A Road Trip Through Morocco with a One-Year-Old: Exploring the Atlas Mountains, Gorges, Desert, and Marrakesh
Agdz is one of the most picturesque locations on the trip. It coincided with peak "wild child" for our daughter.
A One-Year-Old's First Adventure in Morocco: Exploring its Beauty by Road Trip.
Morocco blew me away. It’s a land of vibrant colors, rich culture, and stunning landscapes. Over the new year, we decided to take a road trip with our one-year-old daughter to experience a family adventure in this North African country. We flew into Marrakesh and rented a car, taking a circular route that took us through Ourika, Skoura, Dades and Todra Gorges, Zagora, the desert, and back up the Draa Valley. Along the way, we soaked in the diverse landscapes and the warm hospitality of the Moroccan people who loved seeing a toddler having the time of her life.
Give me a dune, and I will roll until I can roll no more. Erg Chigaga with its endless entertainment.
Great light, good airtime. Wrapping up the trip in Agafay.
A Leica - Sony combination
I kept my photography gear simple during the road trip, relying on two cameras and lenses. The combination of the Leica Q2 and Sony A7II allowed me to capture the sights of Morocco in a versatile way. I love having the Leica around my neck. The 28mm lens is lovely. With its advanced sensor and lens technology, its outstanding image quality delivers sharp, vivid images.
On the other hand, I still enjoy the versatility of my Sony A7II, despite having owned it since a 2015 trip to the Himalayas. Despite its age, when paired with the 70-200 f4 lens, the Sony A7II produces an image that I can be more than happy with for personal use. The 200mm focal length provided by Sony allowed me to zoom in on distant subjects, capturing both intimate and impactful images. I have considered adding Sony's 200-600 lens to my collection. While large white lenses can be cumbersome to travel with, I appreciate the additional reach they offer and the ability to capture subjects from a distance, contrasting the up-close and personal feel of the Leica Q2.
I’ve had the Sony A7II since 2015. It’s fine to chew on.
Starting in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains in Ourika
We started the journey at the beautiful Kasbah Bab Ourika. This family-friendly accommodation provided the perfect base to explore the surrounding mountains and traditional Berber culture. We had initially considered venturing into the higher mountains, but we thought it might be too unstable with snow. As it turned out, Morocco was experiencing a dry period, so we could have headed further into the Atlas mountains.
Driving from Ourika to Skoura over Tizi n’Tichka Pass
Driving out of Ourika and over the Tizi n'Tichka pass of the Atlas mountains was a fun experience in our two-wheel drive Dacia. The road snakes through the mountains, with hairpin turns and steep inclines, providing panoramic views of the surrounding peaks. On the other side of the pass is Ourrzazate. Home to a couple of film studios, we stopped only for lunch before continuing on the road across to Skoura.
Skoura is a lush oasis known for its beautiful palm grove and traditional kasbahs. The palm grove has rows upon rows of palm trees stretching out as far as the eye can see with winding dust tracks that make no directional sense to navigate to the night's accommodation.
The golden hour shines bright in Skoura.
A morning hike in the Dades Gorge
Although we only spent the morning in the area, the Dades Gorge was one of the most memorable days of the road trip. The gorge, located in the Dades Valley, stretches from the Atlas Mountains to the Sahara Desert, and it provides a stunning landscape, including rock formations carved over time by the Dades River. The Dades Gorge is a narrow, winding road that runs through the valley, offering breathtaking views of the red rock formations that tower above. We parked the car and hiked a short way up the valley. Travelling with a child is a lesson in compromise, as we saw the path climbing up and up into the far distance. Another time and we would have been running up the path for a full day on our feet.
A cheeky monkey in Monkey Fingers, Dades Gorge.
An afternoon in the Todra Palmeraie
After a lunchtime stop alongside the road for tagine, we drove an hour or so to the Todra Gorge, another spectacular canyon in the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. The Todra Gorge is known for its towering red cliffs that soar up to 300 meters above the Todra River.
