Morocco: From Fés to Cascades d'Ouzoud

This is basically our planned route.

The distance between key Moroccan cities can be found here, among other useful information.

The first long drive for our Moroccan trip was from Fés to Cascades d'Ouzoud. It was during this drive that I decided that despite all the fuss in Fés, Morocco is a country that is a must before one dies.

The landscape, the ambience and everything about it is pure beauty. Its colours encompasses every hue in the rainbow. It is passionate. It is cold. It is cool. It is breathtaking.

The roads were much better than we had expected. Along the way, we "ooh" and "ahh" with every sight before us. There are the majestic mountains capped in snow, while the ocre yellow covered our immediate surroundings. There were the occasional palmeries in the middle of nowhere.

The drive from Fes to Cascades d'Ouzoud (Azilal) was mainly on low lands. We covered about 300km's taking about 6 hours, stopping briefly for lunch at Beni Mellal. On the way, the drove past many one-street villages, each had a small mosque in them. We also drove passed a number of children who suddenly dashed into the road to sell us something or just to wave at us. We slowed down a lot due to this.

Arriving in the afternoon at Riad Cascades d'Ouzoud, we felt fresh and relieved to be in a small village called Tanaghmeilt, away from the hustle bustle of Fés.

This was also the first time we saw the mountain people, most of whom are Berbers. They are called the village or mountain folks. Unlike Moroccans we meet in the city, these mountain people are soft spoken with intense eyes. Their exotic looks coupled with the backdrop of the surrounding mountains made me feel like I was in a movie.

Call us under-exposed, but we got excited even by our room in the riad! We were served tea by the friendly staff.  We spent the afternoon exploring the riad and its surroundings. The riad has an impressive and cosy roof terrace with quite a view, since the riad itself is located right on top of the cascade/waterfall.

As it got dark, we met other guests at the riad. There was an Italian couple, a Swedish photographer who specializes in taking pictures for hotels all around the world, a British back-packer. We had a wholesome Moroccan dinner of tajine, chicken and sweet sweet wine. The whole golden ambience where candlelight flicked, maroon patterned carpets and clay walls is simply hard to illustrate with words. We went to bed happy.  :-D

The next day, breakfast was served promptly. We got on the short trail leading to the waterfall. Along the way, there were stalls selling carpets, accessories and potteries. There were also these special looking monkeys. I remember because both my boyfriend and I are fascinated with monkeys. I read somewhere that there is a geekiness correlation to fascination with monkeys.  :-)

Water travelling 100m down reaches a pool of water below, where locals offer rides on decorated bamboo platforms for a small fee. Some had chairs built onto them. This ride can take one to the other side of the pool, to a Berber village and some camping sites above. We got there and decided to trek around to get back to the riad. On the way, we passed a villager in a donkey and a lot of olive trees. "Ouzoud" as we came to find out, means olive.

Our exploration around the area took most of the day. By late afternoon, we were once again back on that wonderful rooftop, sipping mint tea, chatting and admiring the view. We left the next day, after breakfast. We were sad to leave but anxious to see what was to come. We bought some souvenirs from a Berber man. The price was less than half of that in Fés! Ah...the Berbers...we love them.