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Children, teenagers

Atlas: extraordinary basin of Win-Timdouine

​The Win-Timdouine basin is an extraordinary place in more ways than one! Located in the Atlas, at an altitude of 1,600 m, it is fed by water that comes out of a maze of underground lakes about twenty kilometers long. The view from this privileged height and the serenity of the place are really worth the trip._22200000-0000-0000-0000-000000000222 000000222_​​​_22 200000-0000-0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-0000- 0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-0000-0000-0000-00 0000000222_​​​_2 2200000-0000-0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-0000 -0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-0000-0000-0000-0 00000000222_​​​_ 22200000-0000-0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-000 0-0000-0000-000000000222_​​_22200000-0000-0000-0000- 000000000222_​A little over an hour from your rental riad.
 
 

The enchanting road to reach Win-Timdouine

 

You can access the Win-Timdouine site by the old Agadir-Marrakech road, which remains next to the highway now linking the seaside town to the Ocher City. Above the village of Amskroud, the direction is indicated by a large road sign, to the right of the road uphill.

The road turns out to be properly paved. It accomplishes real wonders to weave its way between gorges, undulating valleys and precipices and includes countless bends over 8 kilometres. However, the beauty and variety of the landscapes quickly make you forget this little inconvenience. Drive carefully! Here birds will entice you to stop and take pictures, there a flowering almond tree will amaze you, further on an old man on his donkey will make you slow down. 

 

Park your vehicle in the small parking space located about one kilometer from the basin.  By following the path carved into the rock, which is in principle forbidden to vehicles, you can then take a nice walk to the basin. Lasting about 15 minutes, this walk allows you to realize the beauty of the place at the speed of man. 

An incomparable view of the Atlas

In Berber language, "Win-Timdouine" means "the cave of the lakes". The water that comes out of it flows through a small channel into a quadrilateral laid out in the open air by the hand of man. Given the altitude, the temperature does not exceed 25 to 30 degrees centigrade, even in the middle of summer, when the sun shines its rays on the southern face of the Atlas.

 

The clever ones appreciate this unusual swimming pool as soon as the plain turns into a furnace. It is indeed pleasant to swim in, provided that the pool has been cleaned of all impurities. The depth reaches about two and a half meters. Abdul, one of the friends of the Jardin aux Etoiles, published asmall report on his blog, in which he recounts one of his escapades in Win-Tindouine.

No tourist crowds

 

This magical place, which does not appear in the guides, is not yet known enough to be invaded by a crowd of tourists. It has some chance of remaining uncrowded for some time to come. Inshallah!



Take full advantage of the encounters you will make there. You are unlikely to miss M'Bark, the local regular, always ready to offer you tea, which he heats on the fire. The man is discreet. This does not prevent rewarding it. You may also come across friendly Berbers living in these isolated lands who will be happy to tell you a thousand things about Win-Timdouine.

 

In just over an hourfrom the Star Garden 
 
 
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A field of scientific exploration, but water that is lost...

The Win-Timdouine cave is the largest that has been explored to date in Africa. It constitutes a gigantic underground network comprising a series of lakes arranged along its 19 km of galleries. Exploration of Win-Timdouine only began in 1950. In 2008, an international biospeleological expedition examined it from top to bottom and learned valuable scientific lessons. See the video below on the left.



The water from the Win-Timdouine basin flows into nature. It ends up getting lost in the cliff that dominates the site, without reaching the village below. The inhabitants come there to get supplies in an improvised way. Most of this blue gold is therefore not used by humans.

A pipeline project has been considered, but so far it has not materialized. No more than the idea of drilling from the top of the mountain, which corresponds to the Tasroukht plateau, located 100 meters above. This water of underground origin emerging from the mountain is nevertheless important, even vital for the Berber populations of the region, as explained by the France 2 program called "ADN",  to watch below.



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