Going off the grid will not be one thing many people get to do too typically, however each every now and then a possibility presents itself and the rewards for taking your self offline and into the second are actually worthwhile! Some of the fashionable day journeys from Marrakech is to go to the close by Atlas Mountains – a couple of one hour drive away – and expertise village life outdoors of Morocco’s large cities. However with extra time in Morocco, I used to be capable of enterprise to the Excessive Atlas Mountains for an in a single day expertise and actually get to know and respect native village life with a visit to a non-public dwelling, requiring a two and a half hour journey on a mule to even get there! Right here’s the way it all performed out…
Into the Atlas Mountains
A visit to the Excessive Atlas Mountains will doubtless begin off in Marrakech, a metropolis that’s not like some other and can go away you speechless, in awe, and in a world of ideas ! Marrakech is so energetic, color, sights, sounds and smells, that a couple of days there’ll simply go away you eager for silence and solitude. And thats precisely what one can find within the Excessive Atlas Mountains!
The one hour drive to Ouirgane is as windy as a flattened rollercoaster, so make sure you eat solely a light-weight breakfast on the morning earlier than you depart! The street creeps its method excessive into the mountains, showcasing the vastness of this unimaginable nation. After passing by means of a few small cities, we arrived at Ouirgane, dropped our baggage, and headed straight off on an journey to an genuine Berber village.
Berber Villages
There’s nothing fairly corresponding to being welcomed into a house by a neighborhood to expertise their tradition, life-style, and naturally…. the meals! We have been guided into the mountains by Mohamed, a neighborhood who has a ardour for welcoming guests to his dwelling to expertise the Berber tradition. After a two hour trek on mules to achieve his village, we offloaded (with sore limbs – using mules isn’t probably the most snug expertise!) and took a while to study Berber tradition earlier than our lunch meal was served.
Right here within the mountains, Mohamed defined, “we work to stay…”, and I couldn’t assist however to complete his sentence with “…not stay to work”. The stark distinction between his tradition and my very own actually bought me pondering… however that is what journey is about for me, taking a bit piece of information, knowledge, or distinction and adapting it into my very own life again dwelling or sharing it with others to allow them to do the identical.
Right here within the villages it’s a self sustainable system – locals develop their very own produce and commerce with different villagers for issues they don’t develop or don’t have. Whereas we handed by means of the villages and surrounding areas we noticed walnut timber, fruit timber, greens patches, and will even odor the recent herbs.
Lunch with a Native
If there may be one factor I’ll battle to neglect about Morocco, its TAGINE! Being a vegetarian that is the most typical dish I used to be delighted to eat in Morocco – the truth is I had it no less than as soon as a day and sometimes twice! Fortunately I cherished it so no complaints right here!
Mohamed sat down with us to elucidate extra in regards to the native meals grown within the space and educate us on typical Moroccan meals. We have been served uncooked nuts as an entree, tagine for our foremost course, and native fruit to complete on a candy be aware – all of that are typical for his each day household lunch, he defined.
This expertise was one in every of a form and I’ll always remember the winding mule path on the way in which dwelling that was steep, slim and sometimes horrifying! It was an unimaginable alternative to expertise native life in a small Berber village and achieve extra perception into an alternate way of life.
World of Wanderlust skilled Morocco as a visitor of By Prior Association – my opinions are at all times my very own!
