Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The path south from Akchour's dam up the Oued Farda is rough in places, but well
worth any scrambling. You'll also have to cross the river twice but this is quite easy where
it's not deep - if you don't mind the occasional splash. (However, if you're trekking in
spring, check in Afeska that snow melt hasn't made the river impassable.) God's Bridge is
about 45 minutes from Akchour. A huge red stone arch towers 25m above the river and it
almost beggars belief that it was carved by nature and not by human hand. Over countless
millennia, the river flowed as an underground watercourse, eroding the rock and carving a
path deeper and deeper, leaving the bridge high and dry.
Day 3: Akchour to Pastures above Abou Bnar
DURATION 4½-6 HOURS / DISTANCE 12KM / ASCENT 977M
An early morning start (with full water bottles, since there are no springs on the route until
you reach Izrafene) sees you leaving Akchour by heading to the north, crossing the bridge
over the Oued Kelaâ and then cutting right (southeast) along the track to Izrafene. It's a
particularly picturesque walk as you climb up and around
Jebel Azra
(1375m). Your eyes
lift from the steep gorges you've trekked through and out over the sweep of open moun-
tains. If you're up for some scrambling, add half an hour to attain the peak, from where
you can drink in further gorgeous views.
Having cut around the mountain, the countryside becomes gentler - rolling even - as
the trail heads south. The village of
Izrafene
marks the halfway point of the day's trek. Just
before the village, a track bears east at a col, tempting the adventurous to abandon the Bab
Taza hike and walk to Taourarte (where there's a homestay and a
gîte
) and on to
Bou-
Ahmed
on the coast, a further two to three days' walk.
From Izrafene, the track turns into a 4WD
piste
- the first since Afeska. It follows a
narrow valley, gradually turning east up onto a ridge with gentle views. Where it forks,
turn left, and then, just 25m later, turn right onto a trail that heads southeast to
Abou Bnar
through a pretty stretch of oak wood. There's little to detain you here, so continue along-
side the river (not the 4WD track) through the open, grassy country to the
marabout
of
Sidi Jil
. This is a pretty area for camping, but if you continue for another 30 minutes,
you'll come to an even more beautiful spot, set in wide pasture near the El-Ma Souka
spring - an idyllic place for a night's rest.
