Overlanding Morocco: Exploring the Remote Track to Pâte de l’Éléphant and Wildcamping in the Plateau

The route to Pâte de l’Éléphant is, without question, one of the best spots for hiking and wild camping we’ve experienced on our overland trip so far. This track takes you deep into the high desert of the Anti-Atlas Mountains, a region known for its strong Berber culture and vast, arid, wind-shaped landscapes. For anyone interested in off-road Morocco, remote desert tracks, and true overlanding routes, this area delivers.

We actually discovered this route by accident. Years ago, while still at home planning our Africa overland journey, I spent hours on Google Earth scanning the continent for interesting locations. I marked anything that stood out—waterfalls, rock formations, remote pistes—eventually building a personal map with more than 5,000 starred locations across Africa. One of those points was a waterfall called Al-Azib, which I had saved without knowing when or if we would ever visit.

When we finally found ourselves driving from Zagora to N’Kob, we decided to detour and try to reach that waterfall. While camping in N’Kob, I began looking for an off-road route through the mountains instead of taking the paved road. Using my iPad, I searched for dirt tracks cutting through the Anti-Atlas. I narrowed it down to two possible options: one route followed a plateau track that appeared to pass near a mine, and the other traced a dry riverbed through the valley below.

This is how we travel—from one starred location on Google Maps to the next, always choosing the most challenging route available. Whenever possible, we avoid paved roads. Backroads, desert pistes, and remote mountain tracks are always our preferred way to explore Morocco by 4×4.

Attempting to Reach the Al-Azib Waterfall

We left N’Kob at 8:00 a.m., heading toward Imi n’Ouakka. Our target was a turnoff at coordinates 30°54’58.9374”N, 5°53’39.0919”W, where we planned to leave the paved road and start the dirt track into the Anti-Atlas. From there, we took a right and began following the piste deeper into the mountains.

Our goal was to reach the higher plateau route, but the track became less defined as we climbed. Following the map, we eventually arrived at a small farmhouse. A Berber farmer stepped outside, clearly surprised to see a Jeep pull up to his home in such a remote area.

In French, we tried to explain that we were looking for the road up to the plateau. After several attempts in different languages without much success, I took out my iPad and opened Google Maps. I showed him the satellite view of his property and pointed toward the plateau rising behind his house. It may have been the first time he had seen his home from above.

That visual explanation worked. He walked us to the edge of his land and pointed toward what used to be a track running through a gully. The road had been heavily damaged by flooding. He crossed his arms in an “X” gesture—clear enough: the road was gone.

We decided to move on to option number two—the valley route. This is where the landscape truly began to stand out. As we followed the track deeper into the Anti-Atlas Mountains, the hills transformed into dramatic rock formations that looked like massive stone fingers rising from the desert floor. The valley was lined with sheer cliffs and dry waterfalls, evidence of powerful seasonal floods that shape this region of southern Morocco.

We were heading in the right direction, but the track gradually deteriorated. What started as a dirt road narrowed into what looked like a motorcycle trail, and eventually became little more than a goat path. We continued carefully, pushing as far as we reasonably could. After about five miles through the valley, we reached a dry riverbed filled with large boulders.

At that point, the route required serious rock crawling. Tackling that kind of terrain alone, this far from help, wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. We were less than 10 miles from the waterfall, but once again, we had reached a dead end.

The Dead-End Track That Led to the Best Discovery

From there, we backtracked to the dry riverbed at 31°01’30.6458”N, 5°53’33.5”W and reassessed our options. While reviewing the map earlier, I had noticed another track in this area. I already knew it was marked as a dead end, but from a distance we had seen unusual hills rising beyond it. That was enough reason to investigate.

We followed the piste through a small village and continued toward 31°02’37.9”N, 5°53’33.5”W, where the route split. From that point, the track ran straight ahead toward two separate dead ends—but what lay between them turned out to be one of the most impressive off-road sections we’ve driven in Morocco.

The trail cut through striking rock formations, with dramatic terrain on both sides. Even knowing it wouldn’t connect through, the drive itself made it worthwhile. For anyone exploring the Anti-Atlas by 4×4, this type of short, technical dead-end track can end up being the highlight of the day.

