From your hotel or riad around 7:00.
This Ait Ben Haddou day trip from Marrakech crosses the High Atlas on the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres the highest road pass in Morocco, with photo stops on the way up through Berber villages and terraced valleys. On the southern side of the mountains, the landscape turns to red earth and palm-lined riverbeds.
Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified village of earth kasbahs on a hillside, is a UNESCO World Heritage site and has appeared in many films. You walk up through its lanes to the old granary at the top, then continue to Ouarzazate for lunch and a visit to a film studio or the cinema museum. It is a long day, with about four hours of driving each way. For a shorter mountain day, see the Three Valleys & Atlas.
From your hotel or riad around 7:00.
Photo stops on the way over the Atlas.
Walk through the kasbah to the top of the hill.
Lunch, then a film studio or the cinema museum.
Back over the pass, arriving in Marrakech in the evening.
It is a long day, about 12 hours, with roughly eight hours on the road. The views make the drive part of the trip.
Yes. The Tichka road is paved and well used. Bends in the mountains can upset some travellers, so bring something for motion sickness if you need it.
Many, including Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia, as well as scenes from Game of Thrones.
Not in a day. The Sahara dunes need a trip of at least two or three days.
More to explore
