We left Ait Benhaddou at the ungodly hour of 7am. Our previous departures had all been around 9am, so 7am seemed earlier than it was and we also needed to pack our bags to go up into the high atlas mountains. The drive took us over a pass in the Atlas Mountains and to the outskirts of Marrakesh, before heading back into the mountains.
Mountain views
We then arrived in a little town where there were some donkeys or mules to haul luggage and us uphill. Luckily this was not a compulsory ride and I walked up with around half of the others. As some may remember I had an incident with a donkey once and thus prefer to walk. It was a steep uphill walk for the first half and then it flattened out and was a much easier walk. We stayed at a house of a mountain guide and settled in for a delicious lunch or berber omelettes (basically a mixed vegetable omelette). After lunch the options were a serious hike further into the mountains or a walk into town. Most chose the walk into the town, because it was raining and we had no spare clothes.
Hike up the Atlas Mountains
Most of the town has been rebuilt on tourist dollars as this is where hikers wanting to summit the tallest mountain in North Africa, Mt Toubkal, start from. We saw quite a few hikers doing the 2 days up and 2 days back trek. The views got worse as did the weather and we retreated back to the house. Dinner was a delicious soup and tagine. The mountains were lovely change and we head to the beachside town of Essaouira tomorrow.
Aroumd