The road out of the village climbs steadily onto a plateau. From a distance, the formations on top appear to be solid stone with sheer cliff faces. But once you hike up to them, you realize they’re made of compacted earth and small stones. Over thousands of years, wind and seasonal rains have eroded the landscape into dramatic shapes. Some of the formations rise straight out of the ground like narrow stone fingers.

The first section of this track stretches for about a mile. We couldn’t drive more than 100 yards at a time without stopping to take in the terrain. The rock formations, the scale of the plateau, and the isolation of the area made it one of the most unique off-road drives we’ve experienced in Morocco.

Meeting a Nomadic Berber Herder

At the end of this first section, we reached a small goat herder settlement. We stopped again, and within five minutes a Berber man approached us on a mule, accompanied by his dog. He greeted us warmly. His French was decent—about the same level as Karla’s and far better than the twenty words I know. He explained that he was a nomadic herder and welcomed us to his land.

We shared a Coca Cola with him while I finished my baguette and gave a portion to his dog, who was more than happy to accept it.

The Road to Pâte de l’Éléphant

After leaving the village, we reached a split at 31°04’50.7504”N, 5°51’26.0536”W. One of the tracks led a short distance toward an old, abandoned mine. Curious, we started down this road, but it quickly became clear that it was narrow, overgrown, and no longer maintained. The track ran along a sheer drop-off, and large sections were washed out.

From a distance, we could see the mine, but the route down looked far too dangerous to continue. We strongly advise against taking this road. I only realized how bad it was after being halfway down. At that point, I had to carefully reverse uphill, clutching the Jeep on a steep slope with a deadly drop on one side and boulders on the other. It was a reminder of why scouting ahead is essential on remote 4×4 tracks in Morocco.

We returned to the split and took the other track. Almost immediately, we caught our first view of the Pâte de l’Éléphant. This isolated hill, shaped like an elephant’s foot, was an unforgettable sight—definitely worth every mile and detour we had driven that day.

The road curves in a semi-circle around the back of the hill, then climbs over another rise. From there, we were treated to some of the best mountain scenery we’ve seen on the trip. The elephant-shaped hill itself was impressive, but the road led to something even more remarkable. I had no words to describe it—the scale and the formations were breathtaking.

Wild Camping Near Pâte de l’Éléphant

We knew right away that this would be the spot for our next wild camp. It felt like one of the most unique and remote camping locations in the world.

We stopped at the base of a sheer rock formation at few times times the size of the elephant-shaped hill. Beyond it stretched endless mountain ranges. We wanted to explore and hike every part of it, but hunger won, and it was time to make dinner.

As we were cooking, Karla noticed people standing on a ledge higher up the mountain. At first, I couldn’t believe it—how did they even get up there? But soon enough, I could see them too. Just as we finished eating, we saw a little girl start climbing down the mountain toward us. We weren’t sure what to expect.

She made it to within about 100 yards, and we waved. Slowly, she came closer, stopping about 20 feet away. We greeted her in English and French, but it was clear she was shy. Then she sat down and began unpacking a small bag, laying out handmade trinkets. Normally, we don’t buy souvenirs—we have a Jeep and limited space—but seeing this little girl scramble down a mountain to earn a few dollars was impossible to ignore.

It reminded me of kids running a lemonade stand back in the U.S.—you just can’t say no. After we made a purchase, she scrambled straight back up the mountain to help herd her family’s goats.

The rest of the afternoon drifted by as we simply sat, soaking in the panoramic plateau views. As night fell, the sky transformed into a blanket of stars. At 10 p.m., I stepped outside, and to my amazement, there were no artificial lights—just the night sky over the remote Moroccan landscape.

Hiking Above the Plateau

The next morning, inspired by the fearless spirit of the little girl we had seen climbing the day before, we decided to tackle the steep ascent to the lower ledge of the cliff face ourselves. The climb was steep, but worth every step. From there, the sweeping vistas revealed the entire plateau, the jagged mountains beyond, and most of the winding road we had traveled.

It felt like the perfect conclusion to a secluded Morocco off-road adventure—on a road that leads only to dead ends. We didn’t encounter another traveler the entire way. For anyone planning this journey, a high-clearance vehicle is recommended.

While we managed in our Jeep without engaging the 4×4, some sections could benefit from it. A word of caution: certain parts of the trail, particularly near the end, are narrow—always scout ahead to navigate safely.

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