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The sands of the High Atlas are sprinkled with silver screen stardust. On this epic tour, you'll travel by 4x4 to Telouet, rumble across the dizzying Tizi n'Tichka mountain pass and visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Aït Benhaddou. It's a blockbuster. Youssef, one of our expert local guides, says, ‘I'm from the village of Tamdaght, just 6km from kasbah Aït Benahdou – a red clay village so untouched it feels like you stepped into a movie. Living here, films became a normal part of our lives. I boosted my income when I was a student by working as an extra.'
Your 4x4 adventure in the Atlas Mountains kicks off with a scenic drive via Taddart to Telouet – a crumbling kasbah on the former caravan route that linked Marrakech to the Sahara. Then, with views over Aït Benhaddou, you'll break for a tasty lunch freshly prepared with locally sourced produce. Afterwards, your guide will take you inside the ksar walls of the kasbah, where Hollywood films such as Gladiator and Lawrence of Arabia were filmed. This is one of Morocco's finest examples of earthen clay architecture.
For the return trip you have the ascent to the spectacular Tizi n'Tichka pass to look forward to. Youssef says, ‘Tizi n'Tichka means “difficult mountain pasture” in Berber, and you'll soon find out why. It reaches the altitude of 2,212m with lots of switchbacks.' Once over the pass, the road descends through scenic valleys, passing villages and palm groves, before arriving in Marrakech.
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