Morocco - Ait Aadel
Take the eastern road from Marrakech to Tamelelt follow signs to Ait Aadel Dam. The Lake of Ait Aadel and her surrounding forests
and mountains.
The 83million m3 lake of Ait Aadel is part of the reserves feeding
the city of Marrakech and her surrounding
towns and villages.
This jewel of water in the
Atlas is situated north west of Ouarzazate and 80 km north of east of Marrakech.This
region is part of the 39 rural communities (over 7500 inhabitants)
which are spread through the province of Al Haouz.
"The lake is a still, the wind from the night before has
dropped off giving the feeding fish an ideal hunting ground.
The surrounding mountains glow with a life giving pulse radiating
energy onto the Lake of Ait Aadel. The cry of the mule breaks the silence, with its stomach sending the" food"
message to the brain. A bag of feed will stop that!"
Timinoutine Village Life
Timinoutine is an old
military village overlooking Ait Aadel. In circling the village, the warren of holes
and earthworks created through generations of soldier. If you
enjoy extreme"paint ball" this is the place to go!
The village souk is a high light
of the week, with people flocking into the village from the
surrounding area. The tracks are filled with mules making their
way slowly home laden down with the weeks shopping. Free camping, with guardian. Bring
your own water. No portable telephone or television, here you
can escape. A fantastic area of tracks for
riding two wheels.
During the evenings the
distinctive sound of a drum will cut through the still air,
to be followed by the soul reaching singing of the Berber inhabitants.
There are three Berber dialects: 1/Le Tamazirht (Mid Atlas).
2/Le Tarifit (North Morocco). 3/Le Tachlhit (Coastal-South).
Each dialect creates their own stories and songs giving a large
variation of music from the north to the south of the country.
Forest
Wake up in the morning open the
curtains for the first time after a night drive from Marrakech to Ait Aadel and check the panoramic view of the lake when you
wake up in the morning. From a height of 89m you get the elevation
which you need to get that fabulous view of the forests which
are distinguished by their exceptional biological richness.
Get out of bed and investigate
the diversity of the trees and fauna in this fragile ecosystem.
The forestry commission has a 10% covering of Morocco aimed
at protecting and developing the industry with the help of the
local inhabitants. So when you are reaching out, too start up
the fire for your morning cafe, watch the sparks.
Fishing
Black Bass. Trout and Perch are
to be found in this well stocked reservoir and the River
The climate of Morocco is
notable for her very irregular rainfall. This is spread unevenly
around the country and has for the last 3 years been a major
talking point as the land is going through a dry period...There
are however 4 billion subterranean cm.m2 and 16 billion cm.m2
of surface water ready for next year, so no problems. There
are 93 Major dams in Morocco, 25 more on the drawing boards
and 4 under construction.
Black Bass
In season, the trout, black bass and perch will make a stable food source for your travels. Collect a permit for a day, then enjoy the views. I was lucky to spend the morning down at the water with a rod. Across the lake the rising fish were ready for me...
A blue spinner (No.3) with a 5kg line was all that was needed. My 10th cast, my first bite. The Black Bass is a powerful fish, the fist run took 20m of line. After 5 minutes she had tired out and I was able to relax knowing the Tagine would be full tonight!
