ROUTE THROUGH THE DRAA VALLEY: FROM AIT BEN HADDOU TO MHAMID

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We look up and over our heads expands a forest of palm trees from which clusters hang well loaded with dates. The night has fallen on us without realizing it, and we return to the lodge walking among dirt roads flanked by adobe walls that divide the orchards. Today afternoon tea has touched on Zagora, where our second day of roadtrip through Morocco ends. The next day we would travel the 100 km that separated us from Mhamid, gateway to the Sahara desert with the dunes of Erg Chigaga. Here we tell you how was the drive through the Draa Valley, between Ait Ben Haddou and Mhamid, going by Ouarzazate Y Zagora, with the essential stops and more useful information.

Everything has its beginning, today was neither more nor less than in Ait Ben Haddou, the most famous ksar in Morocco. Among its cobbled alleys we lost ourselves for an hour and a half (here we tell you how to make the visit to Ait Ben Haddou), before picking up the backpacks and loading them to the car to follow the route through the Valley of Draa, between Ait Ben Haddou and Mhamid.

The first stop would not be far: Ouarzazate. This city, whose expansion occurred in the last 100 years, is in a strategic enclave, both for the caravans that crossed the desert, and for the tourists who visited southern Morocco. Although the real industry here is not tourism, but cinema! Ouarzazate is known as “the Hollywood of Africa"For his film studios where mythical films set in the desert were filmed.

These Cinema studios they are: the mythical and huge Atlas Studios, and the most recent CLA Studios, in addition to the Cinema Museum, in front of the Kasbah Taourirt. Both can be visited to see what is left of some scenarios that were used in such famous films as The Jewel of the Nile, Gladiator, The Mummy, Cleopatra ... According to what they told us, the entrance costs about 50 dirhams, to which another sum must be added (some 80 dirhams) by the guide. It can be a curious visit, and perfect if you go with children, however the price of admission does not stop rising and we leave the visit for another occasion.

What we didn't miss was the Kasbah Taourirt (20 dirhams), one of the best preserved in all of Morocco. It was owned by the family of El Glaoui, "Pasha de Marrakech" and possibly the reason why Ouarzazate grew in this way in the era of the French protectorate (the Pasha had excellent relations with the invaders).

The Kasbah is extraordinary and imposing on the outside, although inside you don't expect much more than a maze of stairs and rooms, most of them without decoration. Except a couple of rooms in the upper part of the fortress, reserved for the owner and his concubines. There is a parking lot right at the entrance (a man will ask you for a coin, we gave him 2 dirhams) and before entering any guide he will offer his services (100 dirhams, to haggle, of course).

The journey from Ait Ben Haddou to Ouarzazate did not do it alone: a man stopped us in the middle of the road asking if we could take him, that the van of the friend that was taking him had left him thrown ... Then he repeated this same story again and we no longer know if it is a way to get free transportation or it has been pure coincidence. The fact is that Hassan, originally from Mhamid, recommended us to go to the Fint Oasis, about 15 km from the Ouarzazate. 15 km traveled in 30 minutes! The last 10 km are on a dirt track in quite good condition, but the final 2 km are to be stomping eggs. Although they can be done with normal tourism.

Fint It is a small Berber village next to an oasis that emerges in the middle of a scree surrounded by volcanic mountains, in a spectacular setting. If the river carries water you will see the women of the village washing the clothes, men who take donkeys to drink and children playing. And hundreds of frogs! Approximately 1 km from reaching the town they will stop you telling you that it is better to leave the car there, although you can continue quietly until the end, where they will stop you again and, this time yes, you will have to leave the car.

From there you can cross the river and continue up the right of the hill to reach a panoramic point (in the restaurant area Des Delices). And if you have time you can also go around the village, on the other side of the oasis. The truth is that the ambientillo is something weird ... there are men waiting to offer you an “impromptu” visit and although in our case they did not get heavy, some Frenchmen with whom we agreed later, they told us they were quite rough and heavy. Is it worth investing a rush hour between going, visiting the Fint Oasis and return? We believe that ONLY if you have plenty of time. If you go cool, but if you do not go you are not missing an irresistible enclave.

Again in Ouarzazate you will have two alternatives: continue to the northeast, in the direction of the valleys of Rosas, Dades and Todrá. Or take the route on the N9 towards the Erg Chigaga desert, through the Draa Valley, crossing the high of Tizi'n-Tinififft at 1660 meters. This was our route, and the mountain pass came almost without waiting. Endless curves with a prize at the top: the views.

