The short week due to Aid al Fatr, the end of Ramadan after the noon moon has been spotted, gave me my first opportunity to get out of Marrakech and see more of Morocco. I’ve traveled here before and seen quite a few places: Fes, Rabat, Casablanca, Tangier, Essouira and Chefchouen. While I wouldn’t mind return trips to some of these towns and cities, I wanted to go someplace new this trip. I long to take a trip to the Sahara but felt this time frame (5 days) rushed it a bit. It would mean long stretches in the car and only a little time in the desert.

So…I decided on Ouarzazate…not really knowing much about it. I know it’s the most important Moroccan city in the gateway region to the Sahara, but that’s the beginning and the end of my knowledge. (Unfortunately, my guidebook suffered a water-logged, wrinkly death when my apartment flooded during heavy rains…but that’s another story.) I trusted that Fahd, being a driver and tour guide, would know where to go.

Wednesday night, after school, we picked up a tiny, bright orange hatchback from the agency Fahd works for. We would be hitting the road in the morning, but if they’re going to give us the car early…why not take it? We didn’t get an early start, running a few errands and having breakfast before actually heading out of the city, so it felt relaxed and pleasant as we drove towards the Atlas Mountains.

(Foothills and cacti)


We filled the gas tank, cranked the stereo and soaked up the sunshine. The mountains that loom in the distance from Marrakech quickly edged closer and we were driving through the foothills in a little more than a half hour. I watched the landscape change. Out of the city, fields of cacti nestled between the hills, tall grasses swayed in the wind and the sky was the radiant sort of blue people sing about. I was happy as could be, taking pictures out the car windows and generally having a good time….until we reached the mountains proper and one of the scariest roads I’ve ever seen!

(Before things get crazy.)


People warned me that the road through the Atlas was not great. Some said terrible, in fact. I didn’t get much elaboration on what made it so bad…but I think its because people didn’t want to scare me. This incredibly narrow road climbs steadily by way of ever-increasing hairpin switchbacks. Drivers do not even try to stay on their side of the road through these turns unless there’s oncoming traffic, which can mean cars, donkeys, trucks or buses. People walk on the edges of the road trying to sell things or entice you into roadside cafes. And did I mention…there’s rarely a shoulder….or a guardrail! Many times the edge of the road drops off thousand foot cliffs, and while they’re gorgeous to look at it’s not exactly what I’d call ideal driving conditions. But Fahd has driven this roads hundreds of times and I was reasonably sure he’d get me to Ouarzazate alive. Still, he laughed when I clutched the armrest-handle from time to time.

The High Atlas are truly beautiful. Around each turn is a new color variation, a new vegetation, a completely new look and feel. I am amazed at how quickly the landscape changes, at times red, orange, ochre, sometimes tans and browns, other times black like volcanic soil. The foothills are cloaked in palm trees and cacti, while higher up there are conifers and scrubby underbrush. And everywhere, tiny towns and settlements cling to the slopes, with houses often built of the nearby soil, mixed with straw, so they fade into the landscape.

(A small mountain town.)


Twisting and turning our way higher and higher, we stopped often for the views or for coffee. The air got increasing cooler with each stop. By the time we pulled over at one of Fahd favorite overlooks, where you can see just how crazy the road really is, I felt like I might need to dig out my jacket.

(Zig-zagging through the mountains)

Soon, though, we were headed downhill and the views became even more impressive. Instead of the walls of mountains through which we had, until the point, occasionally peered at enchanted little valleys, now the world lay before us, falling from in front of us, rippling into the distance in an ever-fading horizon of peaks. The sky got bigger. The mountains bowed to us and we could see, over their heads, the show yet to come. Sunlight lit the orange-red tones of the rock, like they were lit from within. I’ve rarely seen anything as beautiful.

We stopped for lunch in a Podunk little town that brought to mind a mix of wild west and Afghanistan. The whole town was less than a city block long (streets, not avenues!) and crowded with commerce, cafes and cars. The road, dirt here, was rutted by heavy traffic. I seriously thought that one of the tiny cafes hugging the side of the precarious road would be a better option, but the restaurant Fahd headed towards was packed with people, smelled wonderful and was apparently the best place to eat for many miles in either direction. I can’t say much for the décor, but we were lucky to grab a table on the terrace overlooking another killer view. A peek into the kitchen revealed dozens of tajines bubbling away on an incredible stove system with nearly uncountable burners. Fahd asked what was good that day and a tajine quickly appeared at our table: tomato, onion and lamb with saffron and spices. I wasn’t too kean on the lamb (you can see why in the picture below) but ate hardily of the veggies, digging in with crusty bread, Moroccan style.

(Yummy, tajine!)


(Not yummy -before shot!)


(Atlas town.)


Back on the road, we soon descended into arid plains. The sunlight lit the landscape magically and I started to realize the journey was the whole point of this trip. If it wasn’t for the terrifying road I would like to return again and again, wandering down smaller routes to see more villages and towns languishing in these incredible mountains.

(Even more gorgeous in person!)

We approached Ouarzazate in the late afternoon. This is Moroccan Hollywood. It is home to one of the largest film studios in the world, Atlas Studios and many big budget films are shot here, including parts of Gladiator, Jesus of Nazareth, Alexander and Kundun, to name just a few. (http://www.imdb.com/List?endings=on&&locations=Ouarzazate,+Morocco) That being said, most of the action happens outside of town and the city itself is a sleepy little place with not much going on. There’s a souk, or course, lots of hotels and restaurants and some beautiful architecture, but its not a very hopping kind of place.

We stopped in to an artisan shop to visit a friend of Fahd’s. He recommended a new hotel out of the city center, and his recommendation was spot on! Les Jardins de Ouarzazate was a gorgeous place with nice rooms, beautiful gardens and a pool. The price (about $50US) included breakfast and dinner and the food was delicious! If you ever find yourself in this part of the world, I recommend this place wholeheartedly.