“I believe that the ascent of mountains forms an essential chapter in the complete duty of man, and that it is wrong to leave any district without setting foot on its highest peak.”
Sir Leslie Stephen
Into The Atlas Mountains
If you’ve read the previous blog Madness In Marrakech: Morocco Part 1 you’ll know that our taxi driver finds us sitting on a bench near the Rue De Kasbah, after our almost breakfast of Pain Au Chocolat I got from a bakery that’s part beehive and the heat of the day is slowly rising in fact it’s already 25 degrees (Celcius US Readers). I had a hard time relaxing last night and I’m already pretty tired, which isn’t great as this is going to be a big day. As the Taxi pulls away from the nail biting streets and kamikaze scooter riders of Marrakech I pretty much pass out. Car journeys always make me nod off, well unless I’m driving of course, that would be bad. Not long after I’m woken up by my own snore which seems to be my body trying to subconsciously inhale itself, to our driver taking us to a women’s argan oil co-operative called ‘Argan Bioty’. This is based in a small village called Lalla Takerkoust where we are having the Breakfast included with our tour which apparently I’d forgotten about, which is a good thing because a few Pain Au Chocolat earlier definitely isn’t enough to fuel us hiking up a high altitude summit. The co-op is housed inside a traditional Berber building made from mud, palm wood and straw which makes it blend in with the landscape this also keeps these structures cool as with thick enough walls these structures store and then dissipate heat. Unfortunately these structures don’t usually fare well with freak weather like high winds or flash floods which are occurring more frequently or events like earthquakes. Stepping through the wooden door and downwards into the Co-op we are met with walls of shiny products creating a cool sort of contrast with the very traditional building they are housed in, it’s like someone put a Boots aisle in the desert. One of the ladies does an expert pour for us of some mint tea and we are given a flat dry bread called Khobz which you get with most meals here I assume because it soaks up various oils well. A dip that resembles peanut butter turns out to be Amlou which is almond butter, honey and argan oil together. It’s so tasty I might have to emulate it at home when I get back, even the olive oil is amazing like none I’ve had in the UK where I only usually use it for cooking.
While we are eating one of the ladies comes and chats to us for a while about the business, she explains the Co-Op is run by women who extract Argan oil for making their own food and beauty products. It’s great what they do here to generate an income and must have a positive impact on their households and the area. Traditionally the majority of financial responsibility falls on the men of the family though this appears to be slowly changing, and being able to learn and use their own skills to generate household income must be empowering for the women. This is a great community project that enables them to combat poverty, and If you want to check them out here’s House Of Bioty which is their Instagram. If you want to check them out here’s a link to their Instagram House Of Bioty We stand outside chatting for ages waiting for the driver like a bunch of dickheads before he comes out and tells us we were meant to find him when we had finished. We are all pretty tired so we must have all forgotten him telling us this the moment he said it. Getting into the car I decide I’m going to have a bit of a snooze again and when I wake up we are driving up winding mountain roads into the Atlas Mountain range.
The Village Of Imlil
The drive through the Atlas mountains winding roads is impressive and we look on with interest as we get ever closer to Imlil. Eventually the taxi stops where Mohamed and Khalid are waiting for us at a place called Cafe Adrar with a warm welcome and another pot of mint tea. The Berbers seem to drink this even more than us English people drink black tea and Mohamed jokingly refers to it as ‘Berber Whisky’. We all introduce ourselves and our first impression of these guys is great, they are very friendly and we feel instantly at ease with them, in sharp contrast to how we felt in Marrakech. They explain the plan of the next few days to us, and take the luggage we don’t need for safe keeping to later transfer to our hotel for our return.
Yallah! (Let’s go!)
