Hot air balloon rides Marrakech

On a helicopter ride, it’s best to wear dark-colored clothing along with a light jacket, jeans, and closed-toe shoes.

• Riders shouldn’t wear white or light-colored clothing, open-toed shoes, loose-fitting clothes, loose accessories, or open-bottomed clothing like skirts and dresses

WHAT TO BRING

• identification (passport, driving license etc)
• Once airborne you will absolutely need to bring your phone to take pictures, better still a digital DSLR camera will be ideal for taking professional shots.
• Bring sunglasses as the sunshine might be unavoidable, even if you don’t intend to wear shades.
• Heels should also be avoided

If you ever fly over the High Atlas Range in Morocco, look down. You will be treated to a visual spectacle that you will not soon forget. Massive layers of colorful rock crumpled up like pieces of paper. Sharp ridges bobbing and weaving their way across the desert. Splotches of black basalt spilled by ancient volcanoes. Zebra-like, layered outcrops of rock jutting from valleys at odd angles.

The High Atlas Mountains extend in a northeasterly direction from Morocco’s Atlantic coast (near Agadir) for hundreds of miles inland toward the Algerian border. The western portion of the range is home to its tallest mountains, with peaks that stand above 4,000 meters (13,000 feet). Elevation diminishes somewhat toward the central and eastern sections, but the scenery is no less eye-catching.

On July 2, 2016, the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 captured this natural-color image of rugged terrain in the eastern part of the range. The OLI image has been draped on a digital elevation model made with data from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) sensor on the Terra satellite. From this oblique perspective, the Anti-Atlas mountains are visible in the distance beyond the city of Goulmima. Note that north is at the bottom of this image.

The Atlas Mountains were shaped by geological processes at work over hundreds of millions of years. One key step occurred in the early Jurassic Period (201 to 174 million years ago), when many of the world’s continents were still bunched closely together following the breakup of the supercontinent Pangea. This part of Morocco fell within the African plate, near a boundary with the Eurasian and North American plates. As the three plates separated, the crust thinned so much that a tear opened up and formed a rift valley that eventually filled with ocean water.

 

Atlas Mountains General Facts

• The mountain range stretches approximately 1,600 miles (2,500 kilometers) across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.
• The mountain range separates the coastlines of the Mediterranean and Atlantic from the Sahara Desert.
• Toubkal, located in Morocco, is the highest mountain in the range, and in North Africa. It is 13,671 feet high (4,167 meters).
• The second and third highest peaks in the Atlas range (after Toubkal) are on the mountain Ouanoukrim in Morocco. The two summits are Timzguida which is 13,415 feet (4,089 meters) high and Ras Ouanoukrim which reaches 13,396 feet (4,083 meters).
• The mountains attract many tourists. It is a great travel destination for people who enjoy hiking and mountain climbing. It is also a place where tourist can enjoy incredible views. There are also many places where one can enjoy a relaxing vacation.
• The slopes of the High Atlas and Middle Atlas ranges have thick forests containing many trees including pine, oak, and cedar trees.
• Mineral deposits found in this mountain range include gold, silver, zinc, lead, and iron.
• The mountain range has several passes that provide routes between the coast and the Sahara Desert.
• The Berber people have lived in the Atlas Mountain range for thousands of years. In fact, they have been traced back to at least 3000 B.C.

Regions of the Atlas Mountains

The Atlas mountains are divided into four regions:

• The first region consists of three ranges, all located in Morocco. They are the Middle Atlas, High Atlas, and Anti-Atlas ranges. The High Atlas range (also called the Grand Atlas) is the highest range in the Atlas Mountains.
• The second region is the Saharan Atlas located in Algeria.
• The third region is the Tell Atlas located in Algeria and Tunisia.
• The fourth region is the Aures Mountains in Algeria and Tunisia. They are at the eastern end of the Atlas mountain range.

Atlas Mountains Animal Facts

• The mountains were home to the Atlas Bear which is now extinct. It was the only bear native to Africa. It was hunted extensively. It is believed the last one was killed or died in the late 1800’s.
• The endangered Barbary Leopard lives in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and Algeria. Compared to other leopards through out the world, Barbary leopards have thick coats of fur which help it survive the freezing cold climate of the Atlas Mountains.
• The Barbary Lion, of the Atlas Mountains, is extinct in the wild and may be completely extinct. There are few lions in captivity which may be classified as Barbary Lions. These lions are believed to be the largest lions in the world.
• The North African Elephant was an inhabitant of the Atlas Mountains until becoming extinct in ancient roman times.
• Many different types of birds can be found in the mountains. These birds include Woodchat Shrike, Rollers, Alpine Choughs, Lammergeier, and the booted eagle.
• Other animals that inhabit the Atlas mountains include Barbary Sheep, Barbary Macaque, Barbary stag, Atlas mountain viper, and the Atlas Mountain Badger.