A case for taking the long road
Why the four-hour detour through the High Atlas is the whole point, and not an inconvenience to be minimised.
The High Atlas
There is a fast road from Marrakech to the south, and there is a slow one. The fast road is fine. It is also a decision to exchange a country for an arrival.
The slow road climbs. It folds back on itself. It passes villages where the morning's bread is still warming in the window, and shepherds who lift a hand without breaking stride. At the top of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, the air changes temperature and character at the same time.
The pleasure of not arriving
Travel writing has a weakness for detours that turn out to be metaphors. This one is simply a good road. Stop for tea. Stop again for the view. Let the drive take a day instead of an afternoon.
By the time you reach the kasbahs, you will feel the distance in your body — which is, more often than not, the point.
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MUDDO Editorial
