Jebel Sahro Mountains
A few days ago I met two girls at my hostel here in Marrakech. They asked me if I wanted to join them on their unplanned trek into the Jebel Sahro mountain range in the South East of Morocco. Of course I said yes. So we caught the seven hour coach to Ouazazate, from there we got a taxi to Balmalne Dades, which sits on the edge of the mountain range that borders the Sahara. In this town we were quickly met by an eager young man who insisted on taking us to a hotel as we needed to stay the night. Normally this would be unwelcome, but it was a small town so the hotels were cheap and few. After we settled in, we met the same guy again who had brought his friend who is a guide for the mountains. We spent about half an hour discussing and bargaining our trip with them. In the end we got three days of trekking, transport to and from the mountains, the guides, food, accommodation and a man with a mule to carry all our bags and the equipment: all together it cost 1100MAD (£82.77), which isn’t too bad. Walking through the mountains was breathtaking. The silence was eerie, there had been a problem with insects, and the people had put down poison. The poison then killed all the insects and the birds, so the mountains were silent and empty. It was really beautiful. We stayed the nights with local Berber people who live in tiny villages in the mountains, we drank Berber Whiskey (sweet mint tea) and we walked about six hours a day. I’ve put up a couple of pictures of the mountains, but they can’t convey the awesome majesty of the views. Now I’m back in Marrakech and my trekking partners have gone home. There are more people to meet though, more adventures to find.
