The road to Marrakech is worth a mention in its own right, for the sheer beauty, variety and breathtaking scale. It was a truly gorgeous and memorable mountain drive.
We left the dunes of Merzouga and found ourselves crossing wide valley floors, at first still with hard packed desert crust – known as reg, but soon scrubby bushes began to sprout in the valley and the distant mountains had a touch of white on their peaks.
After the desert sands, the earth gives way to barren road and mountains
And then desert becomes scrubland and rocks turn to ice
En route we passed through the beautiful Gorges du Dades, with its curious rock formations, glorious mud kasbahs, almond blossom and deep canyons.
Gorgeous colours, shapes and angles in the Gorges du Dades
In the Gorges du Dades the colours almost defy nature
The Gorges has every rock formation imaginable, from boulders to melting wax
The houses in the Gorges du Dades are almost invisible against their mother earth
The Gorges houses ancient buildings that look more like clay models
Gripping the sides of the Gorges du Dades, strange rock formations are a characteristic of the valley
Great builders created beautiful kasbahs straight from the mud and earth
We made a short stop at the most recognized kasbah in Morocco – Kasbah Amridil.
The most famous kasbah in Morocco – Amridil – as seen on a 50 dirham note
The modest courtyard of the Kasbah Amridil
The mudbrick walls of Kasbah Amridil have stood the test of time – just!
The music may have stopped but the kasbah Amridil lives on
Soon we started to climb, and despite our 2CV Charlie Charleston being fully loaded, his mighty 600cc engine, combined with Geoff’s navigation of every twist and turn – finally brought us over the highest road in Morocco – the Tizi n’Tichka at 2260m.
Just the spot for a picnic in the High Atlas
The palms give way to rock and ice
The barren hills on the south side of the High Atlas
There is always a place for a pot seller, even on the highest road in Marrakech!
The slopes are starting to show more vegatation
The long, winding and glorious road through the mountains
Almost immediately we began to descend, we found ourselves in another world, very far from the desert roads and dunes to which we had become accustom. Verdant valleys, bright with green grass and fields, it felt like another country, not the other side of the mountain.
The southern slopes give way to green hills on the northern side
The sudden change is like a different country, with succulent cacti and rolling hills
But the snowy Atlas Mountains never really leave you – even in the heart of Marrakech, they are quietly peering over your shoulder in the distance.
Welcome to Marrakech – with the snow caps faintly showing in the distance
