Day 4: Ouarzazate - Kasbah Telouet - Tizi-n-Tichka - Marrakech Airport - Girona
It's 8 in the morning when we're having breakfast at L'Escale de Ouarzazate, charging energy for today in the end of our trip to the Kasbah Route, although before and despite the advice that warned us not to take risks, we will try to approach the Kasbah Telouet.
Sunrise from L'Escale de Ouarzazate
A few minutes past 9 in the morning when after checking in and saying goodbye to Christophe's wife, we take our car again, already towards the airport, undoing the road we made the first day when we arrived at Ait Ben Haddou from Marrakech.
But as we said before, having breakfast we made a last minute decision, as it has happened in almost all this trip, and we decided that it is best to try to reach the Kasbah of Telouet. We do not want to stay with the desire to try, at least we will see how the road is and as we see it, we will decide if it is practicable or not with a tourism.
We start our route again surrounded by incredible landscapes, mountains with reddish tones, dotted with small villages and vegetation, which give this area a perfect touch.
Landscapes of Morocco
We arrive at the detour of the Kasbah of Telouet at 10:30 and directly we enter a narrow paved road, which according to the GPS will take us about 24 kilometers to reach Telouet town.
As we move forward we see that the road is not for much, at least the section we are doing. It is narrow, it is not fully paved, but slowly and carefully, it is totally practicable with tourism.
Road to Telouet
These 24 kilometers we end up doing in about 45 minutes or so, since the last 8 kilometers are much more "headdresses"and we have to slow down quite a bit.
Once past the town of Telouet we follow a few meters and find the sign that indicates "visit kasbah"and a few meters beyond, a small roof where we can leave the car and from where one can already sense the almost ruinous state of the Kasbah of Telouet, which we have read, is now mostly used as a stable.
Kasbah of Telouet
But as it is best not to get carried away by first impressions and more when this aspect gives the place a more scenic air, we decided to check that there is inside to assess whether or not it is worth having come here.
The entrance to the Kasbah is 20 dirhams per person and we access the lower part that has no ornamentation, since it was the area where the workers were.
Entrance to the Kasbah of Telouet
Once we reach the stairs, we access the second floor of the Kasbah, where we cross some corridors, which despite the little ornamentation, it seems that they begin to warn us what comes next.
Kasbah Telouet
Kasbah Telouet room
After crossing these corridors, we access what is the zone "noble", where the ornamentation leaves us with our mouths open and we decided at that precise moment that this is an essential visit and that we are glad we included it in the preparations for the trip to the Kasbah Route.
Details of the decoration of the Kasbah Telouet
Awesome decoration inside the Kasbah
Telouet was the ancient capital of the country Glaua and today the ruins of the Palace of the Glaoui, which are the ruins that we can visit, remain apart from the rooms that were restored.
Kasbah Telouet
One of the most representative areas of the Kasbah of Telouet is the window in one of the rooms, which offers us beautiful views of the surroundings and more on a clear day like the one we have today.
Details of the Kasbah of Telouet
This visit does not last more than 30-45 minutes, but do not forget that it does not end here, since you can go up one more floor and access the upper area, from where you also have incredible views of the area surrounding the Kasbah and also the area that remains in ruins and that today is used as a stable.
Views from the upper area of the Kasbah Telouet
Kasbah Telouet
After a good time in the upper area of the Kasbah, we return to the car, when it is after 12 in the morning and we return to travel the 20 kilometers that will take us to the N9, a road that we will take again to go to Marrakech, going through Tizi-n-Tichka again.
After the experience we have to say that this visit is very worthwhile, so if you are in the area, do not hesitate. The state of the road is not 10, but it is also not impassable for tourism, so if you have a couple of hours for this visit, counting transfer and visit, it is well worth it. The road that is impracticable for tourism, only accessible for a 4 × 4, is the one that goes from Telouet to Ait Ben Haddou, therefore if you want to make this visit on the way to the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, you must return to the main road and take the N9 again.
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Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish from Marrakech by travelers:Here we again realize that on many occasions, as happened to us on the trip to Naples and Pompeii or on the trip to Israel and Palestine, our perception of bad driving is not very similar to that of many people, so we must Be careful when taking certain advice and try to check it out for ourselves.
And so, with this good taste in the mouth for this incredible visit, we continue our journey, going back into the curves of the road and arriving, when it is almost 1:30 in the afternoon to Tizi-n-Tichka. Seeing what time it is, we decided that it is time to stop to eat and take advantage of the fact that we are here to stop at the same place where we were on the second day of the trip to taste that Berber omelette that we liked so much. As soon as he enters, the boy remembers us and tells us that if we are going to take the same thing, something that we affirm with a handshake and a smile.
Eating in Tizi-n-Tichka
We take the same as the other day, plus a plate of potatoes, water, coke and two coffees for 120 dirhams that renew us in the mood to continue our journey.
Tizi-n-Tichka
A few minutes after 2 o'clock we resume the road, in works in this section, returning to cross the curves that will take us to Marrakech.
In this area we want to stop every few meters, as happened yesterday when we traveled the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs in the Draa Valley and the views are a real joy.
View of the road we travel in the Atlas
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Trucks with animals that you can cross on the road
As we advance the sky, as if by magic, it begins to turn gray, threatening a good storm, something that makes us make our last stop to see the landscape and continue our way to the airport of Marrakech.
Landscapes in Morocco when the sky starts to get dark
We arrived in Marrakech when it's almost 5 in the afternoon and now is when it plays "worst"of the trip, to enter the city, although surrounding the Medina, to arrive at the airport.
That takes us about 20 minutes that we have to confess, you have to do enough concentrated to not take anyone ahead: be it person, animal or thing, something that as we said on occasion, is likely, since each one crosses where they want without even looking at the side of the road.
Marrakech Roads
It is 5 when we leave our rental car in Morocco, in parking 2, which is the Hertz company and after taking pictures of the car and the dashboard, so that it is recorded that the tank is full and mileage, we spend a review more than exhaustive, as when they delivered it to us in Marrakech. The truth is that this is something that we believe is great and should be done in all offices. After having everything ok, we go to the airport, to start our way back home.
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If you fly with Ryanair to Morocco, remember that even if you carry your suitcase, you have to go to the check-in counters so they can verify that all the data is correct and seal your ticket, in order to access the controls. The same happened to us on our trip to Casablanca, Meknès and Fez and they told us that in Morocco it's how it works.
With everything in order we pass the security controls and then the passport controls, which this time we have to pass Like every neighbor's son, that is, by the long tail and after this another control over tickets and passports with which we finally access the boarding gates.
Once there and it is already after 6 pm, we can only wait until 7:25, when our flight from Marrakech to Girona with which we will end this trip on the Kasbah Route that we have enjoyed so much, despite the last minute changes we have had to do on the fly.
Marrakech Airport
And so, we return home, thinking of returning as soon as possible to Morocco, how could it be otherwise and in the next trips we have before the end of this year.
