I looked around as we got dropped in the city center early morning to begin our desert tour. It was still dark out, the air a little crisp, and locals buzzing about, with the smell of Msemmen (Moroccan bread, like roti) in the air. Locals were gathering us up to put us in various vans to begin the tour. Helena and I shared skeptical looks as we stepped on our van and saw 13 others inside, with our guide only asking our names to check off the list. Unsure of what the next few days would hold, we began our drive. The sound of motorbikes and cars whirling about got lost in the distance as we left the city, embarking deeper into the Atlas Mountains. The drive was really peaceful, and I spent the next few hours looking out the window. I smiled to myself as the sun began to rise, and I saw mountains in the distance that surrounded us. Eventually we made our first real stop at Aït Bengaddou, a small town of 55 people that is a UNESCO world heritage site for its traditional construction materials. They use only materials from the earth to construct the homes, and this traditional look has attracted film-makers. Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel, Game of Thrones, Price of Persia, Outer Banks, and various other works were shot here.
We stayed for about an hour, which felt a bit rushed. But, largely we felt like we saw most things there. The benefit to going on our own time would’ve been getting there earlier than when all the tour groups arrive in the afternoon. Otherwise, we felt fine to be continuing on our journey. We both really liked the construction there, and how the materials really helped naturally cool down the houses. Along our drive, we started noticing the scenery transition more and more into this quintessential Moroccan natural material construction that so seamlessly blended towns into the red and brown rocky mountains. I’d compare our drive to Route 66 in Arizona / New Mexico. What made it so distinct though, and unlike anything I’ve ever seen, is the building material, architecture, and plants that surrounded the red rocks. There are tons of palm trees and plots of land growing alfalfa, dates, and olives. It caught me off guard to see so much thriving life within the harsh desert landscape, along with the snow capped mountains rising tall above the rocky terrain.
We were both really amazed with the beautiful landscapes that we were seeing. What made it more special was observing life happening in all the towns we were passing - children going to school, noticing the typical outfits, and streets filled with people gathering.
After a few more hours, we arrived at our accommodation. Not knowing what to expect from our budget tour, we were in awe of the town we were staying this night. The dades gorge is a series of gorges formed by the dades river, and we were at the base of one of these canyons. Surrounded by huge red rocks, we stayed in one of the few dispersed accommodations that were built into the rocks. We were greeted with some tea of course, and we later shared dinner with the other guests in a cozy room. As per typical Moroccan design, colorful rugs were hung on the walls and the floors, with pillowed seating low to the ground, and a stone fireplace that perfectly added to the warm ambiance. We shared a traditional meal, almost identical to the first day I arrived in Morocco- olives, dates, harira soup, chicken tangine with lemon and olives, and for dessert some fruit in orange juice. After dinner, Helena and I visited the rooftop and stared in wonder at the sky covered in a blanket of stars, the Milky Way partially visible. We were accompanied by the sounds of people downstairs playing the drums and singing.
The next morning, our guide picked us up, and onto the desert we went. We really wanted more time in the dades gorge, and at this point started to wish we’d gone self-guided. At the same time, the tour gave us a nice glimpse of where we wanted to come back to. Now when Jovan comes, I have some good ideas on where we can go and where we can skip :) arriving in the desert was chaotic - there was a lot of waiting around and confusion on where to go because there were so many groups going there at the same time. Eventually, we made it and were confused when they started counting us off in 4’s for the accommodation. I guess we’d be sharing with two other people? But I could not guess that this is what our accommodation for four looked like:
To our luck, when we returned back to the hut after some exploring, all the stuff was gone of the couple who we were paired with. They later told us that they had paid extra for private accommodation so asked to be moved. Helena and I were so thankful to not have to sleep next to two random people lol. The sand dunes were really beautiful, and despite the many groups visiting, we were able to explore on our own and found many areas without anyone for some quiet. We watched the sunset over the glowing orange sand, feeling the warm desert air that blew with it the subtle smell of camel. We retuned in time for the dinner that we shared with the other guests. Over dinner, we discussed our overall impressions of the tour. The general consensus being that it felt very rushed and curated, but at the same time was very inexpensive and we saw the most beautiful landscapes. We loved the places we were seeing, but had some yearning to stay in places longer and really get to experience them through more walking and a slower pace. The night ended with a bonfire and more stargazing. A 5:30 wake up and 8 hour road trip back to Marrakesh was in store for us the following day.
We arrived in Marrakesh around dinner time, and had the best meal of our trip so far. We also found a super cozy Riad this night, and both of these made our spirits lift after a long travel day
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