The valley with Amtoudi runs roughly sw-ne where we are. There's a valley running northwards from near the camping ground and a track we decided to investigate.

A much drier, and seemingly hotter, valley. No permanent running water for irrigation like Amtoudi.

Apparently a quarry, or at least a source of building stone, somewhere further along.

Two small gorges, we took the second as the track seemed to head in that direction. Vague tyre marks.

We passed three French people returning. Told us of a cave up on the left. Its at the left end of the weaker band of rock. 

No knowledge of tracks beyond the cave. Apparently even the French have difficulty getting directions.

Haven't a clue how it formed.

Its use is possibly part of the evolution from nomadic, through semi-nomadic to sedentary.

The agadirs belong to a fixed sedentary society. The cave is possibly storage for an earlier, semi-nomadic, lifestyle.

We forgot the torch. This is looking back to the entrance (to make sure we weren't lost).

A dry cave. Suitable for storage.

Looking back.

In our "keep right" approach we'd passed that small gorge which may have been long enough to block our way. Difficult to tell but it looked like we could follow ridges towards Amtoudi and hopefully find one of the tracks down to the valley floor.

The best we'd been able to discover about the tracks from the guardians had been a wave of the hand and "beaucoup de villages".

Crossing a small saddle it became rather obvious.

The first agadir is in the background and we know the tracks down from there.

Well and truly back "on piste".

Chipped through the desert varnish, like a series of dots. Not scratched. Roughly the same technique we first saw at Mutawintji (in Aus) in similar rock and varnish.

After 4 or more hours of rough walking we really do need a rest tomorrow!