Imouzzar The Waterfalls of Imouzzar

Up in the north the nature is completely different. The mountains are high and the valleys deep. The roads climb onto the mountain side and when you look through the window of the car, you see people down in the ravins that doesn't look bigger than ants.




I went to the waterfalls of IMOUZZAR. I usually don't go on trips arranged by the travel organisation, but this was one of those rare occassions. In minibusses we started to breathtaking journey up in the mountains of Anti Atlas.
We stopped in several places during the journey. There were so many beautiful views to see, and also a possability to buy so called souvenirs. They were told to be animals that lived many million years ago, but those things looked more like concrete to me...




On our way we stopped in a berb village. For a change the tourists were a minority, and nothing was prepared for us. No dancing, no party, no music. What a relief!
The market was going on, and you could by almost anything. From a corner a donkey sounded quite unhappy with the situation, chicken run around your feet. The smell of many different spices filled the air. People from around the village were doing their shopping, and the discussion about the value of the merchendise was, let's say, vivid... There were only two products I recognised, and exist all over the world. Coca Cola and Marlboro...




The parking lot was located just outside the village wall. There were no cars, trucks or busses there. The parking instead was ment for the only way transport was possible in this very rocky area: donkeys, mules and horses. The blacksmith was very busy changing "tires" on the "vehicles".


Our journey continued, and even though our driver drove the minibus as if he quite recently had stolen it and had plans escaping to Algeria, we reached our destiny:


the waterfalls of Imouzzar.




From the restaurant where we parked the bus there's a short walk to the waterfalls. Like I always do, I took the lead. Only the guide was in front of me. An old man wanted to guide me himself. He was dressed in rags and had no tounge. But he wanted to show me the way to the waterfalls himself. I decided to follow him. Like a stone goat he jump up the cliffs, and I sometimes had problems having the same speed as he. He turned around now and then to make sure I still was keeping up with him. He noticed that my camera sometimes hit the rocks, and offered to carry it. After a second of hesitation I let him do it. He wouldn't have had any problems running away with it.
Eventually we reached the bottom of the waterfalls. But my guide wasn't satisfied. He made me understand that there was a much better view from a bit higher up. And he was right.
He's the one who has taken this picture of me.

Having seen young men showing off by diving from the top into the pond, we went back to the restaurant. We had some coffee and bread with honey, and had a chance to relax a bit before our suicidal busdriver took us back.
This really was an excursion to remember...


This page was updated 8th May 2000 All pictures copyright Johan Steenhoff Eriksen 1