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Itinerary
 At
4,167m, Mount Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa.
The hike to the summit is challenging, but it requires no
mountaineering experience and the panoramic view from he 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 a week and
still have time to explore Morocco’s most captivating city,
Marrakech.
Day 1: We leave Marrakech after breakfast and drive to Imlil via
Asni. Imlil is the principal trailhead for walkers. This is the
place where we meet our mule team and once all our gear is
loaded we begin walking along the valley towards Tacheddirt,
some 8 km from Imlil. Soon the trail begins to rise as we climb
up to the pass at Tizi n' Tamatert (2279m). We then descend to
the pretty village of Ouaneskra and continue, for a further
half-hour or so, to Tacheddirt (3000m), where we set up camp
near the river.
Day 2: After crossing the valley we begin a long, slow ascent to
the pass at Tizi Likemt (3555m). At the top we enjoy our first
fine view of the Toubkal massif before a long downhill descent
to the village of Azib Likemt, where we set up our camp for the
night.
Day 3: This day is going to be a long but quite easy day,
passing many different landscapes. From Tizi n’Ououraine (3120m)
we enjoy further views of the Toubkal massif, including the
summit, the east face and the Ifni Dome (3876m). The trail leads
on towards Amsouzert, one of the most striking villages in the
region, where we spend the night in a simple village Gite.
Day 4: West of Amsouzert are several small villages, which we
explore as we make our way towards Ifni Lake, the only lake in
the massif. It is a memorable sight, surrounded by rocky
mountains and giant heaps of rubble, and is unusually deep.
We expect to arrive by lunchtime and spend the afternoon
relaxing at the shore. We camp tonight in this area.
Day 5: By now we should be both fit and acclimatised, and ready
to tackle the hardest day of the trek. We make our way along a
steep path that leads up a seemingly endless scree slope. At
length we reach the pass at Tizi n'Ouanoums (3664m), a narrow
ledge between two shafts of rock. From here it is a long zigzag
descent to Nelter Hut, the mountain refuge where we spend the
night.
Day 6: We leave before dawn, following a well-worn route to the
summit. If conditions are good it should take no more than 2-3
hours to reach the summit, where we enjoy beautiful views of the
entire Atlas range and the Marrakech plains beyond. Returning to
base, we then descend fairly rapidly to the villages of Sidi
Chamharouch and Aremd, before following the Mizane River, along
a well-forested
trail, to the trailhead at Imlil. Transfer back to Marrakech.
Day 7: Free day Marrakech
Day 8: Departure from Marrakech |
