We left Marrakech on Tuesday morning with our driver Rachid, and would pass over the High Atlas Mountains on our way to the Dades Valley and the valley of Roses. The scenery on this drive was incredible - I never imagined how diverse Morocco would be. Anywhere there is water (and there is way more than I would have ever thought) it is lush and green, and every inch of land is being cultivated in some way.

Morocco is made up primarily of Berbers (estimated 60-80%) and Bedouins (20%), both of which are ancient nomadic tribes. The caravan route which we were traveling on today was primarily used by the Bedouins, moving goods from Mali in the desert to Marrakech. Most of the towns and villages are Berber, and built on the hillsides, so that all of the valley land can be used for agriculture. Rachid is Berber and he and his family still live in one of these hillside villages close to Marrakech. He was able to give us some insight into the nomadic lifestyles as we passed through these places.

The road to the top of Tichka Pass was winding and generally under construction most of the way. A few stops for some photos, including at the top (2,260 meters), and then we headed down. We took a smaller road off the main highway (if you could call it that), that Rachid told us was the old caravan road, used by camel caravans from Mali to Marrakech, taking 52 days. Beautiful villages all along the way. The occasional Casbah could be seen - one Rachid pointed out was where the caravans had to stop to pay duties on the goods they were carrying. In many places you could see people working the farmland - pretty incredible to see. And in one valley we could see where nomads (used to be pirates in the caravan days) were still living in the caves in the cliffs.

As we got further down on the backside of the mountains, we came to the Ksar of Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site, as one of the best examples of a fortified Moroccan village. It is incredibly beautiful and has been used as a backdrop for many movies, including Lawrence of Arabia, Jewel of the Nile, Gladiator, and more recently for Game of Thrones. I added a video link to a YouTube video on this town, but also go to the UNESCO website whc.unesco.org and search for Ksar of Ait Benhaddou, to learn more.

We had a great tour of the city with our guide Mohammed. He was a wonderful man, with a college degree in education, but really no job to go to when he finished (as is the case with many here), so he came back to his home village. For most of the old villages, very few families actually live here, as there is the “new town” just across the street. But Mohammed’s grandparents still come here every summer to relax and enjoy the old family home. Yes, they come from across the street in the bustling town of maybe 500, to the quiet of the town of 50! Only three families live full time in the old village, but plenty come to work here since many tourists visit.

From here we drove further and arrived in Ouarzazate, known as “The Hollywood of Africa”. We visited the Atlas Studio’s and saw several film sets, including some from The Mummy with Brendan Fraser. One movie (an Italian movie about Jesus) was currently being filmed, but with the advent of computerized films, you could tell there is really not much going on here anymore.

After spending the night in our lovely Riad, the Ksar Sultan Dades, and a nice breakfast, we headed off again. Today we would first visit the Todra Gorges where the rock formations are incredible, and rock climbers from around the world come to enjoy what they love (personally, I simply can't imagine it).

From here we visit another small village on the Todra River, just below the gorges. This valley is beautiful - green as can be - with a system of aqueducts supplying water to all of the fields. Women washing rugs in the river, and a variety of agricultural make this a beautiful spot. Our guide (another Mohammed) took us through the village and then back to visit the local rug cooperative. It was fun to see, but "thank the god" - we don’t have a house! This has become a great excuse in many places, for sure!

Finally, we head toward Merzouga, which is where we will trek into the desert on camels. It’s a long drive, but finally we see signs that we are getting close - and yes, you better pay attention to the signs!

Next stop, the Sahara!

Check out the other pictures in the album, and the video on Ait Benhaddou.

Cheers!