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17 April 2024 - Essaouira to Agadir
It took just over 3 hours to drive south from Essaouira to Agadir. Agadir is a large resort town on the Atlantic coast and it is popular with foreigners seeking winter sun.
We drove through misty weather which thickened into a sea mist by the time we arrived in Agadir. It was only 20 centigrade in Agadir whereas it had reached 31 centigrade further inland on the drive down.
In 1960 Agadir suffered the most destructive and deadly earthquake in Moroccan history. Most of the city was destroyed and about 15,000 people died. Agadir was rebuilt in the 1960's and only the beach is of interest to tourists. We therefore only stayed for a one night in Agadir to break up our journey southwards.
We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment at an Agadir hotel through Booking.com for Eur 59. The staff were very helpful and gave us a quiet room as requested. The apartment was better than expected.
It took us 10 minutes to walk from the apartment to Agadir's beach. Even though the weather was misty the beach seemed very nice. There is a huge expanse of sand and lots of Moroccans were playing soccer on the beach. We walked for about half an hour along the beach to have a meal at a restaurant on the esplanade.
The weather started to clear in the evening and we hoped that the next day's weather would be better.
18 April 2024 - Agadir to Sidi Ifni
Fortunately the weather improved and we continued our drive southwards to Sidi Ifni. It was mostly dual carriageway as we left Agadir but there were far too many roundabouts. Agadir sprawls out in a messy development. It took about an hour to get out of this very poorly planned area of Agadir.
We stopped off for lunch at the seaside town of Aglou Plage. Sadly it has been ruined by overdevelopment as there is a mass of ugly holiday accommodation for Moroccan holidaymakers.
My old Lonely Planet guidebook described the next 40 kilometres of coast from Aglou Plage to Mirleft as "exceptionally picturesque". The coastline didn't seem very special to us and there was ugly development on sections of it. Twenty years ago Mirleft had a "totally undeveloped beach" according to Lonely Planet but now Mirleft is a large and ugly resort town.
We were relieved to find that Sidi Ifni has retained its character. Spain was given Sidi Ifni by treaty after the Spanish-Moroccan war of 1859, which Morocco lost. Spain didn't take full possession of it until 1934 and most of the buildings only date back to then. Spain handed Sidi Ifni back to Morocco in 1969.
There isn't much to see in Sidi Ifni but it is a pleasant and laid back town. It is a popular surfing destination and is also popular with foreign recreational vehicles. There were more than 30 camper vans lined up along the sea front.
We couldn't be bothered to swim but did walk along the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at a seafront restaurant and watched the surfers.
We stayed at the Logis la Marine Guest House in Sidi Ifni and it cost Eur 86 for their best and newest room on the top floor. It was a really nice room overlooking the sea. We live next to the sea in England but were still surprised at how much louder the waves were here.
19 April 2024 - Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute
We left the coast of Morocco today and headed north east to Tafraoute which is at an altitude of 1,200 metres in the Anti Atlas mountains. Tafraoute is known for its palm groves where almonds and olive orchards grow. It is also popular with climbers, hikers and tourists.
We were pleased to be heading inland as the scenery on Morocco's Atlantic coast isn't very interesting. We won't see the sea again until we reach the port of Tangier in 2.5 weeks time!
I didn't want to repeat yesterday's drive along the more commonly used road between Sidi Ifni and Tiznit. Instead we drove on roads (P1918 and P1916) that weren't on our map but were on Google Maps.
The road was good, except for one section, until about 5 kilometres from Tafraoute. Then the road really deteriorated and the surface was badly corrugated. This bad section of road was very scenic.
We booked a suite at the Hotel Salama in Tafraoute for Eur 42 a night. It was very good value for money as we had a living room and a bedroom. It was very central and we could park our car in front of the hotel.
20 April 2024 - Tafraoute
It felt surprisingly cool in the morning as it was about 17 centigrade and there was a chilly wind. We drove to the Ait Mansour Gorge which is a 50 minute drive south of Tafraoute. There is a tarred road there but it is narrow in places
I parked the car on the road side just before the Ait Mansour Gorge and a woman immediately appeared and said she was a parking attendant. We were pleased to have secure parking even though we would have to tip her.
We walked along the narrow road through the best section of the Ait Mansour Gorge. The green oasis at the bottom of the gorge was a stunning contrast to the pink hills and rocks towering above the gorge.
After the Ait Mansour Gorge we continued driving south to the village of Afla Ighir and then had the choice of retracing our steps to Tafraoute or doing a circular route via the Tizerkine gorge. I wasn't sure about the condition of the road through the Tizerkine gorge. However, a Tripadvisor forum report from about a year ago indicated it was driveable in a saloon car.
We decided to try the circular route and the road to Tizerkine was excellent. I was surprised that we didn't see any other vehicles and I soon found out why! The condition of the road deteriorated badly as soon as we passed Tizerkine although the scenery was excellent.
The road surface alternated between broken up tar and dirt! The road was also very narrow and in several sections it wouldn't have been possible to get past any oncoming vehicles. Luckily there were none! I drove very carefully to avoid damaging our Ford Focus as last year we had broken a front spring in Greece.
It was a relief to reach the village of Taghaout where the condition of the road improved. From there it was a pleasant drive back to Tafraoute. The entire drive had taken about 5 hours.
