LOCATION: Dades Valley to Alt Benhaddou to Marrakech
What's happening?
Details of our upcoming day are outlined in person by @Mohammed as we wrapped up each evening and this is followed by a What'sApp message to ensure that everyone stays on track. Usually, spot on in terms of what the day lo9ks like. I am thinking he has done this before 🤣. In general, What'sApp has been a godsend for us while overseas - in conjunction with the eSIM means we are constantly in contact with all the tour operators.
Speaking of eSIM, had a little "blow out" last night. Despite having made all restrictions on using mobile data in all of his APPS , there was a separate set of controls within the eSIM that triggered the upload of @Mac's photos which chewed through all his data. A little inconvenient and very frustrating - but have topped up and fixed that loophole.
Breakfast was a little different thos morning - didn't have the kasbah to ourselves as three small tour buses had rolled in yesterday. Had to eat inside AND shared the space
The Adventure
Not sure that we have ever been on one of these organised trips where the drive itself, day after day, is actually part of the magic of the trip. @Smail is doing an exceptional job for us - he is careful and cautious and with so much overtaking on mountainous road, there is potential for it to be anything but that. There have been a few moments of car sick queasiness for each of us but really, it can be attributed to the drive rather than the driver.
As @Mohammed outlined , this was over 7 hours in the vehicle. But again, stunning, jawdropping and constantly changing.
This drive over Tizi n’Tichka Pass toward Marrakech packs a lot into a short stretch of mountain road. The route climbs to about 2,205–2,260 m in the High Atlas and the new road is constantly shadowed by the old road. Frequent landslides, rockfalls and accidents means that the old road is used for diversion. In winter, with deep snow, the Pass is frequently closed.
Despite the hazards, the pass offers some of the best vantage points in the Atlas: sweeping views of deep valleys, jagged ridgelines, and snow‑tipped peaks. Some sources quote there 200 hairpin turns on the drive (not sure on that but, yes, so many.) The curves, combined with constant changes in height, both uphill and downhill, ensured that every few minutes there was a new panorama - a constant reminder of how the High Atlas forms Morocco’s natural barrier!
The Pass offers some of the best vantage points in the Atlas: sweeping views of deep valleys, jagged ridgelines, and snow‑tipped peaks all dazzling desert colours under the blue blue of the sky - a vibrant mix of red and green now that definitely reminds you of Australia's outback. Perhaps a tad more dramatic in terms of height .
As I said, the drives are a highlight in themselves.
Our tour of the Amridil Kasbah felt like stepping into a perfectly preserved slice of 17th‑century southern Morocco. And every room and artefact was brought to life by our guide (darn, didn't make a note of his name - but he was exceptional - so much interesting detail!) The kasbah rises from the Skoura Oasis - ha, we now know the difference between an oasis and a palm grove - depends on the number of layers of vegetation AND we know how to date the age of a palm .. we are great trivia team members. This Kasbah has distinctive mud‑brick towers, carved wooden doors, and cool inner courtyards showing exactly how fortified family homes once operated.
We wandered through storerooms, kitchens, olive‑press rooms, a working water system, and a broad central courtyard, all maintained by the same family that built it centuries ago. There were dozens of stories including the method for making those bricks slabs for construction, the daily life associated with each room, the fascinating development of door locks and keys, the tricks for fortification, the schedule of maintenance and the politics of the management of these kasbahs by today's multiple owners.
Definitely the best story of the day here when @Bill paniced with "Liz, have you seen my glasses." @Liz actually ignored this and kept taking photos over the edge of the tower wall. Meanwhile @Bill was muttering and verbalising as he re-lived his movements of the last 15 minutes and was tossing the contents of his green backpack with more alacrity than any security check we have had to date. The only person who paused in all of this was kind hearted @Mac. In the most calm, deadpan voice @Mac shared, "Bill, they're on your head." No joke, it was the cliche come to life!
