Set in an oasis in southern Morocco’s Atlas Mountains, Tinghir is known as the ‘Emerald in the Sand’. It is a timeless town where life has changed very little over the years. Rust-coloured earthen buildings rest between groves of palm trees and the city’s quiet buzz resounds intermittently with calls to prayer from the mosque. At the local market you can watch people haggle and socialise amidst a wide array of fresh produce, clothing and livestock. By night, the air is redolent with the scent of spices used to make staple dishes such as tajine – a slow-cooked Moroccan casserole prepared in a terracotta pot. The natural highlight of the area is the Wadi Todgha (also known as the Tondra Gorge) – a limestone canyon with towering pink and grey cliff walls that rise above the bed of the Todgha River. The most impressive part of the gorge is the last section, where the cliff walls rise to a height of over 150 metres.