Route Nationale 9 snakes and wiggles through the dusty pass of Tizi clocking up an altitude of more than 2,260 meters above sea level. It's one of the highest roadways traversing the Atlas Mountains, connecting the fertile lands of the Maghreb and the spice-scented souks of Marrakesh with the billowing sand hills of the endless Sahara.

The experience here really is in the travel. Tizi n'Tichka tour guides will wax lyrical about the stunning vistas of high summits and deep valleys, all cinnamon-tinted and stark, that unfold around every hairpin turn, weaving around the great peaks. Look one moment and you will see clouds coalescing around the tops of sun-cracked mountains. Look another, and there's the trickling stream of Oued Tichka in the depths below. Look again, and you can see the flowing Toufliht Forest, a blanket of olive, almond, and citrus trees above the plains.

The route is mainly used to transport folk from north Morocco and the famous medina cities to the wild Sahara. Its end point is at the adobe fortress town of Ouarzazate, which has grand Kasbah palaces and camel trains that go into the palm oases of the Draa Valley.