RiadAl Ersa
+212 528 85 40 12hello@riadalersa.comDerb Al Ersa, near Place Assarag, Taroudant 83000, Morocco
The orange-tree garden at the heart of the riad, seen from the gallery
The ochre wall of Riad Al Ersa with its carved cedar door, orange trees above

Behind the ramparts, an orange grove to yourself.

4.9 · 318 guest reviews

Seven rooms around an orange-tree garden, inside the walls of Taroudant.

Step over the wall

The house

A riad is a wall and a garden. We kept both: seven rooms around one ersa, inside the Saadian walls of Taroudant.

Orange blossom and a bitter orange on the branch
Hands picking oranges into a palm basket
rooms around the garden
7
rooms around the garden
orange trees, still picked
32
orange trees, still picked
km of ramparts round the town
7.5
km of ramparts round the town
The garden from the shaded arcade: a path to the fountain between orange trees

The ersa

In Morocco the ersa is the garden at the heart of the house. Ours is laid out the old way, in four beds around a fountain, so every room looks onto green.

The orange bed in the garden1

Orange

Bitter oranges for marmalade, sweet ones for breakfast juice.

The pomegranate bed in the garden2

Pomegranate

Ripe in October, split open on the breakfast table.

The jasmine bed in the garden3

Jasmine

Climbs the cedar trellis. You'll smell it at night in May.

The olive bed in the garden4

Olive

The oldest tree in the house, and the shadiest bench.

The rooms

Seven rooms,
all facing in.

All rooms

Around the walls

Everything is a short walk away.

N1 KM12345Al Ersa
Bab el KasbahThe Arab soukThe tanneriesPlace AssaragA calèche round the walls

The great gate on the east side, 6 min on foot.

From the Souss

The valley fills the pantry.

Argan from the Agadir road, saffron from Taliouine, honey from the thyme hills. Almost nothing on the table travels further than the Atlas.

  • ArganArgan
  • SaffronSaffron
  • OrangesOranges
  • Thyme honeyThyme honey
  • AlmondsAlmonds
Dinner on the roof terrace at dusk, the High Atlas on the horizon

The table

Dinner on the roof, the Atlas going pink.

Malika cooks what the Souss grows: saffron from Taliouine, argan from the Agadir road, honey from the thyme hills, oranges from our own trees. Breakfast is in the garden, dinner on the roof.

See the dining room

Guests say

What guests say

4.9 from 318 reviews

“We came for two nights and stayed five. Breakfast under the orange trees is the thing I'll remember from the whole trip.”
Claire & Tom · Bristol, UK

Journal

Notes from the Souss.

All stories

Garden 5 min read

Orange season, from blossom to marmalade

Thirty-two trees, two kinds of orange and one very old recipe. A year in the ersa.

Souss 6 min read

The red gold of Taliouine

Every autumn, for three weeks, the plateau east of Taroudant turns purple before dawn.

Taroudant 4 min read

Seven and a half kilometres of wall

The ramparts of Taroudant are among the best kept in Morocco. Here's how to see them.

The carved cedar door of the riad, one leaf open onto the garden