Tizi n'Test: the High Atlas pass

The Tizi n'Test is probably the most intense and technically demanding mountain road in the whole of North Africa, and for many adventurous motorcyclists it is the main reason for travelling to Morocco by motorbike. It is a mountain pass at an altitude of 2,092 m that crosses the High Atlas at its narrowest and most rugged point, linking Marrakech with the Souss Valley and Taroudant. The N10 road that crosses it was built by the French in the 1930s and has hardly been altered since: narrow, winding, with no crash barriers, featuring hairpin bends over precipices hundreds of metres deep, with variable road surface and occasional lorry traffic that takes up the entire width of the carriageway.

The climb from Marrakech first passes through the Ourika Valley (famous for its waterfalls and argan oil co-operatives) and then enters the High Atlas proper. From Asni onwards, the road begins to wind sharply, gaining altitude with ever-tighter bends and increasingly vertiginous natural viewpoints. In the middle section, you pass through Berber villages clinging to the hillsides, where people still live in mud-brick houses and the donkey is the main means of transport.

The Tin Mal Mosque, halfway to the port, is one of the most fascinating and unexpected monuments in the whole of Morocco. It was built in 1156 by the Almohads, the dynasty that, from these mountains, conquered the entire Maghreb and the southern half of Spain, and it is the only mosque in Morocco (along with the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca) open to non-Muslims. It is a building of extraordinary simplicity and architectural power, tucked away in a valley in the Middle Atlas with no other company than goats and shepherds.

The descent towards Taroudant along the southern slope of the Tizi n'Test is even more spectacular than the ascent: the vegetation changes abruptly from Atlantic forests (holm oaks, pines) to the pre-Saharan landscape (argan trees, cacti, palm trees), and the temperature rises by 15–20°C in barely an hour. Taroudant, at the foot of the Atlas Mountains, is a walled Berber town known as ‘little Marrakech’ but without the mass tourism: its medina, souks and mud-brick walls are a delight to explore at a leisurely pace.

Motorcycling tips: the Tizi n'Test requires experience and concentration. The road is narrow (passing lorries can be tricky), has no crash barriers, and features loose stones in some sections as well as animals on the carriageway. Do not attempt this route during the rainy season (November–February). Fill up as much as possible in Marrakech: there are no petrol stations on the climb until you reach Taroudant. Allow 5–6 hours for the 200 km. And one essential tip: sound your horn before every blind bend (Moroccan lorries do the same) to make your presence known.