Morocco day 7. High Atlas crossing, from Armed to Marrakech

Submitted by maria on Fri, 13/09/2024 - 11:18

Today we finished our trip through the High Atlas.

Marrakech

The idea was to walk down to Ilmil but Kady had another tour and asked us if it was OK for her to pick us up by taxi from Armed, which was perfect for us.

The breakfast was brutal, what a cook they have, homemade jam, eggs, cheeses, nocilla, cocoa, coffee, tea, natural juice, bread, crepes, yoghurt...we were going to go out on the road!

Breakfast

We say goodbye to our hosts and return by taxi to Marrakech.

The experience has been brutal, if you like the mountains you have to come to the High Atlas, if you can do it with @subidaalToubkal.com.

The return to Marrakech is strange, a lot of people and a lot of heat after the peace and coolness of the mountains.

Armed

We return to our previous accommodation Riad Tamazouzt, our taxi drops us off very close to the grand taxi rank.

Marrakech

After settling into our room we return to take the pulse of the city. We change money at Hotel Ali, remember, the best money changer in town.

We eat early, again in Snack Toubkal, chicken tajine with lemon and olives. We meet a guy from Seville who has come just for a trip and had been recommended this restaurant.

After lunch we visit the Palacio de la Bahia or Concubina Palace. Built at the end of the 19th century, it is one of the most important architectural works in Marrakech. The entrance fee is 100dh/pax.

Bahía Palace

The palace has several perfectly preserved rooms and courtyards, the most interesting being those of the harem of his four wives and more than twenty concubines. Original coffered ceilings left intact after looting and stuccoed ceilings of impressive richness.

In some rooms the original tiles and furniture have been preserved. In several rooms you can see old photographs of the palace and its inhabitants.

The courtyards and gardens are impressive (more than 8,000 square metres), with the marble-covered Courtyard of Honour standing out for its almost 1,500 square metres.

This Palace is one of the most visited places in Marrakech, so we recommend you to go early in the morning to avoid queues.

Bahia Palace

We left the Palace and spent the afternoon wandering around the souk. The souk of Marrakech is huge, its labyrinthine streets are grouped by guilds, so you can enjoy the weavers‘ souk (carpets), the dyers’ souk (they offer hand-dyed fabrics and you can see how they do it), the ceramics souk (hundreds of tajines piled up), the wicker souk or the babouche souk (typical and colourful footwear) among others.

Souk

In the souk you can find everything. Typical products are essential oils such as argan oil and other accessories and natural cosmetics for the skin and hair that are produced in Morocco. But you can also buy lamps, clothes, scarves, souvenirs ..... It's incredible the amount of things you can buy.

Of course, if you want to buy something you have to bargain hard, at least half of what they offer you.

Souk

We bought four Berber scarves for our trip to the desert for 50dh.

It is our last night in Marrakech and we return to the Jemaa el-Fnaa square to enjoy the atmosphere and dine at the stalls. Every day at dusk these food stalls are set up with traditional Moroccan dishes and skewers of meat, fish or barbecue. You can dine on boiled snails, harira soup, salads and grilled fish or meat.

We sat at stall 53 and ordered chicken kebabs, lamb chops and water for 147.50 dh/2pax.

Stall

Advice. If you don't have much time in Marrakech, the must-see sights in Marrakech are the Jemaa el-Fnaa square, the Medersa Ben Youssef, the Bahia Palace and the Saadian Tombs. Remember that everything closes at 5 pm.