Skoura’s defining features remain its mudbrick kasbahs and vast Unesco-protected palm groves, earning the moniker ‘Oasis of 1000 Palms’. Under this green canopy, a 15-mile patchwork of carefully tended garden plots are watered by an ingenious, centuries-old khettara system of locks, levers and canals. More than 100 bird species flourish here. Stay overnight in a pisé guesthouse and explore the palmeraie on foot or bicycle.