Trek Morocco

Morocco is well known for its bustling souks, tagine feasts and refreshing mint tea. This unique challenge takes you on a breath-taking journey from Marrakech to the Atlas Mountains. In and around the foothills of Jebel Toubkal, North Africa’s highest peak at 4167m, are numerous Berber villages that have remained largely unaffected by the changes that have taken place in Morocco’s lowland country and cities in the past 30 to 40 years. With their traditional architecture intact, these villages cling to the side of mountains, seemingly carved into the rock in layers of terraces that appear to defy gravity. This unchanging and glorious panorama of deep gorges and fertile valleys provides the backdrop for your trek to the summit where views can some days stretch as far as the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahara Desert. Although this is a short trek it doesn’t make it any less challenging - you will be trekking up the highest mountain in North Africa - no mean feat.

Day 1 - Arrival in Morocco
Daytime flight from Algeria. Transfer to hotel in Marrakesh.

Day 2 - Transfer Marrakesh - Aguersiwal
Trek Aguersiwal - Tamatert
Transfer (approx 1-2 hours) from Marrakesh to the starting point of the trek near the village of Aguersiwal (1540m). On arrival we meet with our mules and the muleteers. All the luggage and camping equipment will go on ahead to the first night’s camp. There will also be mules carrying the lunch, water and snacks.
The first hour of the trek takes us along a donkey trail to Tizi Aguersiwal Pass as we start to gain altitude (2000m). The route follows river courses and passes through terraces and walnut groves full of gnarled trees. We then descend to the village of Ikis (1700m) and trek at a similar altitude for the next hour until we reach Tinghourine, our lunch stop. Once fed, watered and refreshed we set off up to Tizi n’ Tamatert Pass (2279m). From here we can view the two valleys, the Imane Valley and the Aït Mizane valley. The last stretch is an hour’s descent to the village of Tamatert at 1800m where we camp for the night.

Day 3 - Tamatert - Toubkal Hut
We leave Tamatert bound for Aremd (1900m) and trek close to the village of Imlil. After an hour or so we start walking through the valley of the Assof n’Tafklast River to Marabout Chamarouch (2310m) This is likely to take around 3 hours and is the last part of rocky shrubland favoured by sheep and goats. From there it is a further 2 hour trek over steeper terrain until the well deserved lunch stop where we will feast on local delicacies and of course the refreshing mint tea! After lunch we ascend for 2 hours to the Toubkal Hut (3200m) where we will camp next to the stream that flows down into the valley.

Day 4 - Toubkal Summit
After a very early breakfast we set off at dawn to start the summit climb. Today the mules will not accompany us so we will carry personal equipment (water, suncream, camera etc) in our day packs. For the first four hours we trek uphill on the west trail to the summit at an elevation of 4167 metres above sea level, often there is snow and it can be very windy so everyone will need to wrap up warm. As the sun works its way around the mountains we begin to glimpse the top of Jebel Toubkal. Upon reaching the summit we will marvel at views from the highest point in North Africa. After a few photographs at the top, we then begin the descent. This is a long and tiring day after an early start and everyone will feel as though they have deserved every penny of their sponsorship! After descending for 3 hours we stop for lunch. Fed and watered we trek for another 2 hours to our overnight camp at Marabout Chamarouch.

Day 5 - Toubkal descent
Early start today at approx 7am. Having climbed the mountain from the west, the line of descent will follow the more direct ‘North Ighibi’ route down to Sidi Chamharouch, a popular mountain village with local pilgrims. The trail then drops down to the Assif n’Tafklast River and follows its course back to the village of Aroumd. A final 200 metre descent brings us down to the roadhead at Imlil (1650m) for an early lunch where we will celebrate our achievements. Transfer back to Marrakech where the afternoon is free to explore the colourful souks and bazaars before transferring to the airport for the return flight.