# Imilchil Marriage Festival

Every late summer, the Ait Hadiddou of the eastern High Atlas gather near Imilchil, above 2,200 m, for their great yearly market and collective weddings; the 2026 edition took place from 1 to 3 October.

Source : https://sabaro-travel.com/en/events/imilchil-marriage-festival/

## The Ait Hadiddou's market of the year

Imilchil is a village in the eastern High Atlas, above 2,200 m, in the province of Midelt. This is the land of the Ait Hadiddou, an Amazigh (Berber) tribe of farmers and herders, divided into two branches, the Ait Brahim and the Ait Yazza. Every late summer, they gather with the neighbouring tribes around the shrine of a local saint, Sidi Ahmed El Moughni, about twenty kilometres from the centre of Imilchil.

Locals call the gathering *souk al am*, "the market of the year". Grain, barley and livestock are bought and sold, and many couples marry there: marriage contracts are signed together, before the assembled families. The anthropologist David M. Hart, who studied the Ait Hadiddou, saw these collective weddings as a practice unique in Morocco.

## The legend of Isli and Tislit

The name "betrothal festival" comes from a legend. Two young people, one from the Ait Brahim and the other from the Ait Yazza, were in love, but their tribes were enemies and the families refused the marriage. They wept so much that their tears formed two lakes: Isli, "the groom" in Amazigh, and Tislit, "the bride". Moved, the clans agreed that young people would from then on choose their spouse freely, and the moussem would keep the memory of it.

Both lakes are real and can be visited. Tislit is the closer to the village and can be reached by road; Isli, about ten kilometres from Imilchil, is wilder. A loop of about 34 km links the village with both lakes, to be done by bike.

## The moussem today

In 2025 and 2026, the Akhiam association organised the moussem with the municipalities of Bouzmou and Imilchil, alongside the Festival of Mountain Music (Festival des musiques des cimes). The 2025 edition took place from 18 to 20 September, the 2026 edition from 1 to 3 October. The 2026 programme brought together the collective wedding ceremony, a fair of crafts and local produce, competitions for children and young people, and the festival's stages. The dates of the 2027 edition have not yet been announced; in 2025, they were published in late August.

The weddings are real ceremonies, for local families. Sabaro recommends keeping some distance and asking before photographing people.

## Getting up to Imilchil

Imilchil is far from everything, and that is what makes the journey. From the south, the road climbs the Todgha Gorge north of Tinghir, then crosses the plateau on a mountain road. The Sabaro selection has no hotel in Imilchil, where there are simple inns and guesthouses; the houses of the Dades Valley, such as Dar Jnan Tiouira, run by the family of a high-mountain guide, or Dar Rihana Dades, serve as a base for the days before or after.

Sabaro recommends a driver used to mountain roads and a full day for the way up. At this altitude, nights are cool even in September: a warm jacket and good walking shoes are a must. In winter, snow can cut the area off.

## Frequently asked questions

### When is the Imilchil moussem?

In late summer or early autumn. The 2025 edition took place from 18 to 20 September, the 2026 edition from 1 to 3 October. The 2027 dates have not yet been announced.

### Can you attend the collective weddings?

The ceremony takes place in public, during the moussem. Sabaro recommends staying discreet and asking before photographing the couples and their families.

### How do you get to Imilchil?

By road, from Tinghir and the Todgha Gorge, to the south. Sabaro recommends a driver used to mountains, and a night in the Dades Valley before or after.

### Where to stay during the moussem?

In the inns and guesthouses of Imilchil and the surrounding area, which are simple and few. The nearest hotels in the Sabaro selection are in the Dades Valley.