About 15km northeast of Tineghir, the Todra River has carved a spectacular canyon through the High Atlas. The gorge narrows to a corridor barely 10 metres wide at its tightest point, with sheer ochre and rust-coloured limestone walls rising up to 300 metres on either side. A shallow stream runs through the floor, cold even in summer, and local children sell mineral water from small stalls at the entrance.
The best time to visit is morning, when sunlight illuminates the canyon walls and the tour groups have not yet arrived. In the late afternoon the gorge falls into shadow and the air cools quickly. If you can stay overnight in one of the simple guesthouses at the canyon mouth, you will have the place largely to yourself at dawn. The paved road ends at a small cluster of hotels and a spring; beyond that point, the gorge widens into a series of Berber villages that are rarely visited by tourists.