Leaving Mohamed and the café behind we follow Khalid through the Berber village of Imlil, at around 1,740m in the still rising heat of the day. The Berber people make up around 80% of Morocco’s population and the name ‘Berber’ may stem from the Greek ‘Barbare’ a term used by the Roman empire apparently for almost anyone outside of the empire who didn’t speak Greek and not necessarily ‘barbarians’ in the Conan sense. The Berbers also like to go by the term ‘Amazigh’ meaning ‘free people’ many speak a number of languages however their main language is Tamazight. Not many people approach us for sales hiking through Imlil with Khalid as people here know him and he clearly brings plenty of custom to the village, everyone seems to know him from street vendors to the guys driving donkeys up and down the mountains. We find ourselves on a stony trail walking past the gates of a Kasbah through a small copse of old and gnarled walnut trees where there appears to be a loads of cicadas, a type of insect that makes a very loud noise I can only describe as hundreds of bags of pistachio shells being shaken, or lots of mountain bike free wheels clicking. This noise is the male cicadas way of attracting females which is pretty amazing to hear unless of course you live near it and you are trying to sleep. It’s still more impressive than my own flirting attempts though I think I’d probably get some strange looks if I tried it next time I’m making a terrible attempt at talking to a woman. For some reason I’m finding myself googling mountain bike freewheels while I’m writing this – maybe I’ll try it on a woman who likes mountain biking. Anyway these cicadas are different to the sort you may have already heard of which only appear every 17 years, these are around every year and according to Khalid they shouldn’t be this high up the valley, he attributes this to global warming and the creatures moving into the cooler areas higher up the valley in response.
Passing through this grove of trees and past another Argan oil co operative we walk into the hot and almost totally cloudless day, climbing up out of Imlil and into the mountains on dry and dusty trails. At one point I stop to take a photo when a man in traditional dress steps into shot and looks proudly out across the valley to the village on the other side. It makes a great shot as if he is proudly admiring the village on the other side of the valley. Maybe he is, it does look pretty cool.
Along the way we stop at a passport control booth, Mohamed tells me these were a welcome addition as it’s good for client safety, I can imagine that it helps making sure only registered local guides are being used also. These were set up for security after the incident I talk about in the previous blog and also to ensure that travellers are being accompanied by guide and to keep a log of who is on the mountain, where they should be and their times spent at places which helps with emergencies. A harrowing example of this is the earthquake of 2023 which registered 6.8 on the Richter scale devastating the area and destroying homes and villages. We ask Khalid about this later as we talk about rock climbing and scrambling and he tells us that many areas are still unstable from the quake and no longer climbable. I also asked Mohamed about his experience of the quake which sounds absolutely terrifying to experience.
“Yes, it was something different and surprising because this is the first time it happened ever it was at 23:13 at night I was very scared. I was at the same first café when it happened. That week was just terrible roads were closed by big rocks and we heard about people who died on the other side close to epicentre and lucky here just 2 people died but we got very scared to get into the houses any more that week.”
It’s inspiring that the Berber people picked themselves up from something so devastating and carried on, all around the mountains as we are sat at the passport booth we still see plenty of huge spilt boulders strewn around the slopes left from the earthquake. After our passports are checked we continue up the trail every now and then getting passed by a donkey or a mule and it’s owner. Khalid warns us to stay on the inside of the path to let these animals pass as they can push people off the trail if spooked, which doesn’t sound like a good way to end a hike. Further up the trail we pass through small shacks on the side and over the trail where locals sell fruit, snacks, sodas and water for the tourists and there are even toilets. Along the trail you can see that the sides of the valley are sparsely vegetated, the most abundant plant looks to be a striking but also pretty evil looking thistle which looks like it could give you more pricks than a second hand dartboard. Khalid points out a wild fig tree that the Berber use for preventing infection from barbs of the aforementioned thistle and a golden flower that grows at the trailside they use as an antiseptic of sorts which appears to be one named Cladanthus Scariosus. I’ve found wild medicine interesting since I was younger, it’s amazing what you can do with different plants!
