Marrakesh Off the Beaten Path Tips by vtveen

The road over the Tizi-n-Test Pass was built by the French and opened in 1928 and is linking Marrakech with Taroudant (and Agadir) over the Tizi-nTest (almost 2100 m).
Before the road was built, the mountain Berbers could easily close the pass and block the passage to the south. But since the French opened the ‘new’ road the south and the mountains have become much more accessible.

We made this day trip with a car with driver (grand-taxi), because we didn’t know what to expect on the Moroccan roads, having seen the crazy traffic in the medina of Marrakech. But once outside the city there is not much traffic at all and driving wouldn’t have been a problem.

Tahanaout is the first village we passed, situated in the foothills of the High Atlas and already on a height of almost 1000m. After the Moulay Brahim Gorge we reached Asni, a Berber village with a souk on Saturdays (see tip). Asni is a pleasant little town in a fruit growing area with the highest mountain of Morocco (Toubkal – 4167m) in the background.

After Ouirgane, a village with some hotels, the mountains became higher and the landscape got more and more scenic. The road followed for a rather long time a river and we passed some Kasbah’s and Berber villages, which had mostly the same colours as the surrounding rocks.

We visited the Tin Mal Mosque (see tip) and the road started winding along barren slopes, higher and higher into the mountains with really breathtaking views. The peaks of the High Atlas were snow covered and during the last part of the trip we even had some fresh snow on the road. After 135 fantastic kilometres we reached the top of the Tizi-n-Test Pass (2092 m).

On top of the pass are a small and simple gift shop and café/restaurant. Our driver advised us not having a lunch here, because they charged much too much. So we made on our way back a stop in the Berber village of Ijoukak and had a perfect Berber omelette in a very local restaurant.

Our hotel made the reservation for the grand-taxi; we paid 750 Dirhams for the day.

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Asni is a small Berber village along the main road to the Tizi-n-Test Pass. Its location is rather scenic with good views of the Toubkal, with a height of 4167 metres the highest mountain of Morocco. The village is spread along the road with some shops and local cafés along the road.

First we had a Moroccan coffee in one of these local cafés together with our driver, before entering the weekly souk of Asni, which is hold every Saturday. Just behind the gate we reached a completely different world, although having seen the Kasbah and souks of Marrakech.
This rural souk looked like we were back in the ‘middle ages’. Fruit and vegetables are spread out on the ground, paths are muddy and most people look poor. In another part of the market vendors were selling chicken and goats, next to the stall of a (donkey)blacksmith. Perhaps most remarkable was the ‘car park’ with a huge number of donkeys. You may find it turning to the left after the entrance gate.
Such a rural souk is much more authentic (I would say a must see during a Marrakech visit) and we liked it much more than the more commercial souks in the city.

We were more or less alone between locals and after making an overall picture of the market some of them were rather angry. So we accepted the ‘help’ of a conman, although we intended not to accept offers from anybody. To be honest it felt quite comfortable strolling around with him. At the end he offered some Berber souvenirs and after a lot of bargaining (from 400 to 70 Dirhams) we bought one.
Be aware: Asni seems to be well known as hustlers, touts and conmen village.

Information
Asni lies about 50 km’s from Marrakech and is accessible by bus or grand-taxi. We visited the market during our trip to the Tizi-n-Test Pass.

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Tin Mal Mosque was built in1153 by Abd el-Moumen, the successor of the founder of the Almohad dynasty Ibn Toumert. Tin Mal village became the spiritual capital and artistic centre of the Almohads. After the decline of the dynasty, it became again a simple village in the High Atlas and the mosque deteriorated and became more or less a ruin. Nowadays it is largely restored by the UNESCO - there is still no roof - and a rare opportunity for non-Muslims to visit the interior of a mosque in Morocco.

Coming from Marrakech along the Tizi-n-Test road we followed after the village of Ijoukak the N’ffis Valley. After a couple of hours driving suddenly the mosque appeared, standing on a hill in the valley. It looked from a distance more like a fortress than a religious building.

I seemed like the caretaker was waiting for us, because he welcomed us immediately after leaving our car. He showed us around in the mosque with its impressive interior: beautiful arched pillars of pink stone and plaster stalactites, the original Mihrab with nice decorations, the cedar wooden doors now replaced by new ones, some original water pipes and the nests of two owls. The interior was severely damaged and just the Mihrab and the colonnade in front of it are well maintained. The rest of the pillars were rebuilt.

It was so interesting walking around, getting an impression of a Moroccan mosque and shooting pictures as well. The mosque still doesn’t have a roof and the sun was shining into the building causing mysterious shadow patterns from the horseshoe arches.

From the car park we had stunning views of the snow covered mountains of the High Atlas and the green N’ffis Valley.

