Todra Gorges – Boumalne Du Dades – Ouarzazate – Ait Benhaddou – Tizi N’tichka Pass: Desert Tour (3)

November 2018      itinerary link 

After the incredible night in the desert, the two day drive to Marrakesh seemed somewhat anticlimactic. We drove west, stopping at various lookout points and spending the last night of the tour at a hotel more or less in the middle of nowhere.

This is all Pat had to say about this portion of the trip, but…

Here’s the description of the itinerary given by the tour company:

We depart towards Tineghir passing by Erfoud and Tinejdad. Have a break for lunch. In the afternoon, we will continue to Todra gorges via Tineghir. Stopping along the way for photos and admiring the views. Arrival to Todra Gorges to enjoy its marvelous Canyons views while hiking on foot. Later on, we drive to Boumalne du Dades or Kalaa M’gouna and stopping for a panoramic view of Dades valley. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Kalaa M’gouna is famous for roses, but we did not stop there because it was out of season.

After a while, all these towns seemed to look alike, and it was hard to tell which photos were from which place. We were becoming not as enthusiastic about taking pictures.

This morning after breakfast in the hotel, we depart to Ouarzazate via Skoura. Stopping for a panoramic view of the kasbah (fortress) of Taourirt then another photo stop near the Atlas film studios. After that, you will visit the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou and stop for lunch in a local restaurant in the village. In the Afternoon we will drive to Marrakech over the mountains of high Atlas passing through the Tizi N’tichka pass (2260 m in altitude). Drop off in Marrakesh.

Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou area had a tourist village developed around it with shops and restaurants. This restaurant (attached to a small hotel) we went to was quite decent.

The drive toward Marrakesh had a nice view of the Atlas Mountains.

Once we were on Tizi N’tichka pass, we did not see actual snow on the ground. There were some tight turns, but, over all, the road was good & the driving was pleasant enough.

The tour company did deliver what they promised, and we were happy with them. Everyone involved in each component of this 3N/4D trip worked hard, and we appreciated that.

Desert Tour: (1) (2) (3) –> Marrakesh