Travel Guide: Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains are truly breathtaking. Staring up at them it somehow feels as if you've arrived at the edge of the earth, which if you consider that the vast Sahara desert is on the other side it is perhaps an accurate feeling. There is a sense of being very small and yet also having incredible perspective, and when the afternoon light hits the mountains and everything glows softly yellow there is a definite kind of magic to it.
We stayed in the Ourika Valley at the Kasbah Bab Ourika but another more luxe option that isn't too far away is the Kasbah Tamadot which I've also heard great things about. The Kasbah Bab Ourika is truly an escape and I would highly recommend making time for a visit here. The interiors are incredibly well-designed with plenty of nooks to tuck away in and feel as if you have the place to yourself.
We ate all of our meals at Kasbah Bab Ourika as you're pretty isolated and there aren't really any other options. All in all we found the food to be really very good and affordable. Breakfast is included and there are daily options for lunch and dinner. Try the Berber eggs at breakfast and the daily tagines were excellent as well!
{See & Do}
This is truly an escape so expect to slow down considerably, which if you've just come from Marrakech, chances are it will be much needed! There are a number of activities you can take part in from, tea making and cooking classes to camel trekking, but some of the more popular options and what we opted to do was one of the guided hikes through the nearby Berber villages, local salt mines and farmlands, a trip to the traditional Hammam (most welcome after the grime of Marrakech!), and afternoons bundled up on the back patio or curled up beside a fire place, sipping mint tea (or wine), pretending to read but really just staring out at the beautiful views.
The staff are for the most part from the nearby Berber villages and were some of the nicest people we met. We were with my parents for this portion of the trip and my mom was unfortunately pretty sick and they took great care of her.
The weather in the Ourika valley can be extreme, well over 100F in the summer and it was below freezing at night when we visited (late December). The building is built in the traditional style to help minimize the impacts of weather inside, but do keep in mind there is no central heat or air. There were space heaters all over, roaring fires and even hot water bottles to take up to bed, but it was still very chilly!
While located only about 45 minutes from Marrakech, I would recommend having the Kasbah arrange your transit. We had rented a car as we were driving to Fez after this portion of the trip, but the hotel is in a very remote location and the last 3km are up a very narrow, very rough dirt track, not at all suitable for a small sedan.
