The Tizi n'Tichka, at 2260 metres, is the highest paved road pass in North Africa and the main link between Marrakesh and the desert south. The road leaves the plain near Ait Ourir and begins its real climb almost at once — switchback after switchback through walnut groves, then bare red rock, then snowfields in winter. The drive from Ait Ourir to the summit takes about an hour and a half if you don't stop, but you will want to stop, often, at the laybys where vendors sell rough amethyst and fossils and the view drops away across ridge after ridge of mountain.
The pass was built by the French in the 1930s along the line of an ancient caravan track, and for much of its length it still feels improvised, hugging the contours with low parapets and the occasional rockfall. Drive it with patience: trucks grind slowly up the gradients, and the hairpins reward a steady pace over a hurried one. In winter, snow can close the summit for hours or days, and chains are sometimes needed; in summer the light is hard and clear and you can see for miles.
The Kasbah of Telouet, the half-ruined seat of the Glaoui clan who once ran southern Morocco from this remote spot, is a worthwhile detour from near the top, reached by a side road through a high valley of mud-brick villages. Continuing over the pass takes you down toward Ouarzazate and the kasbah of Aït Benhaddou, which together make a full but rewarding day from Ait Ourir or Marrakesh. A new toll tunnel beneath the watershed has begun to take some of the through-traffic, but the old road over the top remains the one worth driving for its own sake.