The Garden OF STARS
Riad between Agadir and Taroudant, in southern Morocco
Holiday rental with a resident of Swiss nationality
Tiout palm grove: freshness, donkeys, bivouac
Here is an ideal address when the sun is beating down on the Souss and you absolutely need to find coolness and shade. Located a few kilometers southeast ofTaroudant, and much greener than that ofMarrakesh, the Tiout palm grove then becomes a welcome refuge. All year round, it is also the setting for fun donkey and mule rides.It can be reached in just over an hour from the Jardin aux Etoiles.
Ask the inhabitants
The attraction of the palm grove? A ride on the back of a donkey or mule very popular with tourists. Just ask the inhabitants of the village of Tiout which borders the palm grove.
On arrival at the car park located after the village, you will quickly see one or other of its inhabitants offering you a ritual walk, popular with both children and adults.Your contact, Jean-Luc Vautravers, performed it with undisguised pleasure with his wife andMr. Sacha, one of his two Jack Russells(see our video).
Discuss the price beforehand. It will be modest anyway. Also think that for the inhabitants of Tiout, this is a welcome income.
Bivouacs
Enjoying a traditional meal inside the Tiout palm grove is another great discovery.
Our favorite goes toIgueldan bivouac, located almost in the center of the palm grove. This magical place was created bya remarkable man named Said, sadly passed away in January 2023. His sonAzzedine has fortunately taken up the torch and his mother Djamila continues to cook tajines, skewers and couscous, so that this charming place continues to exist, between palm trees and streams, to the delight of visitors.
Other bivouacs have makes their appearance in the palm grove: Tiout Oasis Space and the guest houseDar Oriam.
With its 20,000 date palms stretching as far as the eye can see over 1,000 hectares and its well-irrigated crops, the Palmeraie de Tiout (sometimes written Tioute) looks like a vast oasis. She owes it to the miraculous source which springs from the djebel. Carefully channeled, it favored the appearance of an immensity of greenery, while the heights are arid. The inhabitants of the seven villages that make up the Palmeraie de Tiout mainly cultivate cereals (wheat, barley, corn).
The Palmeraie of Tiout is immortalized in a magnificent painting that adorns one of the walls ofour room Taroudant.
Ali Baba and the 40 thieves
The deeper it goes into the Palmeraie, the more the canal widens and is generous in the freshness it provides. The oasis has 16 water mills, but unfortunately only one remains in operation.
It is here that scenes from the film "Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves" were shot, played by the hilarious Fernandel and which can be viewedbelow.