Into Toubkal National Park / A Bit About The Atlas Mountains
We reach the sign that telling us we are entering Toubkal National Park and of course I have to get the guys to stop and pose for an obligatory photo. The national park was created in 1942 a vast area covering around 386 square miles and for my UK readers is the size of Dartmoor. For the American readers that’s about the size of 101,280,587 Humvees or really close to the size of Dallas, Texas. The Atlas Mountains themselves extend for more than 1,200 miles from Agadir here in Morocco all the way to Tunis, the capital of Tunisia so as you can imagine this mountain range is not the sort of place that you want to get lost in.The mountains are named for the Titan Atlas from Greek and Berber Mythology and the legend goes that the Titans fought the Greek gods and upon losing many were imprisoned in Tartarus the deepest abyss of the Underworld or punished in other ways, for his part Atlas was condemned to hold up the sky forever. Further folklore concerns the poet Ovid who in his ‘Metamorphoses’ describes Peresus turning Atlas into stone using the head of Medusa after Atlas refuses him shelter for the night. Some might view this as a bit harsh though Greek Folklore generally points out turning away travellers in need offended the gods and in Berber Culture turning away guests is deeply frowned upon, so that basis maybe Atlas deserved that punishment. Talking of Berber hospitality Khalid makes sure we are getting plenty of breaks and keeps feeding us nuts and fruit in this case locally grown oranges which is one of the best fruits I’ve ever tasted, and that’s saying something because I’ve been to Peru where they have fruits that taste like actual ice cream. In fact the oranges are so juicy we leave small puddles of orange juice behind us.
The Village Of Sidi Chamharouch / Djinn And Tonic
Further up the trail our first major stop is the small village of Sidi Chamharouch, a welcome pause in the summer heat sitting at 2310m where the river forms waterfalls which sparkle through the bright sun of the day. When we get closer Khalid points out the white rock which makes up a Marabout shrine. A marabout usually refers to a holy man person with supernatural powers, or such as in this case the tomb of one, Khalid explains to us with some difficulty that this is the shrine of Sidi Chamharouch the King Of The Djinn. We all think Khalid is saying ‘Gin’ which is an entirely different type of spirit and probably not one you will find in the Atlas Mountains! I have to hand it to him however he’s got a lot of patience putting up with us English people who seem to relate most things to alcohol. It does sound practically the same however and I could murder a Gin And Tonic right now.
The story of Sidi Chamharouch is quite extensive and very interesting so I won’t tell it here, it will be on another article so I can do it some justice. Here in the village of the same name we are stopping for some lunch before we carry on and I have to admit this is a bit of a relief for me because even though I’ve done everything I can to reduce the impact of altitude on me I am starting to feel it now. The small café we stop at is rather appropriately named Cafe Chamarouch, and when we get there Khalid asks us where we want to sit, inside or in the roof terrace and we feel it would be a shame if we didn’t sit and enjoy the amazing view down the valley. As we sit getting our energy back Khalid brings us up a chicken Tagine and a load of bread. Two local chaps come and start playing traditional music on instruments I don’t even know the name of and it turns out the guy on guitar-like Moroccan instrument singing is multi skilled, apparently he is our chef also and we thank him for the meal. We relax and listen to their songs, chatting, eating and looking at the beautiful views. It’s a memorable moment where I feel far away from home but really happy with the fact, immersed in another culture.
Sidi Chamarouche Vanishes Below
We leave Sidi Chamharouch and the trail becomes a lot steeper as it climbs above the village which slowly becomes small below us . The altitude creeps up on me further and despite the trail being a really easy one technically I feel like I’m wearing a set of ankle weights plus it is now very hot out here which makes life harder. I have to admit that despite all my training I’m flagging behind the lads which maybe I wouldn’t be so much if I wasn’t taking photos all the time and carrying extra equipment. Luckily everyone is waiting for me to catch up at the handy rest stops on the way up, some of which are really comfortable one even has a makeshift sofa which we are all quite happy to take a moment on and watch the mules go by.
As we ascend the valley we are in opens right out and we are surrounded by high, majestic peaks where a large boulder appears to say something important but I later find out is just the name of a footballer graffitied by some tourists which is disappointing, I can imagine this is frustrating for the guides too. The whole hike we do from Imlil to here is about 8 miles or so which at this point means we don’t have much further to travel, even if every step right now feels about twice the effort it should be.