Back into the van and onto the road for the visit to Ait Ben Haddou. Rather than a single fortified kasbah this is a ksar - a fortified village! It was a cluster of many houses and granaries, mosques and courtyards all enclosed by shared defensive walls and watch towers.
For some reason, we took the tradesmen's "back entrance" - lower down and accessed by using stepping stones to cross the almost dry Ounila River and walked through the irrigated farmland to reach the entrance
This ksar was a maze of narrow streets, tunnels and many twisting turns, leading to dead ends constructed for defence and shade. Incredible the difference in temperature between outside and under the shade of the walls and tunnels or in the rooms.
At the very top sat the communal granary, the community’s secure “bank,” where grain and valuables were stored in times of conflict - @Mac made the trek to the top - certainly no valuables stored there today - but he was rewarded with those sweeping views over the valley.
Only a handful of families still live inside the walls (@Mohammed quoted five as the number) most residents moved to the modern village across the river as the site lost strategic importance over time.
And yes, lots of movies filmed in this ksar and @Mohammed has challenged us to rewatch and see if we can identify particular scenes.
Some incidentals to break the journey included a a heavily guarded Jewish pilgrimage, the largest solar farm in Morrocco, film making at the Moroccan version of Hollywood, a rolled over petrol tanker, landslides and road works. Never a dull moment on the Pass.
Last leg for today was an introduction to Marrakech. We voted to by pass checkin and to head straight to the square for our orientation walk and for dinner. Somehow, we had missed lunch and were a dually, for the first time in a long time, actually hungry.
Wow, Jemaa el‑Fna, the main square in the medina of old Marrakech was everything you would expect. We were back to traffic and here incessant beeping of horns, multiple lanes of traffic, motor bikes, busy police issuing tickets and that heavily armed triple police presence.
@Smail dropped us at the head of a narrow lane way lined on both sides by vendors selling absolutely everything. It was a short walk through this crowded chaos following @Mohammed and then we popped out into an enormous square. And i mean enormous. Filled with tourists and locals, it was booming with music, dance, snake charmers, drums and food and juice choices and radiating in every direction were entrances to alleyways and lanes filled with more merchandise and more opportunities to get very lost.
@Mohammed took us to a local combo indoor outdoor eatery. We got front row seats for views over the square and under the swirling mist of the fans, we side stepped targines and ordered plates of meat! Delicious. Followed it up with a juice chaser where we were invited by the owners to "come ulstairs" and join the workforce.
Checked into the genuine western style luxury of the Grand Plaza and set ourselves up for the next two days.
Did pull up a seat in front of the big screen, woth the obligatory rum and coke and watched the second half of Australia vs,USA. No joy for the Aussies, but we can tell you that at about 2.30 am Moroccan time, the horns in Marrakech were going NUTS as their team secured their second victory. It was chaos in the below the Grand Plaza.
Survival Barometer
Steps: 10 444
Weather: 35 degrees - actually very comfortable
Can you believe that?
A little background from Co-Pilot.
🌶️ Weird & Interesting Facts About Marrakech
🐍 Snake‑charmers who charge you for looking
In Jemaa el‑Fnaa, snake‑charmers, monkey handlers, and street performers will demand money even if you only take a photo — and sometimes even if you don’t. It’s one of the strangest “unofficial taxes” in the city. @Mohammed had warned us.
🧭 Directions also cost money
As bizarre as it sounds, asking for directions can come with a fee. Locals in the medina may guide you… then insist on payment afterward. It’s a uniquely Marrakech hustle. @Mohammed had warned us to ask shop owners for directions - they would point to the right alley.
🔴 The city is literally red
Marrakech’s nickname, “The Red City,” comes from its red sandstone walls and buildings — the entire medina glows pinkish‑red at sunset, giving it an otherworldly vibe. It is actually a "law" to maintain thos colour.
🐪 Jemaa el‑Fnaa: Africa’s busiest square of chaos
By day it’s a normal square. By night it becomes a surreal carnival of snake charmers, storytellers, acrobats, henna artists, healers, and food stalls — a UNESCO‑recognized cultural phenomenon
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