here early on the trade road up the fertile valley, and in the sixteenth century the Saadian sharifs made it their first capital as they rose to take Morocco. Rulers walled the town.

The Saadians and those after them raised the great earthen ramparts that still ring the old town, and Taroudant held the valley as its market and stronghold. In time the capital moved north. When the Saadians won the north and made Marrakech their seat, Taroudant sank to a provincial town, though it kept its walls and its souks and rose in revolt more than once.

It stayed the town of the Souss. Through the centuries Taroudant remained the market of the valley, gathering the oranges, argan, and grain of the plain within its red walls. The ramparts still ring the town.

Taroudant keeps its walls and its souks on the plain of the Souss.

Where is Taroudant?

Taroudant lies in the south of Morocco, on the plain of the Souss valley between two mountain walls. The town sits on the flat, fertile floor of the valley where the Souss river waters groves of orange and olive, with the High Atlas rising to the north and the darker Anti-Atlas to the south. Green groves fill the plain.

Mountains close both horizons.

What is the climate of Taroudant?

Taroudant has a hot, dry semi-desert climate. Very hot summers and mild winters cross the sheltered valley, shut from the sea by the hills, with strong sun most of the year and little rain. The valley bakes in high summer.

Winter days stay warm and clear.

How do you get to Taroudant?

Taroudant lies in the Souss valley, east of Agadir in southern Morocco. Roads run to it up the valley from Agadir and over the passes from Marrakech, and buses cross the plain to the town. Lanes lead in through the gates.

Agadir lies west down the valley.