Taking Refuge
The refuge appears slowly over the horizon, a relief because I’m knackered, up ahead mules graze in a small area of greenery that stands out against the rest of the valley and behind that is ‘Refuge de Toubkal’. Finally dragging my feet up the steps of the building where Andy and Rob await they both give me a hug and a well done. The altitudes made quite an impact on me, thankfully nowhere near as badly as years ago at Misti in Peru which you can read about here – Altitude Sickness Strikes At Volcano Misti 5800m. There has been a refuge on the slopes of Toubkal since 1938 however the updated building work was completed in 1999. The refuge has 86 beds, showers, dormitories and serves food and even though it is basic it’s a welcome sight after a long day, it even has internet, which is good as we can let everyone know we made it here safely. We have to sign in at the reception which doubles as a shop where we write in a guestbook where we have come from and where we plan to go, another good idea in case you go missing and rescuers have to find you. As a side note as with other countries apart from the UK and some European countries there is no official mountain rescue here though there is apparently a rescue helicopter stationed in Marrakech. Getting rescued I can imagine is not cheap this isn’t the UK so another good reason for having a local guide! We get shown a room where everyone puts their boots which as you can imagine has it’s own unique fusty ‘atmosphere’ and Khalid gets us all to put slippers on which is pretty standard in Moroccan society. You can bring your own but there are some provided also – if you can fit them in your bag however it’s worth bringing your own. We get told a time for dinner and pointed to the dormitories to sort ourselves out, when it comes to sleeping however dormitories are my worse nightmare as I’m a very light sleeper. This is often the situation in refuge/mountain huts as it means they can fit more beds into a smaller space making it affordable and most of the time I think it’s worth putting up with if it means you can stay in and see some amazing areas. Unfortunately you don’t really get to choose who you end up in a room with and in this case our room is filled with people who have been eating spicy Moroccan food most of the week, so it’s probably not wise light a match in here if you get my meaning. You can however end up making new friends in these places and it does foster a social atmosphere because you all have something in common so there are upsides and downsides. We all sort our kit into the provided pigeon hole shelves while I wonder why everyone in here is just sitting in half darkness wearing head torches. Looking to solve this strange problem I find the light switch just near the door and everyone flinches like a bunch of stunned moles when I flick the lights on, why nobody thought of this instead of stumbling around in the dark I don’t know, could be effects of altitude could be tiredness or maybe all just silly. That sorted I leave all the confused people to it and head down to get some dinner which is some kind of tasty soup that tastes like lamb and a chicken tagine with loads of bread, it’s not a massive change but it’s good food and we are starving. Conversation is pretty thin as we are all exhausted and we sit listening to what sounds like mainly French speakers chatter away around us before heading outside to chase the elusive WIFI signal. We all need to wire Mohamed some money so he can sort some other hotels out for us however possibly because of our location or a struggling WIFI connection Western Union isn’t having it. Maybe their website thinks we are trying to commit fraud on ourselves from somewhere in the Moroccan wilderness, who knows. On the bright side there’s a beautiful sunset over the mountains we get to watch as we make several failed attempts at transfers. Eventually feeling frustrated, we all give up and decide to call it a day briefly speaking to Khalid to confirm we are still going to have to get up at 3am tomorrow to push for the summit, which of course we are. I head for the showers just to realise I’ve left my travel towel upstairs just as I’m getting out again, and experience the annoyance of having to use a spare t-shirt to dry myself off, then it’s back to the dormitories to get some sleep. Myself, Rob and Andy opt for the top bunk beds further away from everyone in a futile attempt to get some sleep. Of course this doesn’t work as despite the distance from others because as each over guest in here dozes off it starts sounding like a pen full of hippos with hayfever. It’s somewhere to rest though and it’s cheap and a nice enough place to stay, if you are one of those heavy sleepers that could fall asleep in an iron foundry you cant lose, if you aren’t you might want to bring some earplugs and some sedatives or even a brick to help yourself drift off.