From here to Zagora we had pointed out a few less important kasbahs, like those of the town of Agdz (Kasbah Caïd Ali and Kasba de Glaui) which turns out to be a rather tourist enclave, the Kasbah Tamenougalt which resembles a medieval castle on top of a mound (although it is recently built) and next to it Kasbah des Caids, the Kasbah Timidarte which is in ruins, and after the detour to the south, the Kasbah Oulad Othmane and the Ksar Tissergate.

Some we saw them from afar, others visited them inside, others we didn't even find them ... What was not missing from the middle of the route was the line of palm trees that extended to our left, and that we would not leave until we reached Zagora.

Zagora It was the starting point of the camel caravans towards Timbuktu through the Sahara desert in 52 days of travel. There is even a sign that describes this adventure and we have already begun to notice in the air that, step by step, we are approaching the Sahara. In fact, today it is still one of the places from where the Erg Chigaga desert tours begin (for those who do not want to reach the remote town of Mhamid). But that is another story…

At the moment we enjoy a walk at sunset between the maze of roads of the immense Zagora palm grove, one of the moments of the trip through Morocco. We arrive from the accommodation walking to the town of Amazraou, where once lived a large Jewish community, of which there are still the remains of a synagogue. And your ksar should also be interesting. We did not see any tourists, so we were the target of the children, who decided to follow us at every step, asking “A dirham"Or"A stylo". Already overwhelmed we prefer to turn around and take refuge among the palm trees ...

The next day we traveled the last part of the Draa Valley, to reach Mhamid, from where we would make the excursion to the Erg Chigaga desert. It's just another 100 km that could be included in the same road stage, and save you a day trip. But we prefer to do it this way.

Although it is a stretch that, however, has a couple of surprises. We made the first stop in the city ofTamegroute, famous for its green pottery. You can visit a work cooperative (they are indicated on the same main road) to learn more about the development. Tamegroute also has a kasbah (or at least that is what a guy who offered to guide us told us) ...

Although what really interested us was knowing the Old Tamegroute Library. It has up to 4,000 copies of the Koranic school, with religious themes, but also of universal knowledge, such as mathematics, astronomy, poetry, medicine, dictionaries ... The oldest of them dates from 1066, made in papyrus and proceeds neither more nor less that of Córdoba, at the time when the Caliphate split the corduroy. To visit it, we advise you to park inside the square (not where they have put a “parking” sign to get you some coins), and keep in mind that it closes from 13 to 16. Inside there is a magnet that explains several of the copies (in the end, of course, we must leave a tip, we laughed in the face when we gave 15 dirhams!). Next door, behind an impressive decorated door, is the Mausoleum of Sidi ben Nassir (only accessible to Muslims).

A few km to your left will appear the Tinfou Dunes, a small group of small dunes that you can access to the very sand with the car. And finally, we recommend stopping at the posts that are improvised on the main road of Tagounite, where the best dates of Morocco are sold (the time is from September). We bought a box that weighed as if it carried iron, for 20 dirhams. This town has a market on Thursdays and Sundays.

The end of this road, the N9 which by the way is in perfect condition, coincides with the town of Mhamid. It is the best place to prepare the day trip to the Erg Chigaga desert, the next stage of our trip through Morocco. Although in reality the town has nothing of charm, beyond a few cafes and restaurants, a handful of tourism agencies, some small shops and camels and 4 × 4 traveling its dusty streets ... By the way, if you want to eat relatively well, but away from the most “tourist” sites, go to the Maroua Restaurant.

Day 1 (Ait Ban Haddou - Zagora): 225 km
Day 2 (Zagora - Mhamid): 135 km

In Zagora we stayed at the Riad Soleil du Monde, in the heart of the palm grove of Zagora, and we couldn't be better. It is a small riad of few rooms, surrounded by palm trees and with a pool! To arrive by car you will have to go through a fairly narrow dirt track, but slowly it runs smoothly. The manager is lovely and we recommend it 100%.

In Mhamid we stay in the Riad Les Jardins de Bounou, which has enormous potential, but we are half shabby and quite disastrous. There are two areas to stay, in the town of Mhamid, and about 5 km before arriving in the area called Bounou. The boy we met in the desert stayed in theHotel Kasbah Sahara Services, with pool, and recommended it to us.

This was ours drive through the Draa Valley, from Ait Ben Haddou to Mhamid, passing through Ouarzazate and Zagora.