Atlas and Desert Tour - 8 Days

Transfer from Marrakech to Agersioual, meet the team ; guide, cook and muleteers then set off on first day which will be an acclimatisation trek in the Ouirgane National Park. The terrain here is gentler with copper green soil and juniper trees. Overnight in Gite in a Berber Village of Tizian. Aprox. 4-5 hrs walking time. (B,L,D)

After breakfast you’ll head up and out of the valley and traverse over to the stunning Azzaden Valley. The views open up with a rushing mountain stream surrounded by lush walnut groves leading up towards Toubkal and her sister peaks at the head of the Valley. Overnight in a village Gite or camping. Approx. 7 hours walking. (B,L,D)

Today involves a fairly stiff climb out of the Azzadene Valley to the Toubkal Refuge past the the Ighouliden waterfalls and over the Aguelzim Mountain pass at 3,560m. Lunch will be taken with spectacular views over the Atlas Mountain Range. Overnight in the Toubkal Refuge (Niltner Hut) at 3,200m where you’ll likely be sharing a bunk room with other trekkers tackling Toubkal early the next morning. Aprox. 7 hours walking. (B,L,D)

Up early for the climb up Toubkal (4,167m) from where, clouds allowing, you’ll have wonderful views over the Atlas Range and the Sahara Desert then a long way back down past the refuge and the well-worn path back to Imlil. This is a fairly long day with 8-9 hours of trekking, involving 900m up then almost 2,500m back down to Imlil! Where you will spend the night in dar oussagou guesthouse.

You will be picked up from your accommodation in Imlil at 9.00am and head out over the Atlas Mountains, driving over the stunning Tizi-n-Tichka mountain pass. You’ll pass through lots of Berber villages, and once you’re in the desert, you’ll see riverside oases and barren hillsides dotted with kasbahs (fortified dwellings that house families and their livestock). Along the way, you will have the option either to take a break and visit the Ouarzazate Film Studios or stop for a hike. Once you reach Dades Gorge, you have the option of going for a hike, or relaxing at your hotel. Overnight in Dades. (Total driving time 4 – 5 hours)

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer from the Dades Valley to Todra Gorge – a massive fault dividing the High Atlas mountains, rising up 300 meters in a narrow valley with palmeries and Berber villages. Here, you can go for a hike to explore the palmery, a green oasis full of large date palms. After lunch you’ll head further into the desert to the gateway town of Merzouga to pick up supplies for your desert trip. You will then drive on to a kasbah to pick up your camel. At sunset, you’ll trek for an hour-and-a-half by camel to a Berber camp where you will enjoy a traditional Moroccan dinner, and sleep under the stars or in tents at a desert camp. (Total driving time 3 – 4 hours)

Wake to a desert sunrise and then return to the kasbah by camel. You will then have a chance to freshen up and enjoy a breakfast. Once you are refreshed, you will head out of the desert for a drive to Ait Benhaddou. This is an ancient fortified city containing countless kasbahs and has been the atmospheric subject of numerous hollywood movies (The Mummy, Gladiator, Alexander, Lawrence of Arabia…) You will have the chance to walk around the buildings and explore with your guide. You will overnight in a hotel close to Ait Benhaddou. (Total driving time 5 – 6 hours)

Travel along the Ounilla Valley to the Telouet Kasbah, a crumbling kasbah that was once an important stop for traders. Explore the Kasbah and then after lunch, you will head back over the Tizi-n-Tichka Pass to Marrakech (Total driving time 2 – 3 hours).