Summit To Lose Sleep Over
It’s 3am and I’m not sure if me Rob and Andy ‘wake up’ in the traditional sense it’s more ‘rise from the dead seeking human brains for breakfast’ and we instantly start half consciously packing our gear again. In fact I’m so tired I’m not sure if I’m dreaming or not at this point until a French accent complains about the light going on. Like most people I find getting my gear together without some kind of light pretty much impossible and my brain struggles to remember some French swearwords from high school which is apparently most of what I learned back then, luckily my brain can’t find them at this time in the morning. Shaking off my temporary annoyance and feeling like a floating head I make my way downstairs for breakfast where me and the guys try and eat as much as possible because we will need the energy. Breakfast is mainly bread, spreads, and a load of fruit and even though we have done well so far avoiding it we all cave in and have a coffee in a desperate attempt to keep our eyes open. This is not going to help us with the altitude but at least we will all be awake enough to tackle the summit. After eating we head outside looking for Khalid, who we can’t see anywhere until we spot the red glow of a cigarette glowing in the darkness which reminds me of a scene out of those old film noir private detective films. It’s really dark out here being far away from cities and villages so there’s hardly any light pollution. Stars shine in the sky above clearly and brightly like torchlight shining through pinpricks in black fabric. Khalid emerges from the shadows and we all say our good mornings, immediately starting up the steep trail to Toubkal’s summit.
I’m not feeling the altitude today having apparently acclimatised during our stop at the refuge though this may well be short lived so I try not to get too excited about it. The way ahead is rocky and strewn with scree so it doesn’t come as much surprise when we have a bit of a slip and slide. In the bright light of the headtorches spiders run frantically across the path trying to escape what they probably perceive as four weird creatures with one massive glowing eye in each their heads. We reach a field of car sized boulders and Khalid jokes with us that he is lost even though we know he could probably hike this backwards with his eyes closed, I try to laugh but it’s getting much harder to breathe effectively as the air is getting thinner and thinner as we ascend the air pressure will be so low by the time we get to the summit we will be getting around 20% less oxygen in our blood. As we pass through these gargantuan boulders the sky fades from black to navy blue, and it is still warm out here however we are all in our insulated jackets because it is going to get rapidly colder as we ascend. I’m sporting my new Arc’teryx insulated jacket which is lovely which I’ll post a review of soon and I’m just the right temperature which is nice. The way gets steeper, and the scree continues but thankfully I’ve not yet started experiencing altitude symptoms although I have a feeling I’m not going to escape them for the whole of this trek. As the sun begins to rise we stop for a quick break and a drink because as much as I love hydration packs taking a breath and drinking sips of water close together when moving is not easy right now.
Acid Tracks
We put our hats and gloves on to combat the increasing chill and follow the trail through a massive boulder and scree field when my altitude symptoms inevitably begin, first mildly with a headache and then with what’s known as Type A Lactic Acidosis. If you have ever exercised to the point your muscles burn you’ve probably experienced the effects of lactic acid build-up. Now take what you know from that experience and imagine it about 50% more intense and all over your body at once and that is what I’m feeling right now. At first it starts quite mildly like pushing yourself a bit feels like anyway and then rises to such an intensity I’m having to stop every ten minutes or so because it becomes too painful to push through. The guys stop to check I’m ok seeing I’m in pain and when I explain what’s happening Rob points out this is probably being caused by Hypoxia – a condition with a few causes one of them being at altitude. This is when your body tissues are not getting enough oxygen unsurprisingly, as the air up here is so breathing it feels as difficult as I could imagine me using a straw as a snorkel would be and the higher I go up the trail my bursts of movement go from ten minutes long to just a few minutes. At the end of each effort I have to stop and take a moment to breathe deep and fast and let the burning cramping feeling fade away before I carry on. Despite how amazingly inconvenient this is I push through it because I can see we are nearly at the summit and unlike the near death experience I had in Peru years ago, this just hurts and it’s good to have the perspective from that experience because I KNOW this isn’t going to kill me it just sucks harder than a turbo charged Dyson. I think it’s worth me mentioning this unpleasant result of being at altitude does not happen to everyone, Rob and Andy just have slight headaches and get slowed down a bit, apart from that they both report feeling fine. The sun has risen and on a mini break I stop to look around as dawn bathes the titanic faces of the Atlas Mountains in a deep golden hue beneath the electric blue sky. If that sounds epic it’s because it absolutely is and the sight gives me some extra motivation for the summit – not that I needed any more.
