Overview & Highlights:
- Cross the high Atlas Mountains and Tizi-N-Tichka pass (2260m of Altitude).
- Enjoy the views of the beautiful Berber villages, valleys and mountains.
- Explore the ruins of Telouet Kasbah, home of the Pasha of the atlas in the 20th
- Discover Aït Ben Haddou Ksar; the world heritage site and home for many films.
- Visit Ouarzazate, the gateway to the desert and Hollywood of Africa.
Itinerary:
Our excursion to Ouarzazate will start by picking you up from your accommodation at 8H Am, then drive, by an air-conditioned SUV or Mini Van, to cross the high Atlas Mountains where you can enjoy the beautiful views of the Berber villages along the way, to the highest point (Tichka pass) that the road can reach with an altitude of 2260m, offering a stunning landscapes as far as the eye can admire. Continue through the breathtaking landscape to Telouet Kasbah. This fortress was occupied by Thami El Glaoui before he was expelled by independence efforts.
One section has unfortunately disintegrated into red sand, but you can still visit the beautiful rooms with mosaic tiles and wood carvings. Heading more to the southeast not far from Ouarzazate you will be in Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO world heritage site since 1987, this little old town located in the former route of the caravan trade between the Sahara desert and Marrakech, the Ksar is now often used as a filming location for movies such as The Jewel of the Nile, The Mummy, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven. Here you will be able to have walk and stroll in the Ksar and its Kasbahs where you will see the amazing traditional Berber architecture of the houses in the Ksar. Then Stop for lunch in a local restaurant with a panoramic terrace in the newer part of Aït-Ben-Haddou. Continue to Ouarzazate city, the Hollywood of Africa, to visit the Atlas studio, the largest film studio in Morocco, where many films such as Game of thrones, Ben Hur and Cleopatra have been filmed.
And a visit to the famous Kasbah of Taourirt in Ouarzazate city center is worth. In the evening we will take the way back to Marrakech through the Atlas Mountains where you can have stop in one of the cooperatives run by the Berber women to learn about the Argan oil and its products used as cosmetics, and also have a break on the way for tea or coffee if you desire before getting back to Marrakech where our excursion will end.