We left Ait Benhaddou after breakfast and drove for several hours through the winding roads of the Atlas Mountains. As we drive the scenery is magnificent and keen the photographers in our group, well Chuck and I, called for a few photo stops. I think everyone else was glad of the coffee and bathroom breaks as well. At the altitudes we were driving the road often had some amazing switchbacks and steep drop aways making for great viewing.
Our destination today is Ouirgane. Nestled in the tranquil foothills of the High Atlas Mountains, this pretty village provides visitors with an alternative and lesser-visited base for walking. With its gentle winter climate and moderate summer, it is a great place to stroll around the nearby red-earth hills and pine forests, watch a wide variety of bird life or just sit back and relax at an invigorating altitude of 1000 metres. Our hotel the Chez Momo was once situated a few hundred metres below it’s present position, but the government built a dam a few years ago and so a new hotel was constructed on higher ground. The original venue is still there, it’s just underwater. The dam is called Jebel Toubkal and provides stunning views in the background from the hotels many terraces. All up a quiet day due to almost 6 hours of driving.