We spent the afternoon in the palmeraie, a beautiful oasis of palm trees in the arid landscape of the gorge. The palmeraie, with its abandoned Kasbah, offered an idyllic backdrop for walking practice. Teodora had started experimenting with her first steps the day before, and now it was all about adventure, trial, and error. Fall back down. Get back up.
The beauty of the abandoned kasbah comes alive in the warm glow of the evening light.
Hiking the Todra Loop
The following morning, we set out to hike the Todra Loop, a stunning trail that takes you through the heart of the Todra Gorge. The hike starts by following a narrow path that winds along the Todra River. As the gorge opens up, the trail climbs steeply into a cliff band, offering incredible panoramic views of the surrounding peaks and the winding river below.
The Todra Loop is an excellent hike for nature lovers and those looking for an adventure, with a good sense of accomplishment as you reach the village below. We've got the sharing of backpack duties dialled. Mamma climbs up, and Pappa downhill.
Warming rays filter through the narrow walls of the Todra Gorge.
The road less travelled from Todra Gorge To Zagora
The drive from Todra Gorge to Zagora is a journey through some of Morocco's most diverse landscapes. After leaving the cliffs of Todra behind, we made our way through the arid terrain of the Anti-Atlas mountains, passing by small villages and traditional kasbahs. Hours of driving through vast areas of nothing make for a fun and adventurous drive.
The stunning Draa valley greets you as you arrive in Zagora. It's usually an oasis of palm trees and lush vegetation stretching over 100km. However, it had been over two years since it had rained in the region, which has been challenging. We set down for the evening with the daily ritual of mint tea to the soundtrack of an unnecessarily loud musician duo.
Patagonia-styled on the streets of Zagora.
New Years eve in Erg Chigaga
One of the trip's highlights was the 4WD excursion into the Erg Chigaga Desert. Amidst the rolling dunes, we spent a memorable New Year's Eve in the (luxury) wilderness. The vast night sky is one of the main draws, so it was unlucky to have the only cloudy night of our entire trip. Sleeping in a tent in the middle of the desert kept us busy as we continually jumped up to check the temperature of our sleeping baby.
The following day, we were up early to witness the magnificent sunrise over the desert, an unforgettable experience. Our drive back to Zagora was just as remarkable, surrounded by the barren desert landscape of the Draa Valley. A night in the desert was undoubtedly one of the trip's most memorable and perfect ways to start the new year.
The vast and tranquil landscape of the Erg Chigaga desert at dusk.
The Draa Valley up to Agdz
Agdz was one of my favorite locations in Morocco, with such a stunning landscape, even in the face of drought. The lack of rain meant the absence of an oasis that should have been directly in front of our accommodation, but the region was still otherworldly. I crossed the mountain ranges in my mind, looking up to imagine the adventure. For us, Agdz marked the peak of our wild child. Several days of crawling around the floor in the dust and desert were starting to show!
An evening game of “you won’t pass” illuminated by sunset in Agdz.
The mountains stand tall, illuminated by the warm light of the setting sun in Agdz.
Agdz to Agafay: making the loop
After leaving Agdz, we continued our journey north towards Agafay, a small desert village on the outskirts of Marrakesh. Along the way, we stopped at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait Ben Haddou, a fortified town famous for its well-preserved kasbahs and traditional architecture spruced up by the Hollywood dollar. After days of wandering around deserted Kasbahs, it felt pretty bizarre to be surrounded by coach-loads of tourists, but the location and the architecture still make it a must-see. We likened it to a Moroccan Yvoire for those familiar with the French town on the shores of Lac Leman.
All aboard the Deuter backpack to explore the stunning UNESCO site of Ait Ben Haddou.
Full circle back to Marrakesh
As we came to the end of our road trip around Morocco, we returned to Marrakesh for our final night. Despite not having the same admiration for the city as we did for the other places we visited, we still found it an interesting and exciting place to wrap up our trip. The city's bustling souks, vibrant culture, and stunning architecture provided an exciting contrast to the more remote and tranquil locations we had visited earlier on the trip.
Too much fun to rest on the streets of the medina.