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HOW TO GET THERE

THE JOURNEY 

MARRAKECH - OUARZAZATE - El KELAA M'GOUNA - Direction Boutaghrar
Leaving the chaotic traffic of Moorish Marrakech behind, while passing shepherds with grazing goats and sheep, the road climbs to the Tizi-n-Tichka-pass at 2250 meters height, cutting through barren land that is rich only on minerals and then descends full of bends to Taddert. The views throughout the High Atlas are breathtaking. In Ouarzazate the film industry attracts celebrities and some visitors to the region, besides a wide range of Berber carpets, fine stones and fossils.

When the stony dirt road past El-Kelaa in the direction of Boutagrar suddenly ends in the small village Hdida, millions of stars are shining above us, and all we smell is roses. This is it, the Valley of The Roses. The heart of it, El-Kelaa M’Goun, gets 3000 to 4000 tons of rose petals through its hands. The French perfume industry buys a great part of it every year. A short walk later you reach the practically undiscovered village Aït Saïd.


 

SPEED AND TIME

The inhabitants of Aït Saïd don’t seem to have cars yet and there are very few tourists around. They do have mules, also available for rides with the kids. There is no waste collection service in this part of Morocco – so everybody is kindly urged not to throw away anything other than organic leftovers.  Nevertheless there are other slow vehicles on the road. In the populated areas only 40km/h is allowed. That, and the fact that the beauty of the landscape tempts you to stop frequently, makes the journey of 450 km from Marrakech to Ouarzazate and another 100 km to Aït Saïd normally last longer than planned. Non-stop the route takes theoretically about 6 hours.
From April till June the poppies and roses are in full bloom which makes the valley very pretty. In summer the red oleanders flower abundantly.

ON FOOT 

You can reach neighboring villages from Aït Saïd on foot, every one of them a pleasure to the eye in agricultural harmony with nature. Their walls of red earth are carved out by strong sandy winds creating an art work of erosion and decay. Also the more recent houses show respect for the traditional building style and color schemes. The sedentary Berber people that were all nomads in the past are now living from some sheep or goats and some small cultivated plots of land, irrigated by hand-dug canals. The few tourists that come here are not exclusively mountain climbers, trekkers or researchers, occasionally you even meet mountain bikers on their challenging journey. Every form and shape of tourism helps to bring food on the table of the local Berber, even on a small scale.