What are the mountain roads like — Tizi n'Tichka and Tizi n'Test?

These two passes are the great High Atlas crossings, and they're among the most beautiful drives in the country — but they reward respect. The Tizi n'Tichka is the one most travellers meet, because it's the gateway from Marrakech to Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou and the desert beyond. It climbs to over 2,200 metres in a relentless series of switchbacks, and for years it was notorious for rough patches and lorry traffic.

The good news is that the Tichka has been massively upgraded — widened, resurfaced and re-engineered in long stretches — so it's far smoother and safer than its old reputation suggests. It's still a winding mountain road that takes real concentration: expect coaches and trucks grinding uphill, impatient overtakes on bends, roadside stalls and viewpoints, and a journey time of around four hours from Marrakech to Ouarzazate. Allow more than the map suggests and don't rush it.

The Tizi n'Test, the route toward Taroudant and the Souss valley, is the wilder sibling. It's older, narrower, in places barely a car-and-a-half wide with a sheer unguarded drop on one side and a rock wall on the other. The surface is patchier and there are sections where two vehicles meeting requires someone to reverse to a passing point. It is genuinely spectacular and genuinely not for nervous drivers — the views over the valley are unforgettable, but so is the exposure.

Whichever you take, the same rules apply: go in daylight, never at night; check conditions in winter, when both can see snow, ice or temporary closures at the top; keep fuel topped up before you start the climb; and use a low gear on the descents to spare your brakes rather than riding them down. Carry water and don't plan to be anywhere on a tight schedule — mountain time is slow time.

Honestly, the Atlas passes are where a lot of self-drivers wish they'd hired a driver. Hands on the wheel, you're watching hairpins and oncoming lorries instead of the scenery you came for. With a local at the wheel you get to actually look — at the Berber villages clinging to the slopes, the snow on the peaks, the valley falling away — which is rather the point of crossing the Atlas in the first place.