An epic road trip over the Anti-Atlas Mountains of Morocco, from the Atlantic coast in the west, to the Sahara desert in the east, with 3 children in a Classic Hymer motorhome.
Background
After 10 days of travelling along much of the length of the Moroccan Atlantic Coastline, it was time for us to watch the sun set over the sea for one last time and prepare to move inland for new adventures. We were reluctant to leave the beautiful Legzira Beach but, unusually for us, we had a hotel reservation with a chance to escape the van for a few days waiting for us when we reached the desert, so had a schedule to keep.
Tiznit
As the coastline retreated in the rear view mirror, the road winded its way through hillsides lined with cactus plants, their bright pink ‘prickly pear’ fruits glowing in the sunshine. The first major city we came to was Tiznit, an historic and fortified market town. Inside impressive town walls sits the ancient medina (market), with shops and stalls bustling with life.
A walk to the centre of the medina brings you to the ‘Blue Source’, the town’s original spring water source and place of local myth and legend. It’s a tranquil space to relax for a few moments before re-entering the bustle of the medina. Once we’d shopped for supplies we decided we’d seen enough of the town so decided to move on.
Stay… For those wanting to stay in town longer, Tiznit has a range of accommodation on offer. The pick of the bunch is Riad Janoub. Located within the medina, it is an oasis of calm complete with beautiful swimming pool, landscaped gardens and rooftop terrace. All of this for a price much more reasonable than you’d find in other more well visited cities.
Eat… For a smart, modern dining experience, Restaurant Al Amal serves fresh, local food, with an emphasis on seafood. For a quick, tasty snack, we enjoyed sampling the cakes from Patisserie Al Afrah.
Leaving Tiznit and continuing on our way, the road began to climb up into the mountains.
The Anti-Atlas Mountains
Think of mountains in Morocco and people may only be familiar with the High Atlas mountains. However, to the south of these are their little brother, the Anti-Atlas mountains. Although not as high, they are geologically older, no less impressive and with far fewer visitors to share them with.
Raised up by the collision of ancient continents, long before they split apart again to form what are now Africa and South America, the Anti Atlas mountains make for a truly other-worldly environment of barren red landscapes and twisting sedimentary rock layers. You can drive for miles and miles without seeing another soul and at times it feels like you could be on Mars.
The most challenging (but at the same time also most visually impressive) section of the drive was a P road cut through (the lowest category of road) on the road from Tafroute to Tata. Think long, steep, winding 1st gear climbs and descents and, at times, crumbling roads. Although we were advised before departing to take a safer, long detour that exists, we were feeling brave so decided to take it on and we were glad we did.
As the rocks all around us switched from red to green (presumably due to mineral deposits), the views continued to be breathtaking. My sensible head would recommend the road should only be tackled by a 4WD (or donkey). We made it through in our 28 year old 2WD motorhome though (despite being tight and a bit concerning in places!), so I guess sometimes fortune does favour the bold.
Tafroute
At the centre of the Anti-Atlas mountains, occupying an impressive valley position and flanked by enormous red granite mountains with unusual boulder formations, sits the town of Tafroute. After such a quiet and sparse approach, it was a surprise to suddenly discover such a tidy and bustling hive of enterprise. Historically located to service ancient trade routes, the town is now at the centre of a slowly emerging local tourism industry.
The scenery and endless trails that surround the town make it the perfect base for hiking, mountain biking or climbing, with local operators setup to service this growing demand. A favourite trip is to the nearby ‘Painted Rocks’, a surreal art project of enormous brightly painted boulders, originally created by a Belgian artist and now periodically re-painted by locals keen to retain their unusual visitor attraction.
Our children loved climbing on the boulders all around Tafroute, but especially on these painted ones!
Stay… As soon as you arrive in Tafroute you can see that the town is a magnet for people in motorhomes, campervans or custom van conversions. Although campsites are an option, large sections of the valley are also designated for vehicles of this type to park in permitted wild surroundings, for only 15 DH (or €1.50) a night. There are no facilities, but an army of locals are on hand to service your every need, from bread deliveries to painted murals to mechanical repairs. It makes for great ‘wild’ camping that is both safe and permitted. Our kids loved it there and we wished we had time to stay for longer.
Eat… In the centre of town, Restaurant La Kasbah is always busy for good reason, serving up delicious plates of Moroccan food, for reasonable prices.
Don’t miss… For a bit more luxury, a few miles out of town just off the road heading north, is Auberge Kasbah Chez Amaliya. It is a delightful hotel and restaurant laid out around a central swimming pool, set right under the watchful eye of the so-called ‘lion’s head’ rock in the mountains above.
We didn’t stay but we called in for lunch (which was excellent) and, as they weren’t busy, they let our kids use the pool while we were there which was a bonus. We could even enjoy a quiet beer as they serve alcohol, something that is unusual in these parts.
Into the Desert
After descending from the mountains, the scenery gradually changed from rocks to sand as we approached the desert. As the wind got up, blowing stripes of flowing sand across the road as we progressed, we crossed through an altogether different but equally barren landscape of camels and dried out river beds.
From time to time we would pass through palm-lined oasis towns, places such as Tissint, Zagora and Tazzarine; unexpected valleys of lush greenery isolated within a vast expanse of semi-desert.
Once a giant inland sea, the area is known as the trilobite capital of the world. Any settlement, however small is lined with souvenir stalls piled high with locally mined fossils.
After 4 days and over 500 miles of driving, punctuated with more than a few queries of “are we nearly there?” from the smaller members of our party, we finally arrived at our destination of Merzouga. Sitting impressively at the foot of the mountainous red sand dunes of the Sahara desert, it made for a suitably climatic end to what had been an epic road trip across a barren, yet often beautiful, section of this varied and surprising country.
Like what you see? Pin it…
This is a bucket list destination for us. It’s so awesome you brought your children along with you!
These places look amazing – love the pic of the kido’s in the doorways!
Thanks for reading. It really is a great and varied country to visit. It was hard getting them to all stand still!
I am a bit jealous of your bravery taking kids on such a trek. And I am inspired. We were in Morocco in my twenties, but stayed in one city. I Said then that I wished we would have ventured out and seen more of the country. I love this idea of an RV, and your kids look like they are having a blast.
I’d love to see Morocco and this post makes me want to go more. Wonderful photos. The sand dunes and camels would be amazing to see.
Thanks. It’s a great country to visit. More adventures from Morocco coming soon so watch this space…
I came back to look at your pictures on a laptop (I was using my cell), and they are stunning. The wild camping at Tafroute looks just that, wild.
Thanks for reading and for your nice comments. It really is a very safe and welcoming country so nothing to fear with kids. The camping at Tafroute was great. All sorts of vans and people staying there – a converted lorry near us even had a built in chicken coop underneath!