High Atlas

One range, three ways in

The High Atlas runs for about 750 km across Morocco. From Marrakesh you approach it through three valleys, an hour to an hour and a half by road, each suited to a different kind of traveller.

The Ourika Valley, about sixty kilometres away, is the closest and the busiest. It leads to Setti Fatma, a village at the bottom of a gorge below the peaks. Above the village, the seven waterfalls are reached on foot: a steep twenty-minute climb takes you to the foot of the first and largest, then about another hour of hard walking brings you to the highest and smallest. People from Marrakesh come up in numbers at weekends and in summer. Sabaro recommends a weekday, and early March for the almond and cherry blossom. In August, the Setti Fatma moussem (a popular festival around a saint's shrine) lasts four days, with a fair and a market.

Asni and Imlil open up the Toubkal massif. Asni holds its souk on Saturdays. Imlil, at 1,740 m, is the starting point for hikes and for the ascent; above it, Aremd and Tacheddirt are villages of terraced fields that you walk through. Imlil is about 1 h 30 from Marrakesh.

Oukaimeden, a ski resort at 2,600 m, takes skiers when the snow falls and hikers the rest of the year. The red rocks at the entrance to the resort carry Bronze Age rock engravings.

Further on, other valleys await those with time: the Imnane Valley, the Ait Bouguemez, and the quieter Zat and Ouirgane valleys.

The national park and Toubkal

Created in 1942, Toubkal National Park is Morocco's first national park; it covers about 380 km² between the N'Fiss and Ourika valleys. You see juniper, holm oak and thuya trees, and sometimes eagles or Barbary macaques in some of the gorges.

Jbel Toubkal rises to 4,167 m. The ascent is hard without being technical: a long walk with more than 2,000 m of ascent and no climbing sections.

The guide. An official local mountain guide is required on the trails between Imlil and the summit. The Imlil guides' office provides them, but allow at least a day to arrange one on the spot; the simplest option is to book the guide with your accommodation or excursion.

How it goes. The classic ascent takes two days from Imlil: on the first day you climb to the refuges at 3,207 m (the Toubkal refuge, known as the Neltner refuge, and the Mouflons refuge), then the summit the next day and the descent to Imlil. Muleteers can carry your luggage. At this altitude, some hikers suffer from altitude sickness: Sabaro recommends adding one or two days of walking in the valleys before going up, or choosing a three- to eight-day trek that gives the body time to adjust.

The season. In summer anyone in good shape can reach the summit, but the heat weighs on the valleys. In winter the massif is covered in snow: the ascent then requires winter mountain equipment and experience, and the slopes are used for ski touring.

How many days, and where to stay

• A day from Marrakesh. Ourika or Imlil as a day trip, leaving in the morning and back for dinner. It is the simplest way to see the mountains, at the cost of two to three hours on the road that day.
• Two or three nights in a kasbah. The pace Sabaro recommends for walking without trekking: a few hours' hike each morning, a quiet afternoon. Kasbah du Toubkal, above Imlil, is reached by a quarter-hour walk and requires a two-night minimum; it arranges hikes the evening before, according to each guest's fitness and the weather. Kasbah Tamadot, in Asni, plays the comfort card, with pools and a spa, and offers mule rides from age 10. In the Ourika, Kasbah Bab Ourika overlooks the valley less than an hour from Marrakesh.
• Three- to eight-day treks. You then sleep in gîtes or refuges, with a guide and a muleteer; Toubkal comes at the end, once acclimatised.
• At the end of a trip. Two mountain nights fit well after Marrakesh, before the flight home: Kasbah Tamadot and Kasbah Bab Ourika are about 45 minutes from the airport.

Evenings are cool even in summer in the mountain kasbahs: a jumper and a jacket belong in the bag in every season.

Seasons and gear

Spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October) are the best seasons for walking. Summer suits the heights more than the valleys; winter brings snow to the summits.

Gear that is useful all year: good ankle-high walking boots, three layers of clothing (a breathable base layer, a fleece, a windproof and waterproof jacket), sunglasses, a hat and sunscreen, and a pole for long descents over rock. Mountain weather changes quickly: it is best to set off early in the morning.

The mountains since the 2023 earthquake

On 8 September 2023, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the High Atlas, 70 km south-west of Marrakesh, on the boundary between the provinces of Chichaoua and Al-Haouz. It is worth knowing what to do in an earthquake. Choosing a guide and accommodation from the valley also means the money goes directly to mountain families.