Information
Tin Mal Mosque is situated about 10 km’s south of the village of Ijoukak, about 100 km’s from Marrakech along the Tizi-n-Test road. It takes about two hours of driving. The mosque is open daily except Fridays and we had to pay a small entrance fee of 20 Dirhams (December 2007). We visited Tin Mal with a ‘grand taxi’ on our day trip to the pass.

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The Tizi-n-Tichka Pass road was completed by the French Foreign Legion in 1936. It is the highest pass road over the Atlas Mountains; Tizi-n-Tichka Pass itself is 2260 metres high. The road is an important connection between Marrakech and Ouarzate.

We made this (day) trip with a rental car, starting nearby the bus station of Marrakech eastwards to Fez. After a couple of kilometres we turned right onto road N9, passed some villages and reached the quiet countryside nearby Aït Ourir (with a souk on Monday). We had coffee in a new café/restaurant along the road nearby Taferiate with a nice terrace overlooking a green valley with olive orchards.

The scenery quickly got more rugged with gaunt hillsides, deep ravines and these hidden picturesque Berber villages, always in the same colours as the surrounding mountains. We reached the first pass - Tizi-n-Aït Imger - at an altitude of 1470 m. with great views of the High Atlas with their snow-capped peaks.
During the drive lots of fossil sellers were jumping on the road just in front our car, showing there stones. A couple of them were rather aggressive when we made (photo)stops. Along the road you will find fossil stalls, gift shops and cafés.

After the village of Taddert the road got very impressive with lots of hairpins and was climbing through a barren landscape and rather steep to the pass. Driving this part of the route made us clear why this is called one of the most scenic drives in Morocco with sometimes dramatic landscape. The mountain scenery around the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass is stunning and breathtaking and absolutely worth a visit.

The pass is about 110 km’s from Marrakech and it took us 2 hours to reach the top (with a lot of stops). We continued our way to Telouet (see tip). Try to avoid driving in the twilight, because it can be rather dangerous in the villages without any lights and with donkeys and bikers on the road. Normally the road is in good condition and driving is no problem at all; traffic - some cars, buses and trucks - is rather rare.

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Just the drive from the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass road (coming from Marrakech you have to turn to the left about 5 km’s from the pass) is quite an adventure. It is a narrow road, mostly sealed and on a couple of places we had to drive through a dry stream. We were passing a couple of Berber settlements, all with red/pink houses and people working on the fields, before reaching the tiny village of Telouet.
It lies on an altitude of 1800 metres and is surrounded by snow-capped Atlas Mountains in fantastic scenery.

Telouet has two ‘faces’: the one along the ‘main’ road with some shops (carpets, gifts) and cafés/restaurants and the other off road is the real village with a school, mosque, narrow ‘streets’ and little more or less mud huts.
After we parked our car immediately a guide, named Aissa, offered his services and we walked with him through the village, saw the old slave quarters, where still descendants of the slaves of Pasha el-Glaoui live and passed the Mellah River on our way to the Kasbah.

Back in the village we had a cup of tea, visited a carpet shop and had a lunch in one of the restaurants (see tip). Telouet has also two small hotels. On Thursdays there is a weekly Berber market in Telouet. What a peaceful and quite place, such a difference from the hustle and bustle of Marrakech.

Directions
Turn off from the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass road (signposted) and follow the narrow road into the valley for about 20 km’s.

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In the past Telouet was an important stop for camel caravans from Marrakech to the Sahara. The Glaoui brothers built a Kasbah on this place controlling the traffic to/from the south. It was the main residence of Al-Thami el-Glaoui, Pasha of Marrakech. It was built in the 19th and 20th century and housed up to 1000 people. After the independence of Morocco in 1956 the Kasbah deteriorated and nowadays is more or less a ruin, although our guide told the building should be restored.

We were approaching the Kasbah from the (old) village of Telouet along the slave houses and crossing the Mellah River with great of the building. Coming closer and closer the building became more and more impressive with its massive red mud walls.

Through a courtyard with camel stables and a minaret of a former mosque we reached the wooden gate into the palace. Although most of the buildings are really ruins, there are just two rooms, which still gave a good impression of the wealth and power of the Pasha. The central reception and the harem room are beautifully decorated with stucco work, carved cedar wooden ceilings, painted doors and fantastic zellij tiles. Windows do have nice ironworks, which invites shooting a picture of Telouet and the mountains.
These two rooms look like the palaces in Marrakech.

Information
For Telouet turn off from the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass road (signposted) and follow the narrow road into the valley for about 20 km’s. You can not miss the impressive Kasbah, otherwise a ‘guide’ will offer his services bringing you to the palace and showing you around. We had to pay 20 Dirhams for the guide and the entrance fee (10 or 20 Dirhams) to the caretaker.

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