21 April 2024 - Tafraoute to Taroudant
We drove 4 hours from Tafroute to Taroudant in the Sous valley. The first part of our route followed the road to Agadir and then we branched off north-east to Taroudant.
The mountain road out of Tafraoute was narrow and just wide enough for 2 cars to carefully pass. There wasn't much oncoming traffic and I slowed down to a crawl for oncoming vehicles as the Moroccan drivers hardly slowed down at all.
It was possible to pull off the road but neither myself or the oncoming vehicles wanted to. The scenery on this section was very good.
After about an hour the road widened and it was then good all the way to Taroudant. I hadn't been sure about the condition of the road that branched off to Taroudant as it wasn't shown on my map but the road was on Google Maps.
We stopped in the countryside for a picnic lunch and there were wild camels everywhere. We eventually joined the main Agadir to Taroudant road. The scenery was bleak and we drove through numerous scruffy developments.
I had booked a room at Riad Amnay in Taroudant's medina. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house built over two or more storeys around a central courtyard which usually contains a fountain.
We had been given the location of a nearby parking lot but the challenge was to find it. We had the location on Google Maps but with the one way streets inside the city walls it was difficult to locate. A motor bike rider kindly stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He then walked us to the Riad. I gave him Eur 2 for his help which was probably too much.
Riad Amnay was of a high standard and had very good reviews. Lani was very happy with it. However, the rooms in Riads are usually dark as the windows face into the courtyard and I like natural light. Otherwise it was very good. We booked through Booking.com and paid Eur 54 a night.
22 April 2024 - Taroudant
We had booked two nights at the Riad in Taroudant. In the morning we drove 40 minutes to the village of Tioute to see the old Kasbah on the hilltop and the oasis below it. On the way we saw several goats in the trees eating leaves. We had read about goats doing this and had wanted to see it.
Tioute's Kasbah was a huge disappointment. It was built in 16th century and is described as being magnificent, perched on the hill overlooking the oasis. Sadly, most of it is falling to pieces and has been closed off. The only part open was a large restaurant that has been built in the Kasbah and tour groups come for lunch.
We then visited Tioute's Oasis which unfortunately is very popular with tour groups. A guy on a motor bike wanted to give us an hour's tour for Eur 15. Eventually we settled on Eur 5 and we followed him in our car to a parking lot by the Oasis.
He then told us he wanted Eur 15 and drove off when we didn't agree to it. We were pleased as he had led us to the Oasis and we could wander around by ourselves.
It was pleasant but has been spoiled by tourism. The paths through the Oasis are paved. There are a few cafes, handicraft stall and locals offering donkey rides. Not our scene at all and it was a wasted morning
When we got back to Taroudant we again had problems finding the parking lot. This time the driver of a Caleche stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He was a nice man and I gave him Eur 2 for his help.
We had lunch in the nearby square and the same Caleche driver came over to say hi. He spoke English and he asked if we wanted a ride in his Caleche around the 7 kilometre long city walls. Apparently Taroudant is referred to as Little Marrakech because of its ramparts.
We wouldn't normally ride in a Caleche but we wanted to see the city walls and walking around in the heat wouldn't have been fun. We had been told that the fair rate was Eur 10 per hour and that was what he offered. We therefore agreed to meet him at 15.00. We enjoyed the ride and certainly wouldn't have enjoyed walking.
Afterwards we wandered around the large under cover market in Taroudant. I buy very little but wanted to buy a leather belt. The asking price was Eur 31! I wouldn't negotiate as he started with an absolute rip off price. In the end I got it for the Eur 5 that I initially offered.
23 April 2024 - Taroudant to Marrakesh via the Tizi n'Test
The fastest route from Taroudant to Marrakesh is on the A3 toll road and it would take about 3.25 hours. However, there is a much more scenic road over the 2,100 metre high Tizi n'Test mountain pass which Google Maps said would take about 5.5 hours.
I wanted to drive over the Tizi n'Test pass to see the Atlas mountains even though the road is much more difficult to drive on. Unfortunately it was a hazy day and it spoiled the views on the south side of the pass.
This area was badly affected by the earthquake of September 2023. Over six hundred thousand people were affected and many are still living in tents and temporary buildings.
The road was also damaged by the earthquake. On the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass there were many cracks along the side of the road and pull over areas were cordoned off. On the north side of the Tizi n'Test pass sections of the road surface were badly damaged. A lot of fallen rocks had been cleared to both sides of the road.
The first hour of the journey was along the main road east of Taroudant. It is pretty bleak road that goes through messy towns and the scenery isn't great. It is very similar to the main road west of Taroudant which I also disliked. The scenery improved once we turned off the main road and headed north.
Initially it was a very good two lane road. As we got nearer the top of the Tizi n'Test pass it became a one lane tarred road but it was easy and safe to pass other vehicles. Before we reached the top the road surface deteriorated and didn't improve for the next 50 miles! It was very slow going and tiring constantly watching out for potholes.
We finally reached Marrakesh after 7 hours of driving and checked into our 3 bedroom apartment in the suburb of Gueliz. We booked it through Airbnb for Eur 75 a night. We were too tired to go into Marrakesh and had 3 nights there anyway. We spent the evening relaxing and did some much needed laundry.
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