I know.
I know.
This really doesn’t come as any surprise, does it?
It’s kind of become a theme for my travels now. Unwanted adventures, terrifying experiences, sensing I’m about to die – and this was all three.
So, in typical Lauren fashion, I found myself in yet another near-death situation. This time it was in Morocco. This time it involved hours spent getting thrown around the back of a minivan in the middle of the Atlas Mountains, inches away from plummeting into the gorges below.
I spent five hours clinging onto the armrest for dear life, my eyes squeezed tightly shut as we raced around one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
The winding road through the Atlas mountains, and specifically Dades Gorge, is frequently included in lists of the top 5 most dangerous roads – and let’s just say that Moroccan drivers are not exactly the safest. In fact, I’d go as far as to say they are the most reckless drivers I’ve yet to experience on my journey. In 2011 alone there were over 4000 road-related deaths in the country!
So when I booked myself on a 3 day tour of the Sahara Desert I had absolutely no idea that we would be driving on said road. I didn’t even know that Morocco had a dangerous road!
After waking up at a ridiculously early hour, I arrived at our minivan only to realise I would be spending the next few days with 11 Portuguese teenagers who were playing Barbie Girl extremely loudly on their phones and shrieking hysterically as I climbed inside. Yes, really.
So, already the trip was off to a slightly poor start, but I’d been dreaming of visiting the Sahara Desert for years, and I was finally doing it! I was finally in Morocco! Nothing could diminish my excitement and I wasn’t going to let a few obnoxious kids ruin my adventure.
I pulled on my headphones, turned my music right up and spent the next few hours watching the stunning scenery race past.
We soon left the chaos of Marrakech behind and started to ascend up into the mountains, quickly reaching an altitude of over 2500 metres. With the increase in height came the narrowing of roads and before long we were pelting along a dirt track that could barely fit two lanes of traffic. With the incessant honking, swerving and near-crashes, I was starting to get slightly nervous…
And then the barriers at the edge of the road disappeared.
We were driving just 12 inches from the side of the mountain, there was a steep, steep drop below us and we now had no form of barrier to keep us on the road if anything were to go wrong…
Our driver was unfased by our obvious impending doom and started to speed up even more, egged on by the Portuguese kids screaming, laughing and urging him to go faster, leaning out the windows and screeching while filming the drive on their phones.
So this is how I am going to die.
A few seconds later, our driver sped out from behind a coach with the intention of overtaking, only to swerve out and be faced by another coach hurting towards us from the opposite direction.
We couldn’t overtake in time.
All three vehicles were racing along at least at 60 mph.
Our driver slammed on the brakes as we all flew forward into the seats in front, clutching at each other as we swerved back in behind the coach avoiding death by mere inches and seconds.
Did this affect our driver in any way? Did he begin to slow down and begin driving more sensibly?
Of course not.
The next hour was filled with just as much terror and recklessness and I was genuinely shocked when we pulled up in front of our hotel completely unharmed.
Thank god that was over.
All that was left now was the return journey back to Marrakech.
Fortunately, although the drive back was just as stressful, we all made it back in once piece. The minivan of tourists a few weeks later, however? They weren’t so lucky. After hearing about the crash, I researched a little online and came to realise just how dangerous the road really is…
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In July 2011 I left England for what was supposed to be a one year trip around the world. Within a few months of leaving I knew that a year would never be enough. I now work online and travel permanently, seeking misadventures in unique, beautiful and fascinating places. Read more.
I'm here to show you how not to travel. Since I've been on the road I've been "poked" during a massage in Bangkok, punched a scammer in Shanghai, been attacked by monkeys in Bali, sat next to a dead woman on a boat in Laos and so much more. I call these The Incidents and you can see a full list of them here.
You really have no luck do you. At least it gives us interesting articles to read!
George recently posted..Why I love Ryanair
I definitely have lots of crazy things happen to me! :)
Ever since I read Jodi from Legal Nomads’ account of this road, I’ve wanted to drive it myself. Now I definitely do, though for slightly different reasons – I trust my own driving so much more than the crazy driving you’ve described! Glad you got back in one piece!!!
