Discover Taliouine and its treasure: saffron!

As you can see, the cultivation of saffron in Taliouine is its greatest treasure. So we invite you to visit a saffron cooperative to learn a little more about the production and harvesting of this fascinating spice! There is in fact a small local cooperative that will explain everything you need to know about the red gold and also help you distinguish the real saffron from the fake.

So, how is saffron grown? Saffron bulbs are planted in July and harvested in October and November. Harvesting saffron is a real labour of love, because saffron is a delicate and demanding plant!

The mauve saffron flowers, known as crocus, are harvested entirely by hand at dawn. This is the time of day when the flowers are still closed. Once dawn breaks, the flowers open and the red filaments inside risk falling out, making them impossible to pick! So it's inside these crocuses that we find saffron, a red filament a few centimetres long.

Once the baskets have been filled, the saffron growers take their harvest home to be sorted. Everyone pitches in, from the father of the family to the children! The sorting has to be done away from the sun, which alters the taste of the saffron. The red filaments are carefully set aside and the petals given to the animals.

Finally, the filaments are wrapped in large sheets and stored in a dry place. They spend a week drying and then curl up to produce saffron, the famous spice with the most delicate flavour. In the end, the thousands of flowers collected by the saffron growers produce just a few hundred grams of saffron, which explains why it is so precious!

The star of Taliouine is saffron, but the little town has other points of interest! Firstly, the Kasbah du Glaoui, which until 1956 served as the seat of power in the region. Despite its small size, Taliouine played an important role in Morocco's administrative history thanks to its strategic location. So the Pasha Glaoui had a large Kasbah built there!

Shaped like a massive square, this ancient palace is one of the region's archaeological treasures. The Kasbah is partly in ruins, but it still retains a glimpse of its former majesty. Adjacent to the Kasbah, you'll find a beautiful guest house offering the best view of the palace! And all in a sublime, arid desert landscape.

If you're passing through Taliouine on a Monday morning, don't miss a trip to the souk! All the locals go there to do their shopping. It's a lively place where you'll find crafts and local specialities, like saffron of course! The souk is located in the old town of Taliouine, on the other side of the oued to the south.

The area around Taliouine is particularly popular with travellers, offering superb hiking routes and circuits through steep villages and landscapes of unparalleled beauty.

You can of course hike the heights of Taliouine, but we also recommend venturing into theZagmouzen wadi at the foot of the town. This beautiful wadi is teeming with life in places, including many birds.

Finally, we head for the Tislit gorges, some thirty kilometres from Taliouine, on the way to Tazenakht. They offer an imposing backdrop for a hike: volcanic peaks that frame the wadi for 2 km, with a few colourful shrubs and isolated palm trees here and there.

In Taliouine, the choice of accommodation is fairly limited. We recommend that you put your bags down at Escale Rando Taliouine. This is the guest house adjoining the Kasbah du Glaoui, so you'll be sleeping in magnificent surroundings! What's more, you'll receive a warm welcome and your host will be able to give you lots of tips for your visits. The hotel also has a restaurant and the cuisine is excellent, with dishes seasoned with saffron of course!