How Driving through the Highest Mountains in Morocco makes you Relaxed
By: Erika Chaudhary
Tags: Travel, Self Improvement, Roadtrip, Life, Morocco

We left Marrakesh for what I call the journey of our lifetime. Neither my husband nor I have been driving around Morocco in a hired car. We don’t know the roads, towns, or indeed, a way to any of the towns we chose to visit. We set on our way to the desert called Merzouga which is about 500km from Marrakesh. The recommended towns to stay are Ouarazatte, Zagora and then Merzouga.

The road from Marrakesh to Ouarazatte was interesting. First and foremost your eyes are hit with a view out of this world. Then we are somewhere up in the mountains. We have reached the altitude of 2260 meters at some point. I felt like flying. With a change of the altitude we felt a bit slower and hungrier. We stopped at a cafe in a middle of nowhere and ordered a vegetable tajine.

The tajine was soul nourishing. Absolutely delicious with mouth watering cooked vegetables! We had to have it with what we call the “Moroccan whisky” the Moroccan tea. We perked up a bit and headed to our destination. Mountain road certainly kept us awake. We were heading to a Riad Chay in town called Ouarazatte.

Riad Chay sent instructions how to find them. I read it and followed it carefully. We arrived at a place surrounded by palm trees. We were greeted by a young boy. He was welcoming, pleasant and nonintrusive. I immediately got a great vibe. He took us to the best room in the house with a stunning view of the palm trees.

A view from our room in Riad Chay

We couldn’t resist for a walk in the palm tree forest. It was magical to walk in the palm tree garden in the sunsetting. Little did I know that the real magic is yet to come! We went back to our beautiful room. When the sun sets it gets cold. The Riad put the heating for us in our room so we are warm.We got ready for dinner.

The menu was simple chicken, beef or vegetable tajine with a starter and a dessert. We chose vegetable tajine which was divine. After dinner we ordered Moroccan tea and headed to the terrace. The night was as if it was cut out from a magazine. The stars, the moon, palm trees and us wrapped up warm in the blankets.

We sat watching stars in awe. We were in a place with no people, the moon as bright as day and us two. It’s impossible not to relax. What’s even more magical is to have a partner in crime who enjoys this adventure as much as I do. What really hit me is how stressed I am. What strike me the most is how peaceful and calm the place is.

Living in central London I naturally get stressed as soon as I set my foot outside of the flat. The cars, crowds of people and just madness around. Here you are forced to stop. Slow down and not rush, not think that fast, not speak that fast… Just stop and breath and look at the magic outside. That to me is the greatest gift anyone can give.

We managed to wake up before the sunrise. Not only did we see the magical sunset but we also woke up with a sunset. The view to took our breath away. We loved it there so much it was hard to leave but we knew more adventures are yet to come as we are heading to Zagora.

Stay tuned for me from Morocco road trip!