Early morning departure from Marrakech for a pleasante drive south winding our way up through the Moulay Brahim gorge and upper valleys to arrive at the higher foothills of the western High Atlas Mountains and our trailhead of Imi oughlad (1450m) with the jbel Toubkal , at 4167m the highest peak in North Africa , Aglzim 3650m and Aksoual 38847m ,looming before us . here we alight from our vehicle and meet up with berber muleteer crew . We set off up in north-westerly direction for a 2hour acclimatisation hike up switchback mule tracks , passing by cornfields woods pine and juniper to the Tiz n’tachete (2000m),where we shall stop to look back down on the imlil and Ait ouazaden valleys before carrying on for another half hour to Imi n’ifri and our field picnic .thence a slow hike for about 2 and half hours south-west down along a dirt track to assif n’ Ait ouazaden and the red clay terraced village of Tiziane ( 1750 m )for our accommodation in local Berber House.
Trekking
5-DAYS TOUBKAL SUMMIT & BERBER VILLAGES
At 4,167m, Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa. The hike to the summit is challenging, but requires no mountaineering experience and the panoramic view from the summit makes the hard work worthwhile. With the start of the trek just a couple of hours drive from Marrakech, you can reach the summit and back within 2 days and still have plenty of time to explore Morocco’s most captivating city, Marrakech.
OVERVIEW:
Toubkal has become a magnet for trekkers heading to the Atlas Mountains. The Jebel Toubkal trek is typically done in two days. The first day begins with the relatively easy walk from Imlil along the Mizane Valley towards Aremd Village and the Muslim shrine of Sidi Chamarouch, followed by the tougher push up to the Toubkal Refuge, making around five hours walking in all. Most trekkers then aim to start early the following morning for the 3 hour scramble up to the summit (the trail at this point is a rocky scree covered path). At the summit, the views are incredible taking in most of the Atlas Mountains and on a clear day, the Sahara. The descent back down to Imlil takes around five hours.
ITINERARY
Day 1: Marrakech –Imi oughlad –Tizi n’tachte –Tiziane
Day 2: Tiziane – Tizi n’taghrhourte – D’knt
After breakfast, we now set off on our hike up along the assif n’Ait ouazaden valley , passing through the wallnuts groves , up to Tizi n’taghrhourte (1995m )and through to a rare almost flat strecth to arrive at Assaka spring, where we will stop for our field picnic amidst and awesome silence after some 2 and half hours relatively easy walking .our afternoon’s hike takes us down along the edges of the forest untill we reach the Berber village of D’knt (1870m) or agouns n Assoul where we will have our dinner and spent the night in a bivouac.
Day 3: D’knt – Tizi n’tagdalte – Tizi oussem
We set off for our morning’s 3 hours hike up through groves of walnut trees, fields of corn and barley to greet the many sheep and goatherders – and women and children bent over with 20kg loads of faggots and dried herbs. We traverse the Tizi n’tagdalte to the descent amongst the juniper trees till we come to a small spring set amongst the trees , where we will stop for our picnic .once refreshed , we are off down winding tracks of upper slopes for some 3hours to come to a small river at the beginning of the valley of assif n’Ait ouaszden . from here we enter the village of Tizi oussem (1850m) then up to the summer village Of Tamsoult for our camp.
Day 4: Aazib Tamsoult-Tizi Aguelzim- Toubkal Refuge
After breakfast, we now set out eastwards on a moderately difficult hike up winding mule tracks to the Tizi Aguelzim (3550m) , then a further 3 hours south-east to the Toubkal Refuge which marks the spring snowline at 3207m, where we shall have our dinner, in bivouac around the Refuge.
Day 5: Toubkal Refuge – Summit- Sidi Chamharouch – Imlil – Marrakech
A very early breakfast to set out around 6am., to attain, after a three hour steep climb, the highest peak in the Maghreb (4167m). The panorama from here is simply stunning. Whenever you are ready, we shall take the Ikkhibi Sud or South Cirque for a straightforward – with your guide – 2 to 3 hour descent back to the Refuge for a picnic. After lunch We shall now set off towards the north along steeply descending, zigzagging trails of the higher slopes of the Valley of the Assif n’Isouhouanem n’Ouagounss towards the Shrine of Sidi Chamharouch. Set beside a waterfall, There is a pilgrimage ‘marabout’ shrine here, probably the remnant of a pre-Islamic culture, but forbidden to non-Muslims. another 2hours downhill will allow to get to the village of Imlil from where most of the treks start prior to take the taxi back to Marrakech.
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