What It’s Like To Drive The Tizi n’tichka Pass In Morocco
Morocco is filled with many wonders: busy souks packed with hand-made charms, ancient Medinas, and soothing stretches of pastel desert colors. For some, driving the Tizi n’Tichka pass on R307 through the High Atlas Mountains would be on that same list. For others, it’s seen as an endeavorer too dangerous and edgy to take on. But for myself and my partner, it was the perfect combination of thrill and beauty.
We recently drove from Marrakech to Ait-Ben-Haddou, and from there through the High Atlas Mountains to reach Ouzoud Falls. Here I’ll tell you what driving the Tizi n’Tichka Pass is really like and what you need to know before taking in on yourself.
Is It Safe To Drive In Morocco?
It is safe to drive in Morocco, despite internet warnings and passed-down horror stories. To make things easier, I’ve written a full guide complete with everything that you need to know about driving culture and renting a car in Morocco. Be sure to read it before taking on the Tizi n’Tichka Pass.
If you’re traveling to Morocco and hoping to see more than the cities and places accessible by public bus, renting a car is the way to go. There are many epic destinations (like Ait-Ben-Haddou, for example) that can be reached by bus, but that option often includes arriving at your destination at the same time as other tourists and having a rushed experience. We found that renting a car provided more comfort, freedom, and flexibility while not costing much more than trains or guided tours would have.
What Is The Tizi n’Tichka Pass?
Linking the south east of Marrakesh to the city of Ouarzate through the winding High Atlas Mountains, Tizi n’Tichka is a stunning and wild mountain pass. It’s also a gateway to the Sahara desert. Many internet sites will try and persuade you not to attempt this drive, but it was the highlight of our trip. (You can listen to our podcast episode titled All About Morocco: What To Know Before You Go to hear about our other favorite destinations along the way.) Even though some parts of the drive gave me anxiety due to the fact that we were in a rental car, it was worth it overall. Additionally, it was not as daunting as the internet makes it seem.
Driving Through The High Atlas Mountains & Tizi n’Tichka Pass On R307
Before driving the pass I wanted to know about road conditions, rental car requirements, and other obstacles that we may face along our journey. I couldn’t find anything to sufficiently answer my questions, hence the birth of this guide. Along our rote we passed striking natural features, small desert towns camouflaged into the mountains, goats busy nibbling brush on the side of the road, and friendly Moroccans sipping mint tea (of course).
Tips For Driving In The High Atlas Mountains
When driving Tizi n’Tichka it is best to take it slow and steady. The road can quickly change from paved to dirt, or from two lane to one. You never know what’s going to be around the corner, whether it be a donkey or speedy taxi, so take it easy and enjoy the ride. When it comes to the pass the saying is true: better safe than sorry. Or better yet, better safe than sorry and paying a large fee on your totaled rental car.
While people are zooming from place to place in the cities, things get a lot calmer in the mountains. Even so, be prepared to get passed by locals. If there’s a big enough patch of road where you can safely pull over and let them pass, it’s a good idea to do so. Driving the speed limit is important to minimize potential fines and interaction with police, and regardless of the speed you’re going you’ll still notice taxis flying past you at any chance they get.
The Weather In The High Atlas Mountains
Before researching anything else, check the weather in the High Atlas Mountains for your desired trip dates. The conditions could make or break your trip. We drove the pass in a small, two wheel drive rental car and got lucky with perfect weather. It was a dry, sunny day and people were out cleaning up the rockfall from the road. If it’s a particularly stormy day or there was heavy rain the night before I wouldn’t advise driving the pass without four wheel drive.
Additionally, if there was a recent earth quake parts of the road could be blocked by rockfall, making it impassable. There’s really only one way in and one way out of the mountains, so it can take hours and wreck your plans to turn back and find another way to your destination if the road is blocked.
Do You Need Four Wheel Drive In The High Atlas Mountains?
In good weather conditions this drive is completely doable in a two wheel drive vehicle. I imagined that to make it one would need a hefty four wheel drive beast, but that’s simply not true. Due to the narrowness and smallness of many parts of the road I was even thankful that we were in such a small vehicle.
It’s important to note that we stayed on the main pass following R307 during our journey, so if you’re looking to go off-roading or drive the pass in snow or wet conditions, you’ll need a four wheel drive vehicle.
Road Conditions In The Tizi n’Tichka Pass
The road conditions constantly change on the Tizi n’Tichka Pass. Overall they were better than what I expected. When we got closer to the pass (coming from Marrakesh) the road turned into one-lane. It was incredibly curvy and we weren’t sure if we should continue on. We noticed other small cars (similar to our own) driving the road unscathed so we decided to journey ahead.
After that we experienced many different versions of the road. Sometimes it was a freshly paved two-lane road that was well maintained. Other times it was a one-lane paved path that only had a few potholes here and there. But suddenly, like magic, it would turn completely dirt and you’d have to hobble pass massive rockslides and bump over potholes. There’s no telling what the road is going to be like at any given moment, and every time that we thought that we were “in the clear” the road changed again.
How Long Does It Take To Get From Ait-Ben-Haddou to Ouzoud?
We thought that passing through the High Atlas Mountains on R307 from Ait-Ben-Haddou to Ouzoud would take us just a few hours thanks to Google Maps, but it ended up taking us around seven. We went in and out of service along the route so it’s handy to have Maps.me downloaded in case you accidentally exit out of a map that relies on data, although the route is pretty straight-forward. Maps.me is a free app that provides offline maps that can be used in remote locations, so be sure to download your maps ahead of time on wifi.
What To See In The High Atlas Mountains
We did this trip in one day but if you have more time I recommend doing it in two days. I can’t tell you where to stop along the way; the adventure is completely in your hands! We saw very few hotels along the way, but if you’re spontaneous enough it would make for an exciting adventure to see where the day takes you. Moroccans can be incredibly helpful and accommodating, so if worse came to worse I imagine they’d be happy to offer up a place to sleep in exchange for payment.
I’ve also seen some breathtaking hikes online, so if you’re a nature-lover lace up your boots and see what’s out there. If you’re coming through Ait-Ben-Haddou like we did, check out my complete guide to the area that includes the most epic (yet affordable) place to stay in a traditional Berber village in Tadoula.
