The Old Caravan Road

The old caravan road is the historical thread that connects Ounila Valley’s villages, kasbahs, and fortified settlements. Travel sources describe the valley as one of the main passages linking the Tizi n Tichka and Telouet area with Aït Ben Haddou and the southern trade routes. Caravans moving Saharan merchandise, salt, and other goods once used this corridor to pass between sub-Saharan regions, the High Atlas, and Marrakech. Today, the route survives as a scenic back road rather than a formal monument, but it is central to understanding the valley’s identity. Driving it reveals why settlements developed where they did: near water, gardens, defensive slopes, and strategic approaches between mountain and desert-edge landscapes. The P1506 road is slower than the main N9 highway, and parts of the valley section can feel narrow or rough, so it should not be rushed. The best experience comes from treating the road itself as an attraction, stopping for views, villages, and ruined kasbahs. In this sense, the caravan road functions like the valley’s historic gate, opening a passage between the High Atlas and the pre-Saharan architecture of Aït Ben Haddou.