Day 159 - From Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains: Our First Day on Morocco’s Desert Tour

Day 159 was the start of our Moroccan desert tour, which meant a nice early wake-up after our first full day in Marrakech.

We were up at 6am, throwing the last few bits and pieces into our bags before heading down out of the accommodation and through the medina. It was honestly a bit surreal. The night before, the streets and markets had been packed with people. Hundreds, probably thousands, moving in every direction. Then this morning it was almost empty.

There were taxis cruising around in places they normally can’t go, trying to pick up tourists heading to the airport. There were garbage trucks, street sweepers, a few workers, and only a handful of shops open. It was like seeing behind the curtain of Marrakech before the chaos of the day kicked back in.

We had planned to stop for breakfast, but the place we found looked like it was going to take too long, and we needed to get to the bus. So we kept walking to the pickup point and hoped we could find something there instead. That didn’t really happen. Breakfast ended up being dry little chocolate croissant things, a banana each, and an apple each to eat on the bus.

Our driver turned up, we chucked our bags in, and piled into the van. It was a full load, 18 people plus the driver, and then we were off, heading out of Marrakech and towards the Atlas Mountains.

About an hour and a half in, we stopped for toilets, coffees, and a few extra snacks. It was one of those roadside tourist stops where everything is a bit more expensive than it should be, but we grabbed a few things anyway and kept going.

From there, the road started climbing into the Atlas Mountains. It was foggy and raining a little, and the landscape kept changing. We went from dry, rocky mountains to pine-covered mountains, then higher again towards snow-capped peaks. The contrast was pretty wild. Marrakech had felt dusty and busy and hot, and then suddenly we were winding through misty mountains that looked nothing like the Morocco we had seen so far.

Once we got higher, the weather cleared. The fog lifted, the sky opened up, and it turned into a really beautiful day. We stopped along the way for a photo, looking back across the mountain road, before continuing over the other side.

Our main stop for the day was Aït Benhaddou, an old fortified village, or ksar, made from traditional earthen clay buildings. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and is one of Morocco’s most famous filming locations. Movies and shows like Gladiator, The Mummy, Prince of Persia, Kingdom of Heaven, and Game of Thrones have all used the area as a backdrop.

There’s a newer town on one side of the river and the old clay village on the other. Before we explored it, though, we were taken to lunch, which was a bit of a stitch-up. It was one of those set-menu tourist lunches where you get soup or salad, a main meal, and fruit at the end. It was 140 Moroccan dirhams each, which felt pretty expensive compared to what we expected. They did give us Emmett’s meal for free, so it worked out a little better, but it was still an expensive lunch.

After that, we met up with a local guide and walked across to the old town. The whole place is built from clay and earth, with narrow paths winding between traditional buildings, little shops, artists, and people selling bits and pieces along the way. We slowly made our way up through the village and climbed right to the top.

The view from up there was wicked. You could see across the dry landscape, the old village, the riverbed, the newer town, and the mountains in the distance. It felt like one of those places that doesn’t quite feel real until you’re standing there in it.

After walking back down and returning to the bus, we had another long drive ahead of us. It was about three and a half hours to our accommodation for the night, in the Valley of the Roses near Kelaat M’Gouna. The area is famous for growing Damask roses, which are used to make rosewater, rose oil, perfumes, and skincare products. Each year, around May, the town celebrates the rose harvest with its Rose Festival.

The drive itself was amazing. I wouldn’t really call it desert yet. It was more like dry, open land after the Atlas Mountains, with little towns along the way, patches of roadworks, people walking beside the road, donkeys, trucks, small shops, and random bits of life happening everywhere. There was so much to look at. Morocco feels completely different to anywhere we’ve been so far.

Our hotel for the night was up on a hill overlooking the town and river below. It was built in that traditional clay style, with a pool, outdoor seating, music playing, and views back towards the mountains. It was a pretty beautiful spot.

They even had beer available, which feels pretty rare in Morocco, so Kia and I sat outside with a drink while Emmett jumped in the pool. I got in up to my knees, but the water was a bit too cold. Funny thing to say in Morocco, but the sun had disappeared behind cloud by then, and it had cooled down quickly.

So instead, we just sat there for a while, looking out over the valley and killing time before dinner. Dinner wasn’t until 8:30pm, which was very late for the kids after such an early start and such a long day in the bus.

It was definitely a big travel day, but there was a lot packed into it. Empty Marrakech in the morning, foggy mountains, snow-capped peaks, an ancient movie-set village, dry Moroccan landscapes, and then a hilltop hotel in the Valley of the Roses.

Tomorrow we head further towards the desert for camel riding, sandboarding, and what should be a very different kind of adventure. It’ll mean more hours in the bus, but Morocco has already been such a cool place to drive through that it doesn’t really feel boring. There is just always something to see.