The route: a journey starting from Marrakech
Our journey through Morocco commenced from Marrakech heading towards the Ouzoud Waterfalls, often referred to as the most beautiful waterfalls in North Africa, located just over 1.5 hours from Marrakech. On-site, we took a guided walk around the waterfalls to learn more about the local flora and fauna—a highly recommended experience!
From there, our road trip continued into the High Atlas Mountains, where we navigated an unpaved road (let’s leave it at that) in the dark (yikes) to reach our reserved gite/stopover hotel. I think our journey could have easily fit into the TV show “The World’s Most Dangerous Roads.” It was probably a good thing it was dark, so we couldn’t see exactly where we were driving! What we did see, however, was a stunning night sky—wow! Can’t all streetlights in the Netherlands be turned off at night?
After several hours of nerve-wracking mountain driving, we spent the night near Ifoulou in a gite that fortunately had available rooms. We never reached our pre-booked gite that evening, thanks to Abdul at the Friend Guest House Imdoukal for the warmest welcome ever!
Even though they weren’t expecting us, and it was already 9:30 PM, they promptly served delicious local olives, freshly baked bread, and fresh walnuts and almonds, once again, a warm welcome, as our experience has been everywhere in Morocco (excluding a minor disagreement in a Marrakech souk, but Marrakech is not Morocco, just as Amsterdam doesn’t reflect the rest of the Netherlands). Walnut and almond trees abound in the region, although we were just a bit too early to see the trees in full bloom.
It wasn’t until the next morning that we realized we had landed in a beautiful setting. Our gite/host spontaneously took us on a day trip, during which we explored a mountain souk, visited the UNESCO village of Megdaz, and embarked on a 1.5-hour hike between Toufrine and Taghrout in the mountainous area with breathtaking views.
After our stay in the Atlas Mountains, Skoura was on the itinerary. From there, we embarked on an unforgettable day trip, including a visit to the Nomad Valley, accompanied by ecodream coop and a professional mountain guide.
Visiting the Nomads
Our first stop was the mountain village of Boutghar, from where we embarked on an amazing 1.5-hour hike. Boutghar is nestled between two valleys, namely Imgoun Valley and Nomad Valley. We went off-road and on an unpaved track to find the nomads. Upon special request, we were granted a glimpse into the daily life of the nomadic existence.
This left a profound impression on me – the life there is peaceful yet extremely challenging, living with the elements, far from all worldly dramas, with respect for nature and Mother Earth, where the day is filled with weaving rugs (to stay warm) and the search for food, which can sometimes take hours, nothing is mechanized, of course, and cleaning grain by hand is quite labor-intensive. Animals still retain their original value and are not treated as mass-produced commodities, and the list goes on… I left my wonderfully warm gloves behind, hoping that the nomad girl I gave them to will enjoy their warmth for a long time.
If you’d like to learn more about nomadic life and this sounds like something you’d like to experience yourself, feel free to reach out to me via the usual channels or email jo.vanwichen@travelcounsellors.nl. That concludes the first part of my Morocco travel report. Curious about the second part?
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- 03/08/2023