HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 9

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

Harsh weather can make Route Nationale 9 impassable down around the beautiful kasbahs (clay medieval fortress) to Ourzazate, the gateway to the valley of river Draa and Sahara Desert. 

The pass lies between the great Marrakech Plains and the gateway of the Sahara Desert.

At the summit there are shops selling minerals.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 8

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

The road is in dreadful condition and requires strong nerves to negotiate it. 

The most famous road through the High Atlas leads from the vast plains surrounding the royal city of Marrakech to the pass, which is quite often blocked by snow in the winter.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 7

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

Tichka means "it’s difficult" and so it means literally a difficult path, because it has so many switchbacks. 

The road has more than 100 turns.

Drive with your headlights on at all times as it is easier for oncoming vehicles to see you.  

On the climb, the road is quite good, and some parts have recently been upgraded.

Interestingly, the road is upgraded in chunks, so you may alternate between the old road and newly sealed road.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 6

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

The experience of using this road is very impressive. 

The road to reach the pass, with 60 miles of very steep climbing, was built as a military highway in 1936 by the French. 

Today, Route Nationale 9 links the south-east of Marrakesh to the city of Ouarzazate.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 5

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

Near the pass is Kasbah Aït Benhaddou, probably the most celebrated, filmed and photographed kasbah in Morocco. 

Featured in numerous films (including Lawrence of Arabia, The Sheltering Sky and Gladiator), it is the best-preserved kasbah in Morocco and has 10 families still inhabiting it

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 4

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

This road is usually open all year, but from November to March, snow can often fall on the pass, and can be closed when the access is not cleared of snow.

In winter, avalanches and heavy snowfalls can sometimes block some sections of the road and can be extremely dangerous in winter due to frequent patches of ice.

Conditions can change quickly and be harsh, particularly during winter.

From November to March, snow can often fall on the pass, but it can be warm all year round in the strong sun.

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 3

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

Travelers are encouraged to take this journey of history, wonder and natural amazement. The road is the only gateway to the South of Morocco and its desert, so it can get quite busy. 

If you are travelling south, it’s recommended to take this road in the morning to avoid any crowds. 

The thoroughfare is not just made of tourists, there are lots of trucks.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 2

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

The pass is traversed by Route Nationale 9.

At the summit visitors will enjoy stunning views of the surrounding landscapes. 

As the road begins to make its way down to Ouarzazate, travelers will be able to marvel at pre-Sahara regions that lie dry and motionless and the silent peaks of the great Atlas Mountains. 

The views, the villages and the time spent on the Tizi n’ Tichka Pass are a truly unique experience.

--DangerousRoads.org

HIGH ATLAS MOUNTAINS -- part 1

Tizi n'Tichka Pass, Central Morocco

Tizi n'Tichka (called Col du Tichka in French) is a high mountain pass at an elevation of 2.260m (7,410ft) above the sea level.

It is located in the High Atlas mountains, a mountain range in central Morocco in Northern Africa. 

Tizi n’Tichka means “difficult mountain pasture” in Berber and you’ll see why. 

--DangerousRoads.org

EXPEDIA UPDATE

EXPEDIA FINALLY RIGHTS WRONG

After more than 50 emails and direct message tweets, online shaming and four hours of my doing their job -- Expedia finally gave me the refund I deserved from Day 1.

See my April 14 blog post for full story of my booking trip, provider in Marrakech canceling and promising refund, Expedia not processing refund, Expedia team telling me it’s against provider policy to issue refund and my telling Expedia keeping money without delivering service is felony theft.

Of course, I would be promised an update and didn’t get one. When I took initiative to get an answer, the first one was always a lazy, uncaring repeat of the initial form email saying policy forbade my refund.

I kept saying if policy is to take money and deliver nothing, Expedia is complicit not only in felony theft, but in a pattern of corrupt activity because it’s a blanket policy, not a one-time thing.

Since Expedia did nothing for me, I contacted the provider directly and basically told him this was going to go one of two ways:

 A terrible mistake that he would correct with an immediate refund.

My sharing the truth about his felonious ways with my 200,000 blog readers, Twitter followers, Facebook followers and every consumer rip-off site I could find. I told him I would review him – as a thief – on every site such as TripAdvisor.

Amazingly, he said it all was a mistake and he even sent me a copy of his refund order to Expedia.

For days, Expedia claimed it got no such notice from its vendor in Morocco and that I was out of luck.

Finally, after endlessly harping on them, I got a notice of refund the other day. I also got a nominal online coupon, which I demanded to cover the four hours of time robbed from my life while I did the consumer advocacy work that Expedia should have been doing.

So, short answer, did Expedia finally capitulate and process my refund in about a week – yes.

Long answer, if you would like to work with a billion dollar firm that sends form letters blessing felony theft…if you would like to spend time you don’t have doing someone else’s job…if you would like each email exchange to start with them pretending no exchanges of info were made other than their first illogical response…if would like to be called a fraud (because you pasted in an email from the provider and they would only trust a screen cap of the exact same info)…do business with (buyer beware) Expedia.

EXPEDIA: PLEASE RIGHT A VERY SERIOUS WRONG

LAZY, INCOMPETENT EXPEDIA CUSTOMER SERVICE STAFF FAILS TO GET ME A DESERVED REFUND WHILE BASICALLY ENDORSING FELONY THEFT OF MY $$

1) Booked tour to Ait Ben Haddou through Expedia

2) Tour provider in Marrakech canceled on me -- excuse was I was only booking, so he didn't want to pay for guide, fuel etc. for one.

3) Expedia customer service staff said they contacted his provider & his policy prevents refunds, so I am out $100+ 

4) Taking my money and not providing a service is theft!

5) I have now invested more than two hours of my time begging Expedia to do the right thing and fight for my refund. I have also threatened the tour provider with exposing his scheme if he does not process the refund.

6) Unless this is resolved, I would very highly recommend NEVER booking through Expedia. They roll over and do not fight at all for the consumer that has made them one of the richest companies in the travel industry.

7) Even if I get my refund, it will be devalued by more than 50% because of the time I've wasted doing Expedia's job.