Atlas Mountains Archives - Extraordinary Places

“There should be snow by the side of the road so it really feels like we have driven in the Atlas mountains” I said. Be careful what you wish for, Holden.

As we had climbed over the highest road in Morocco a few days earlier, we had certainly seen the remains of snowy peaks, and there was even some of the white stuff still clinging on by the side of the road. So, we could tick that box.

Snow by the side of the road – tick!

The High Atlas sure is pretty!

The day before, sugar-coated mountain tops and sunshine!

However, just a few days ago – long after the mountain passes had been declared “snow-free” we were driving from Midelt, in the Mid Atlas range, to Fes over a lower pass, we had our customary roof-off-whatever-the-weather approach, despite a few spits and spots of rain.

“Hang on, ” we said, almost in unison “that’s not rain, it’s snow!”

The first few flakes were fun, fluttering down in soggy splats on the windscreen, but as we climbed higher, at around 1900m, it started to come down so thick and fast that the roof was definitely going back on and that was the least of our worries!

The visibility when it was still okay

Visibility was closing in fast – this is a mountain road!

Suddenly our colourful Moroccan world become monochrome

We were 60km from our destination, on a winding mountain road in a virtual white-out!

Honestly – there is a mountain over there

An almost total white-out

Three times we had to stop to clear the windscreen. So much snow had packed across the front of poor old Charlie Charleston that no air could get to cool the air-cooled engine and it was in the bizarre danger of overheating in the snow, the headlights where virtually blanked out with the white stuff and at one stage the wipers simply stopped in mid-swing, too jammed with snow to cope.

The third stop to clear the windscreen and headlights

Geoff is standing at the front of the car and is barely visible

Finally as we descended into Ifrane – ironically one of the top ski resorts in Morocco (no, we didn’t know there were ski resorts here either!) – the snow stopped.

A white-knuckle ride we didn’t expect, but all part of the adventures. By the snow on the side of the road measure, we have driven across the Atlas mountains in style!

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

Tag Archives: Atlas Mountains

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

The high road to Marrakech