We booked a 2 day guided trek through the Atlas Mountains on Get Your Guide for £85 each and it was one of the best experiences we’ve ever had. For just £85, you get transport to the beginning of the hike in Imlil, breakfast, lunch and dinner on both days, beautiful accommodation in a hotel in the mountains, plus a guided hike through the spectacular Atlas Mountains. I’d highly recommend hiking in the Atlas Mountains on your next trip to Morocco!
2 days hiking in the Atlas Mountains
Advice for hiking in the Atlas Mountains
Wear proper walking shoes / boots. The trails are often just loose rocks and it’s easy to twist your ankle or skid. Fred and I have Gelert Horizon Low WP walking shoes (men’s version here) for just £35 from Sports Direct; they’ve lasted us 2 years and are very comfortable, sturdy and waterproof.
In early March, daytime temperatures were between 27 – 30°C and there is low chance of snow on the trails (depending on how high up you are!) At night, temperatures fell to between 10 – 12°C. So, bring a mixture of appropriate clothing (shorts, t-shirts, thermals, jumper, and waterproofs) and have plenty of water and suncream available.
We hiked for about 4-5 hours each day and the trail felt easy to moderate, with the second day being the steepest climb. I’d recommend having a decent level of fitness before you go.
Toilets on the trail are few and far between – bring toilet roll and hand sanitiser and be prepared to squat ladies!
Day 1
Pick-up and breakfast
Our driver picked us up from our riad in Marrakech at 08:45 and we met the rest of our tour group: two lovely couples from France and the Netherlands who we instantly became friends with! We then stopped for breakfast at an argan oil cooperative that had a terrace with a beautiful mountain view.
The breakfast included traditional warm bread (called harcha) with a selection of honey and oils for dipping, plus Moroccan mint tea. After breakfast, we were given a tour of the argan oil cooperative before setting off towards the town of Imlil to begin hiking in the Atlas Mountains.
Imlil: The beginning of the hike
The drive was only around 45 minutes to Imlil, a beautiful and remote mountain town at 1775 metres above sea level. On the way, we travelled along narrow, windy mountain roads with incredible views; the only downside being that cars don’t seem to stop for each other, so it often felt like we were millimetres away from being hit by a passing vehicle, which was quite scary!
Once in Imlil, we met our local guide for the trip who showed us a map of the trail we would be hiking. We carried a day bag and gave our overnight backpacks to be carried by mule. We were pleased to see that the mules here were well looked after (especially compared to what we had seen in Marrakech!)
The mules take a slightly different route but when we reconvened on the final part of the trail, the mules actually seemed to be enjoying it! They were not dragged by a rope or chain and trotted along freely. They seemed to be handled gently and given plenty of water breaks. Once at the hotel, they were allowed to rest and eat. This was very different to how we had seen camels treated during our trip to the Sahara Desert just 2 days before. What a relief!
A note on mules and camels in Morocco
We asked our local guide about the treatment of mules and camels in Morocco and told him what we had witnessed in Marrakech and in the desert. He explained that in local Berber villages, working animals are treated much better as owners understand that they need to be healthy to be able to work. But, in busy tourist areas, they are treated abusively in order to make money. You can read about our (negative) experience camel riding in the desert here.
Morning hike
We hiked for about 45 minutes through the town of Imlil to our guide’s family home, where he offered us Moroccan tea and sellou. Sellou is a traditional dish made from mixed nuts, sesame seeds, spices and honey and is widely consumed during Ramadan thanks to its high energy density. This was a lovely example of the hospitality and kindness in Berber culture.
We continued hiking through the Atlas Mountains for an hour, marvelling at the Azzaden Valley along the Tizi Mzik Pass. The path was a moderately steep trail of loose rocks winding through dense forest surrounded by stunning mountain views.
Lunch at the top of Tizi Mzik Pass
At the top of the Tizi Mzik Pass, we had lunch at an incredible viewpoint overlooking the valley below. From just a small stone hut tucked away in the mountains, our guides prepared us loubia (a white bean stew), fresh salad, oranges, bananas and green tea with sugar (there were also meat options available if you’re not vegetarian). The food was absolutely delicious. There was also a toilet (well, a hole in the ground!)
Tizi Oussem
After lunch, we continued hiking down into the valley, through quiet Berber villages where children ran out of their houses to say hello to us. Many locals seemed happy to see us and we seemed to be the only group there. In fact, we didn’t see any other tourists on any of the trails for the entire 2 days, which was great.
Around 2 hours later, we arrived at our hotel in the village of Tizi Oussem which sits at around 1850m above sea level. We were very impressed by the accommodation; we had our own private double bedroom with bathroom and private balcony overlooking the mountains. The hotel also had a communal area and 2 outdoor terraces, plus a small shop next door.
Dinner and stargazing
After a relaxing couple of hours on the rooftop terrace, we had a delicious 3-course dinner – traditional Berber soup, a mixture of tagines, couscous, salad, fresh bread (called khobz) and fruit. After dinner, everyone sat on the terrace to look at the beautiful sky of stars. In the darkness of the remote village, we used the SkyView app to identify different constellations and planets.
Temperatures dropped at night to around 10-12 degrees, so we were quite cold – I’d recommend packing some thermals and jumpers to keep warm!
Day 2
We woke up at 9 the next morning and had breakfast on the terrace – a selection of bread, honey, peanut butter, fruit, yoghurt and eggs. It was already 27 degrees as we started hiking out of the village and down into the valley.
We hiked for around 4 hours, and it was certainly more challenging than the first day! The first part of the hike was easy to moderate, down into the valley where we were surrounded by towering mountains. We walked through remote villages where we saw women cleaning fresh wool in the stream ready to be made into rugs and sold in the market.
The remaining few hours were a steep climb back up and out of the valley, often on loose rocks. It was tough in the heat, but we were rewarded with some incredible scenery along the way. As long as you wear the right clothes and have plenty of water and suncream, it’s not unbearable at all (especially if you’ve just endured a UK winter and are dying for some sun!) I highly commend our guide for completing the hike during Ramadan!
Lunch in front of Mount Toubkal
After about 4 hours of continuous hiking, we reached the end of the trail and were rewarded with a beautiful backdrop of snowy Mount Toubkal. We ate lunch by the river – a mixture of lentil stew, yellow vegetable rice, salad, fruit and of course, more Moroccan mint tea – before tipping our guide and heading back to Marrakech for a well-deserved cocktail at Le Pergola!
Overall, this was our favourite excursion during our trip to Morocco and I wish we had gone for longer! If you’re not quite ready to tackle Mount Toubkal yet, I’d highly recommend this trip to anyone wanting to hike in the Atlas Mountains.