Lindsey recently posted..An Unexpected Lesson from Sir David Attenborough’s A Life on Earth
Ah, I just read the post! Crazy girl for driving it herself! :)
But like you say, perhaps you’d feel safer if you were driving by yourself… My driving is terrible so I know there’s no way I’d survive!
Haha. How is it that you always find yourself in these sorts of situations??
Glad you survived!
Amanda recently posted..A Tale of Two Capitals: Bucharest and Sofia
I don’t know! It doesn’t seem to happen to anyone else….
I would have been in tears. I would have suddenly become religious. I would have gotten out and walked.
Yikes! This is a road I will NOT be on. Glad you made it.
Juliann recently posted..Hoofin’ it Home from the Bovine Sex Club
Hahaha, it was tempting at times but then I’d be stuck in the middle of nowhere!
No safety barriers?! I NEED safety barriers! Drivers in other countries never cease to terrify me. Why can’t they be calm and civilised like us Brits? Also, I’m hoping those Portuguese teens aren’t as obnoxious as I’m envisioning them in my head. Which is, to say, EXTREMELY.
Tom @ Waegook Tom recently posted..Jeonju: Lotuses & Catholics
I KNOW! I seriously hated Moroccan drivers. And, erm, well I dated a Portuguese guy and he was a maniac driver!
Looks like I’m not the only Lauren with plenty of near-death experiences! I think your experience was probably scarier, but reading this made me think of the mountain roads in Panama-and the bus drivers who sped through them as if there WERE guard rails. Something about blasting Latino dance music makes a situation less tense, though.
I really enjoyed your post! I look forward to exploring the rest of your site.
morocco <3 <3 <3
I haven’t been on this road, but now think I might need an alternate route if I ever want to get to The Sahara Desert!!! LOL.
I had a similar experience with obnoxious teenagers when I was in Zagreb… I was sitting in the lounge enjoying some blogging and a beer when this soccer team of 20 13 and 14 year olds came in. They heckled me and tried to be as annoying as possible to try and get me to leave. I stood my ground and played old lady and stayed to annoy THEM! So funny the things that happen to you while traveling!
Andrea recently posted..The BEST donuts on Vancouver Island?
Scary ride!! I would like to visit Morocco in the future so thanks for warning me about this road…
Pretraveller recently posted..Pretraveller Top 10 Posts of 2012
Excellent account of Moroccan driving!
Um… but surely the Dades Gorge isn’t on the route between Marrakech and the Sahara? And isn’t the picture here of the Tizi n’Tichka pass – terrifying, perhaps, in its own right, but far less so than the Dades Gorge and the unmade roads beyond it past Msemrir and onwards to Agoudal?
And, if I’m not mistaken, surely spending a few days with 11 teenagers is FAR more terrifying than any driving experience could ever be…
Thanks Robin! :-)
My tour guide did tell us we were passing through Dades Gorge, so that’s all I have to go on. And the photos in this post were the only photos I took of the roads on our trip as that was where we had a rest stop!
And, yes, so true. The teenagers drove me INSANE!
Lauren! I need your advise, I’m going to morocco in 2 weeks, reading up on this road scares the shit out of me!! Please do you have any tips for me – overall with going to morocco- I was told were going from el jadida to marakkesh and I’m taking this toad of hell! I’m super freaked!!
Hi Martha,
The road from El Jadida to Marrakech is not this road. This road is on the way to the Sahara Desert so unless you’re going to the desert or visiting the Atlas Mountains you won’t be on it.
In terms of tips for Morocco, cover up from your neck to your ankles to your wrists. Expect hassle and scams and be aware of them. The men will leer and shout at you, people will try and scam you out of money, it will be stressful! I adore Morocco but damn, it was stressful! Just prepare yourself for hassle so you won’t be surprised :-)