Fes, Morocco· Concierge · Mon–Sat · 09:00–18:00 GMT+1
Skoura · Photo: Just Booked A Trip, CC BY 2.0
Skoura is a palm oasis on the kasbah road east of Ouarzazate, watered by khettaras, the old underground channels that feed hundreds of thousands of date palms. Inside the palmeraie stands Kasbah Amerdil, a 17th-century Glaoui fortress. Fes-based travellers reach it on the southern, Marrakech-side arc, for a half-day or a night.
Skoura lies deep on the southern circuit, far from the imperial north: a palm oasis and village roughly 42 km east of Ouarzazate on the kasbah road, in the Drâa-Tafilalet region at around 1,200 m, reached on the Marrakech-side arc of a trip rather than directly from Fes. The oasis contains hundreds of thousands of date palms irrigated by an ancient network of khettaras (underground water channels), and within the palmeraie stand some of the finest earthen kasbahs on the southern circuit — including the Kasbah Amerdil (also written Amerhidil), a 17th-century Glaoui fortress that appears on the 50-dirham banknote. Skoura is quieter and less visited than Aït Ben Haddou but architecturally just as rewarding; it works as a short detour or an overnight stop before the Dadès Gorge.
Kasbah Amerdil (Amerhidil), a 17th-century earthen fortress in the heart of the Skoura palmeraie, was depicted on the old 50-dirham note. It has been partly restored and is open to visitors; the surrounding palm oasis can be explored by bicycle or mule.
Skoura's oasis is sustained by a centuries-old system of khettaras — underground gravity-fed channels — that distribute water from the High Atlas snowmelt. Guided walks through the palmeraie explain the traditional hydraulic engineering still in use today.
Two further restored earthen kasbahs in the oasis — Ben Moro is one of the oldest in the region, and Dar Ahlam has been converted into an award-winning boutique property with a superb kitchen.
Skoura sits at the western end of the rose-valley corridor; arriving from the east in May you pass fields of damask roses harvested for rosewater, perfume and rose-water distilleries at Kelaat M'Gouna.
Trips we build around Skoura. Tell us which one fits and we'll write the days and quote them for your group.
3 days
Skoura's palmeraie and Amerdil kasbah feature as a scenic lunch stop on the private desert route between the Atlas and the dunes.
1 day
A private day from Ouarzazate: the Amerdil kasbah, a palmeraie bicycle ride and lunch at a restored earthen guesthouse.
Getting there. 42 km (45 min) east of Ouarzazate on the N10 kasbah road toward Boumalne Dadès
Best combined with. Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou and the Dadès Gorge in a southern loop
Date harvest. October brings the date harvest — the palmeraie is at its most active and the Medjool dates sold at the roadside stalls are exceptional
Read next. Can You Do a Sahara Desert Tour from Fes, and How Many Days Do You Need to Reach Merzouga and the Dunes?; Merzouga vs Zagora — Which Sahara Desert Should You Visit?; Sahara Desert Camps Explained — Standard vs Luxury, Erg Chebbi vs Erg Chigaga.
The places closest to Skoura, easy to join on one private route.
Ouarzazate & Aït Ben HaddouAfrica's film capital: earthen kasbahs, desert studios and the road to the dunes.See Ouarzazate & Aït Ben Haddou
Aït Bougmez ValleyThe remote High Atlas 'Happy Valley' of the M'Goun massifSee Aït Bougmez Valley
Dadès & Todra GorgesSheer red canyons and the great switchback road of the deep southSee Dadès & Todra GorgesRead these before you add Skoura to a trip.