So the goal today was to tackle the noted Tizi n’Test pass south through the Atlas mountains, up to an altitude of 2100m and on some potentially interesting roads. Thankfully we had excellent weather so we weren’t too worried – I would imagine though that if the weather was bad it could get kind of interesting..
Anyway, before all that we had to get out of Marrakech, which in this case was easier said than done as we had developed a slight mechanical problem….
In retrospect it seems that we (well, I) managed to damage the power steering pump the night before going lock to lock multiple times trying to squeeze into the worlds smallest parking space outside of our hotel. We still had power steering though it would occasionally get heavy if we were idling and it sounded like a steam engine – it didn’t look like the belt but rather the bearings in the actual pump were the issue. Since we were in a big city Kostas and I decided to try and find a mechanic to take a look while everyone else headed off south – we’d catch up to them eventually as a group tends to travel slower than an individual. Also we tended not to pay attention to speed limits…
We found a shoddy looking garage behind a hotel and they took a look – since we couldn’t get a replacement part they just greased it up and put it back in. We figured out we’d just nurse it and hope for the best.
To get to the pass you head due south out of Marrakech on the R203 and though it’s pretty straight and level for the first few kilometres but you can see the mountains in the distance and pretty soon the road starts to climb. The scenery as you climb is pretty spectacular and great fun to drive, all windy with sheer drops and beautiful vistas.
On the way we randomly picked up a hitchhiker who was determined that we pop in for some tea, and some mild opportunities to sell things to us as it turned out, nice guy though and interesting seeing how people there live, like 1 or 2 rooms with carpets on the floor – very different from what we take for granted in europe. Also we made the mistake of letting the local kids know that we had sweets and the car was soon surrounded.. Here we see a Kostas having stolen the mans guitar.
Once we escaped from the town (Tahnaout I believe, though I am guessing based on the maps!) we kept on climbing and eventually caught up with everyone else, drove up a side road and had a small picnic.
From there, the road becomes amazing and great fun to drive along, not to mention the views and scenery. It can be a bit of fun getting around the very slow moving lorries and buses that you see, but you will eventually find something vaguely resembling a straight stretch, or at the very least a sweeping corner where you can see ahead – that’s when you put your foot down.
We stopped at the top of the pass as there is a cafe and a sign, we all hopped out, took pictures and had a coffee from the helpful man.
The ascent up the valley heading south is great fun and while steep, is not scary – the same cannot be said of the drop on the south side of the pass as it consists of a load of narrow switchbacks, beautiful but a bit nervewracking. Below is a video – if you listen you can hear our broken power steering pump rattling away.
Hairy mountain views!
You descend really quickly and once we were down onto the valley floors we stopped to take some more pictures, before deciding we needed to get a move on towards Agadir for the night. We ended up crashing in a not very local but clean and accessible Ibis Budget, dumped our stuff and grabbed a couple of taxis down to the harbour in search of dinner.
Overall, it was one hell of a day with some of the best driving so far, if you are ever looking to drive south of the Atlas mountains, I can’t recommend a better and more fun route.
Tomorrow we were off south towards the Sahara proper!
Notes
- Definitely go via Tizi n’Test!
- Agadir seems nice enough
- Don’t overstress power steering pumps
- In Morocco, you will be eating a lot of tasty chicken and salads
Route
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