5 hrs, 8.0 kms



Next day I've got a full day for exploring, and I know exactly where I want to go: back to Aourir and from there catch a van up to the waterfall of Immouzzer . Actually I’ve known about this waterfall for the last 17 years, but it never made on to my "must see" list. Back in 1996 my neighbors in Agadir told me that there was a beautiful stream up this way—nice place for a picnic, but that it was hard to find transportation out this way. I also heard about this beautiful waterfall—but I was always a little suspicious… I mean, where does the water go? There are no streams or rivers anywhere up the coast here!

But now, I’ve got time to kill… and since I’m going to walk all the way, I don’t really need to worry about transportation (except to get to my starting point). This area might be overrated, but it certainly can’t be as boring as my Oulad Teima hike.

So early in the morning I hop on the city bus to Aourir, and soon find the rugged rural van that’s heading up to Immouzzer.   All the folks on the van look like hardy country folks—they’re not going to see the sights… and I don’t hear a word of Arabic anywhere, only Berber . Just a 10 kilometers out of Agadir and you feel like you’re in a different country.

Finally the van fills up and we’re off.

The road winds through the tree dotted hills for about 14 kilometers—pleasant but not spectacular scenery… yeah, I suppose I could hike this stretch. But then the road switchbacks into a valley and I’m taken aback by what I see: the road hugs the side of a cliff along a fascinating canyon with a stream along side with deep, blue pools… lush clusters of palm trees provide an intriguing contrast with the jagged cliffs.


I’m embarrassed. Embarrassed that I could have lived in the Agadir region for 4 years and never come to explore this region. Embarrassed that I wrote off the Agadir Region as “finished” when I hadn’t yet visited this areas greatest treasure. Yes, it’s true that Agadir has a nice boardwalk and beach and there a a few OK spots up the Souss River… but this is definitely the most best thing that the greater Agadir area has to offer .

The the road winds up the side of the mountain and you get a panoramic view of dense farm forest at the base of a rugged canyon—you look at it and you’re not sure if you’re in a tropical forest or semi-desert. Quite a different feel from the Dades and Toudra Gorges in the Eastern desert.   Once again, after telling myself “I’ve seen it all” here in Morocco, I come around a bend, and there in front of me is something completely new.

This isn’t exactly a new discovery, however. This area is coined as “Paradise Valley” known to travellers and travel guides for decades. I guess I just didn’t pay attention when I heard the term, maybe assuming it was some gimmick or tourist trap. But, despite the occasional little hotel or restaurant along the way catering to tourists, this place does still have an untouched feel to it, and the living off the rugged land is still one of the main occupations of this region.

Finally the road winds higher and higher up the mountains side, past pine forests—something I didn’t think existed in this region . And finally, way up there on the side of the mountain is the village of Immouzzer. It’s market day and the village is abuzz… but right now I’m focused on enjoying nature, so I hurry through to the other side to where I get a great panoramic view of yet another valley dotted with a couple of villages far below… a valley that stretches all the way to where you can see the ocean some 40 kilometers away. Wow, it seems like I could just keep exploring Morocco forever and ever…

I’m eager to head back to explore Paradise Valley, but first things first: somewhere down this second valley is Immouzzer Falls, no way am I going to turn around without visiting it first. Luckily there’s a pedestrian path, nicely fixed up for the less nimble feet of tourists, taking a short cut down the steep mountainside. Right in front of me is a cool cliff with cactus clinging to the rocks. I continue on down, passing an occasional local, making his way up to the market for the weekly shopping. Finally I reach a village, which could count as a separate town, but I ask and am told that it’s part of Immouzzer .

I reach a little stream and a sign that says “you’re passing through private property, please pay 10 dirhams” I guess it sounds fair. Tourists come and spend a lot of money here, but very little of that actually ends up in the pockets of the locals. And I’d much rather pay a set fee than be trailed by a hustler trying to guilt trip me into giving him a “tip”… but there’s no one to collect my 10 dirhams, so I continue on up to the falls, clambering over some giant boulders with a trickle of water dripping down a mossy cliff into a deep blue pool. If it were a bit warmer, this would be a nice place for a swim… 


I reach a dead end, so I go back to the official footpath, lined with unattended souvenir booths, and finally to the waterfall itself… which… has almost no water.

Well actually there’s this huge rock curtain, at a slight angle, where the water used to run down, but it turns out, due to an earthquake the stream got reroute, and comes down a bit to the right down a less spectacular series of falls—not at lot of water though . It is an interesting view, the rock curtain and all, but when you come expecting to see a waterfall, it is a little bit of a let down. But that’s OK—today, it’s not just about the falls, it’s about experiencing this region in its entirety. So I do my Immouzzer video clip and head on my way back up the mountainside.

Up the hill, I take a shortcut through the donkey parking lot, over the wall straight to the market. it’s noon and this will probably be my last chance to get a meal for a while, so I’d better go for it. I find a cheapy looking spot where they serve beans. “15 dirhams” I’m told. (1.30 euros)

15 dirhams! I can get it for half that in Casablanca! “That’s a bit expensive” I respond.

“These are expensive times,” he responds. I wonder if I would have gotten a different price if I had asked in Berber instead of in Arabic. I continue on down the road where there a nicer café which has tagines—and this time I’m given an honest price…

Now let’s start walking. We’ve got a lot of miles to cover.