The trip starts at 08:00 when your driver knocks on the door of the riad you’re staying on. Usually the alleys are too small for the car to reach the depths of the Medina. Once you’re in the car, you can put on music of your choice with a USB thumb or an AUX cord, or just enjoy the random playlists specific to each driver. After a dozen kilometers, as you start to go up at the beginning of the mountain chain, you start to notice a couple of berber villages perched in the mountains in an astonishing camouflage making them one with nature.

villagers are usually self-sufficient, they rely on agriculture and livestock, and maybe sell a sheep or a goat at the weekly market to buy tea, sugar, clothes and pay the electricity bills. The land provides wheat, a variety of vegetables, fruits and oils. The livestock provides meat. People consume only sick or weak animals that will not survive unless it is a really special occasion, a dear guest or a religious ceremony. A little stop at one of the many terraces to stretch your legs and maybe grab a cup of coffee to fully wake up, then continue the road crossing the Tizi n Tichka Pass (2160m) of the High Atlas to reach the ancient village of Ait Benhaddou.

You will probably hear the name “Ksar” often, it has two meanings in Morocco; 1: A great and luxurious palace, or an assembly of Kasbahs usually surrounded by a protective wall which is the case here in Ksar Ait Benhaddou. The fortified village was declared amongst Morocco’s eight world heritage sites by the Unesco and it is well preserved. The ksar is situated in the Ounila valley. Aït Benhaddou Was a station for the caravanes in old times, transporting gold, silver, salt, spices and slaves from the depths of the African Sahara across Morocco and to Europe. The merchants either exchange their goods here and return, or pause and rest before continuing their trip to Marrakech. The salty mines are still active in the area and you could notice salt on the sides of the ounila river before reaching the village.