Tizi n'Tichka, at about 2,260 metres, is the highest main road pass in Morocco, and for centuries it has been the route that carries Marrakech across the High Atlas toward the desert. The N9 climbs steadily from the plain through red earth, pine and juniper, with roadside stalls selling geodes, fossils and amethyst crystals, before reaching the crest, where a modest sign and a row of tea shops mark the top. Beyond lies a drier, rockier landscape of mud-brick villages that glow ochre in the evening light.
The riding is wide, well-surfaced and satisfying rather than frightening, with sweeping turns, long hairpin sequences on the southern side and views that open wide at every bend. Lorries and buses use the road all year, so overtaking is part of the day and patience is the better part of speed. Weather matters more than the road: snow and ice can close the pass in winter, so check conditions between about December and March, and even in spring the mornings are cold enough for gloves. Midday heat in summer on the southern slope is another matter.
A few kilometres from the summit on the southern side, a side road leads to the Telouet kasbah, once the seat of the Glaoui family, the powerful pashas who ruled much of southern Morocco in the early twentieth century. The great palace is half ruined but still has painted ceilings and tilework, and the track continues beyond through the Ounila valley toward Aït Benhaddou, a fortified village of clay that appears in films and is listed by UNESCO.
Services on the pass are limited. The village of Taddert is the largest place near the top, with cafés and basic stalls, but the safer approach is to fill the tank in Marrakech, or in Ouarzazate on the other side, and carry some water. Locals stop for mint tea and tagine at roadside places, and prices are fair if you ask first. Be careful with roadside sellers who flag down vehicles, and keep an eye on speed limits and police checks, which are frequent on this route.