Morocco

From Kasbahs to Camels: Souks, Spices and A Journey Across the Moroccan Desert

We’ve just spent five sensory laden days travelling in Morocco.  From deep within the cachophany of traders hawking their abundant wares in the Marrakesh Souks to carving a path through vast arid plains, palm-fringed oases, to the ever-changing sand dunes of the Sahara. 

We’ve been planning a visit here for years, but direct flights were lost to Covid. Ryanair recently relaunched the route, trapping their guests in plastic seats for 4 uncomfortable hours, while they ply you scratch cards and duty free. Duty is of course the only thing that’s free on a Ryanair flight.

Day 1: Souks, Mosques and Palaces

We set off early, arriving in Marrakesh airport at 11:30 and grabbed a cab from the official taxi rank. 130 MAD (Moroccan Dirhams), or about £11 later and we were at our traditional Riad accommodation by midday. Riads were opulent Moroccan residences, with a central open-air courtyard, normally containing a fountain, surrounded by inward-facing rooms over several levels. We checked-in, changed, dumped our bags and set out to explore the city.

We were staying in the Marrakesh Medina, a UNESCO world heritage site set within the old fortified walls of the city. The Medina contains the sprawling Souks; market traders packing the narrow streets between historic sites, mosques and tranquil walled gardens. Mopeds weave constantly through dusty narrow streets followed by bicycles laden with fresh produce. Ricketty carts pulled by craggy old men are scraped past traders shouting to each other in Arabic and French, over milling tourists and locals. Stalls carrying glittering jugs, lamps and lights dot amongst spice stalls and endless tourist trinkets. Unlike in Egypt, there is no pushy salesmen here; a friendly multi-lingual ‘hello’, followed by a smile or a wave is enough. There is good patter in Marrakesh.

We explored around the Medina, weaving through the Souks and visiting sites pointed out to us by the owner of our Riad. Stunning mosaics and the most intricate carvings greeted us. A particular highlight was the Musee des Confluences, where the walls, columns and ceilings boasted endless geometric detailed patterns, with stunning photographs of women dressed and tattooed with henna to mirror the surrounding splendour. It got a proper ‘wow’ from Shona.

We ate that night at a rooftop restaurant, sitting above the Souks, taking in the sunset over some delicious Moroccan food, before retiring to our hotel for the night.

Day Two: From Marrakech to the Dades Gorge

Collected by our driver and guide, Ali, we set off early from Marrakech, leaving behind the Medina’s hum as we climbed into the High Atlas Mountains via the serpentine Tizi-n-Tichka Pass – Morocco’s highest road. The road twisted and turned through a canvas of Berber villages, barren peaks, recent rockfalls and bold, raw landscapes. Passing from the green northern slopes to the barren southern slopes, starved of the lifeblood of rainwater and strips of green that mark this arid land. 

The first major stop was Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and arguably Morocco’s most iconic ksar (fortified village). Perched on a hillside, the fortress city looks like a giant sandcastle baked into the landscape. Climbing through its narrow alleys we made our way up to the original heart of the site, an ancient ruined hilltop from which to survey the fortress and river far below. Ait Ben Haddou is the location for many films, including Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and the Game of Thrones series.

We continued along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, past the Skoura oasis, before entering the Valley of Roses, which was starting to bloom. Acres of Persian pink rose bushes lined the roads—a fragrant prelude to our stop at the Dades Gorge. There, red and mauve rock formations loomed high above the valley floor. We stayed overnight at Xaluca Dades, a nice enough hotel, situated high above the town. Nice enough apart from the fairly terrible food. Shona went for a swim and I went for a run around the desert landscape before dinner. I immediately felt very unfit in the heat (before realising that the altitude at 1600m was probably to blame).

Day Three: Canyon Walls & 4×4 Camels

After breakfast, we set out to visit Todra Gorge. Towering cliffs rose 300 meters on either side of us, traditional and via ferrata climbers were dotted along the cliffs, between which a clear stream bubbled up from underground, supplying fresh drinking water to the valley below.