Turning back around I start again up the dusty trail where Rob, Andy and Khalid are shouting me some encouragement, helping me ignore feeling like one giant bruise that’s been set on fire long enough to see the summit marker of Jebel Toubkal come into view ahead. Coming up to the structure featured in so many photographs the guys shake my hand for pushing through and making it to the summit. The big metal triangle thing looming over us is actually a trigonometric marker which was put here after 1920 a bit of equipment that came before GPS used for navigation and surveying. I’m relieved and exhilarated to have got what I mistakenly believe is going to be the hardest part of the trip, and I relax knowing the only way from now is down because as we descend the altitude symptoms should fade away. Mohamed later tells me that besides Toubkal the other names for the mountain are ‘Touger Akal’ which he explains as meaning ‘big ground’ or ‘Adrar N’dern’ which I love as this means ‘Mountain Of Life’, and I feel extremely alive having hiked up here. Andy tells me later seeing the sun creeping over the mountains gave him a sense of peace and achievement and he’s glad we all got to experience it together. And it is a massive achievement for him because in this case this ascent was his first ever high altitude summit. To me this beats having a normal life and just doing the same stuff all the time because you learn nothing about yourself if you don’t experience new things. I’d highly recommend what we do to anyone if you have the mindset for it and you have the motivation, this sort of thing makes me feel alive, often paradoxically as it’s just as nearly killed me on multiple occasions!
Here at the highest point of North Africa we spend some time taking pictures showing views from miles around I also take the opportunity to do a few pictures for Osprey to show off their bag I’m reviewing which you can check out here Osprey Talon 20 Velocity Trail Tested Review. While we are here we build up our energy again with some snacks before we begin the descent, because as epic as it looks up here in the soft light of dawn we can’t hang around, and lets be fair there’s only so many photo’s you can do before you end up doing that silly jumping thing all the Instagrammers do. I do get a few pics of myself because most of the time as you can tell I’m behind the camera not in front of it but I try and keep these to a minimum too because you want to see cool photos of the place not just my face.
A More Interesting Route Back
Once we have all recovered Khalid asks us if we want to head back the way we came or if we want to take a more interesting route back. We rarely pass up an extra adventure so we agree to make our return more interesting and Khalid starts off off the mountain in a different direction super casually like he’s going to pick up some milk rather than walking down the highest peak in North Africa.
This way down from the summit of Toubkal is all scree in most places which makes the decent slow and difficult and we have to watch our footing constantly, eventually we descend into the top of Toubkal’s large North-West couloir. For those who don’t hike or ski – a couloir which means a corridor in French in this case usually is used to describe a narrow deep gully with steep sides though weirdly they can also be quite wide in some cases such as this one. We head up a short climb to a peak where to our awe we find the engine of an aircraft embedded into the rock of this summit which is Mt Tibhirine East. The sight enables some amazing photographs and a hard forget to reminder of our own mortality as unfortunately nobody survived this crash – I’d go into more detail but the story behind this is quite extensive so that’ll be on an upcoming blog!
After seeing the engine we hike shortly back down and take a break just below the summit. While we are munching more snacks Andy asks Khalid if the route down from here is easier, to which Khalid bluntly replies ‘no’. We all have a good laugh at this because apparently if it’s not a struggle none of us want it. We start moving again and it’s getting extremely hot even despite being about 8am and I’m glad I’m wearing factor 50+ Sun shield, which may seem excessive but isn’t because UV levels increase by approx 10% per 1000m of altitude. In fact here at about 4000m the UV is around 40% higher than it is at sea level which is a massive increase so without protection from the sun you will burn out here like a sausage left too long on a BBQ. Despite writing this handy advice, later I realise I forgot to put sunscreen on my lips which are sore as hell for the next two days. Progressing down the steep and dusty trail over loose boulders, dust and scree we all have a couple of accidental rock surfing incidents. Even though I do know how to move on scree Khalid still reminds us of the technique like any good guide would but we all fall over one by one apart from Khalid of course. He jokes about us skiing down it instead of walking and even though I’m falling over less than Andy and Rob I still manage a total doozy of a slide and fall, managing to sprain my wrist backwards. It’s not put me out of action but it still hurts plenty, and it does help me stay awake.
