Tizi n'Tichka pass
2,260 metres of switchbacks across the High Atlas, with the best views on the southern descent.
FULL DAY OR OVERNIGHT
Ouarzazate The door of the desert
Over the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres and down the far side of the Atlas, where the green stops and the earth turns to ochre. Ouarzazate holds a UNESCO kasbah, the largest film studios in Africa, and a palm oasis most visitors drive straight past.
Duration
Full day or overnight
Distance
200 km · 4h drive
Best season
October–April
Effort
Easy
Where Morocco plays every other country
Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven and Game of Thrones were all shot within a few kilometres of here. The reason is the light and the earth: red pisé walls against an enormous sky, and a landscape that can stand in for Egypt, Tibet or Westeros without much persuasion.
Highlights
Aït Ben Haddou
A fortified earthen village listed by UNESCO, still inhabited, climbing a hillside above the river.
Atlas Film Studios
Standing sets from four decades of cinema, walkable with a guide who knows what was shot where.
Taourirt Kasbah
The Glaoui family seat, a maze of painted rooms and cedar ceilings in the middle of town.
Fint Oasis
A green line of palms in bare rock, twenty minutes off the main road and almost always empty.
Sunset over the palm groves
The hour when the pisé walls go from ochre to deep red — the reason to stay the night.
How the day runs
-
07:00
Into the Atlas
An early start to take the Tizi n'Tichka in the clear morning light, with stops at the passes.
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10:00
Aït Ben Haddou
Cross the river and climb through the ksar with a certified guide to the granary at the top.
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13:00
Lunch and the studios
Lunch in Ouarzazate, then the Atlas Studios or the Taourirt Kasbah, depending on your interest.
-
16:00
Fint Oasis
A track off the main road to the palm groves, tea with a family and the late light on the rock.
-
18:00
Return or stay
Back over the Atlas to Marrakech, or a night in a kasbah hotel to see the sunrise from the south side.
What's included
- Private 4x4 or luxury SUV with driver
- Certified guide at Aït Ben Haddou
- Entrance to the kasbah and the film studios
- Lunch in Ouarzazate
- Kasbah hotel for the overnight version
Good to know
- As a single day this is four hours of driving each way — the overnight version is far more comfortable.
- The pass can close briefly after snow between December and February; we monitor it and reroute if needed.
- Summer afternoons south of the Atlas regularly pass 40 °C.
- This route can be extended into our Zagora or Merzouga desert circuits.
Shall we arrange it?
Tell us your dates and how many of you there are. We handle the vehicle, the guide and everything in between.