From the gorge, the landscape began to shift. Ochres became golds, and greens gave way to the reds and oranges of the desert. There has been record rainfall this year after 8 years of droughts and we stopped by a huge lake, recently formed by the flood waters and full of bird life. Ali, our driver advised it would be gone in a couple of months. By late afternoon, we reached Merzouga, at the edge of the Sahara. Camels carrying keen tourists were seen traipsing out towards the desert sands. We elected to avoid the camels this time. After twice before experiencing the discomfort of riding these animals and the discomfort of these camels being ridden, we instead elected to cross the dunes by quad bike. An excellent decision for two reasons: 1. it was brilliant fun and 2… more on that shortly.

Stopping our bikes amongst the rolling Erg Chebbi sands, we spent an hour hiking over the endless dunes, watching the light change, from photogenic red-rich hues to coppery and cool as the sun set. After finishing our stay with a spot of sandboarding, we hopped back on our ATVs and arrived, sunkissed and sandblasted at our desert camp. Mint tea greeted us, followed by a hearty tagine meal. Tired after a long day, and under a glittering starry night, we retired to our luxury tent, and drifted off to sleep to the beat of a Berber drum.

Day Four: Sunrise & Return to the Red City

We woke early to catch the sunrise over the dunes, hiking out from our camp and up into the shifting sands.  These particular sands were shifting quite a lot; the wind had whipped up overnight and we were blasted by thousands of angry grains, pulling hoods over our heads to avoid stripping our faces. This was excellent decision result #2. Travelling by quad bike meant our return journey was by 4×4; a fun drive with one of our Berber hosts and we were back to Merzouga in 20 minutes. An hour and a half by camel in those winds would have been pure torture. 

We were met by Ali, and set out on the 8 hour drive back to Marrakesh. We passed through Rissani, a city with deep Saharan roots, where men wore flowing indigo robes. From there, the volcanic Sarhro mountains offered one last rugged challenge before we descended into the lush Draa Valley – Morocco’s largest oasis, a seemingly endless ribbon of palm groves.

By 5pm, and following a pretty sketchy high-speed journey (envisage endless blind-corner overtakes on mountain-passes), we were back in Marrakech. Three days, two gorges, no camels, countless kasbahs, and plenty of lovely mint tea. A brilliant excursion all round.  We checked into our final hotel of the stay, the Makassar Riad in the south of the Medina – a beautiful traditional Riad, with large open-air courtyard,  Hamman, pool, and lovely rooftop bar area. We went for a wander around the area before having an excellent dinner at the hotel and a restful night (until about 6am when the birds who lived in the courtyard decided it was time for everyone to wake up).

Day Five: Deeper into the Souks

The Medina is big and two days of wandering didn’t cover it all. Our flight wasn’t until 7pm and so we set out after a leisurely breakfast to wander the streets, seeing the various sites we’d missed the first time (like the beautiful Secret Garden) and find ourselves lost in tiny alleys, away from the hustle of the Souks. We enjoyed an excellent lunch at the Naranj Lebanese restaurant – highly recommended. We met lovely people who, despite our initial assumption that we were about to get a hard sell (lessons from many previous travels), only wanted to say hello, or tell us about something interesting, or help direct us to somewhere nearby. Genuinely, Marrakesh has been a revelation which has caused us to soften our toughened shells. It is a very safe and welcoming place.

Leaving today after a fast 5 days of travel, we’re left with the scent of orange blossom, flashes of pink roses and endless spices that permeate this fragrant land. Morocco a blur of deep ochres, golden sands, delicate textures, glittering golden goods, geometric tiles and endless, rugged landscapes. We journeyed from the good natured chaos of Marrakech into the remote reaches of the Sahara, encountering kasbahs, canyons, camels, and stars along the way. It’s a place to which I’d gladly return.