Descending we spot more bits of the aircraft, fuselage and other parts strewn down the side of the mountain for quite a distance. I imagine even if you did survive a crash like that as there’s no obvious water source up this high and the intense daytime heat and night time cold it’s doubtful you would survive long. Arriving at the bottom of the Couloir Khalid stops for a second and says ‘this is where they are’ and it takes us a moment to realise he means the victims of the plane crash. Looking down I see the back of a human skull through the boulders under my feet. Another reminder of our mortality for today, it’s morbid but it reminds me how lucky I am to be alive.
The way down is still incredibly steep however we can now see the trail we came in on yesterday from here and eventually the refuge further up the valley. We have come quite a distance but it’s not time to celebrate yet as this whole day will be a longer affair in terms of distance having ascended and descended Toubkal as well as trekking back to Imlil. Reaching the bottom of the descent we cross the river where dragonflies the size of small birds whip past us making noises like mini drones. The river crossing is only really a boulder hop but I stop to admire how clean and blue the water is. We rejoin the trail, picking up the pace because none of us have really slept and it is getting exceptionally hot now. Khalid says we are having lunch again in Sidi Chamarouche and I pick up the pace so much I’ve got Andy and Rob behind me until I get there – not that I’m food motivated or anything.
Back In Imlil Feeling Musty And Dusty
On the trail back through the walnut trees Khalid stops to chat to a cheery trailside salesman who says hello to us and makes a point of telling us Khalid is a good man, which we can’t really disagree with he’s been a great guide and I’m assuming he does a lot for the community here bringing in tourists. We leave Khalid’s friend behind and make our way back down into Imlil feeling every set of steps that we walk down. Soon enough we are stood outside what’s going to be our hotel for the night, all feeling pretty exhausted and needing showers because I assume we stink but we have probably gotten used to it.
Back To Mohamed
Khalid helps check us into our hotel Auberge De La Vallée’ which is basic but nice, and just for a change we have some mint tea and have dinner laid on again for us which is part of the tour. Another tagine appears and even though it’s tasty and Moroccan food is very healthy my brains screaming out for a burger. They are probably doing me a favour with all the healthy eating but part of me just want’s something full of calories – we have definitely burnt plenty of them in the last 48 hours that’s for sure. Mohamed comes to see us and we have a nice chat where he asks us if we enjoyed our trip, we tell him we had an excellent time, it was pretty epic. I don’t often do often plug guides on the blog however we all had such a good time hiking Toubkal and an experience we will never forget. I highly recommend Mohamed and his venture ‘Atlas Mountains’ and if you are planning on visiting Morocco you should get in touch with him so on that note here’s a bit about him and how he became a guide!
About Our Guides
We ask Mohamed how he became a guide and he tells us he followed in the footsteps of his father Phats who was a guide in his town and it inspired him to do the same. He wanted to help people appreciate the natural landscapes around them and he loves to be outside in nature also. He went to University to study Geology where he met Khalid, he enjoys sharing what he learned at university with others. He tells me he loves his job because he meets new people and friends from all over the world, and gets to learn about other peoples cultures as well sharing his own while helping them to see the Atlas Mountains. He is a very experienced guide and has worked for other guiding companies, and now he’s gone solo and is bring work opportunities to other local guides and cooks, in his own words –
“I’m Atlas Mountains, a Moroccan guide with extensive knowledge and experience in exploring the beautiful landscapes and rich culture of Morocco. I offer personalized tours and authentic experiences that let visitors truly connect with the region. I love to help travellers make their Moroccan journey unforgettable!”
Mohamed can arrange unique experiences, city tours, Atlas Mountain tours, multi day hikes, desert trips and treks all over Morocco. It’s highly likely myself and the guys will return to Morocco and should we do so I would call on his services again. We were made to feel very welcome by Khalid, Mohamed and the Berber we met along the way. If you are interested in having the same adventure we did you can contact Mohamed via the details below.
Magical Toubkal trek
Phone: +212631989641
Email: Exploreatlasmountain@gmail.com
Many Thanks to Mohamed and Khalid for their help in fact checking this article and of course for making sure we had an amazing trip. If you enjoyed this article and you want to read more like this, upcoming guides on what gear to get for this trip as well as other adventure stories, equipment reviews, how to guides and much more join us by subscribing below!
Requiem For The Extreme 