Along the High Atlas - Part II

Greetings Everyone,

We've been trekking along the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco with our group of 13 for the past 9 days. We're halfway through our journey just above the village of Telouat with its famous Kasbah. We left our camp on the morning of June 28 and climbed past another village and entered a narrow valley. 

Trekking From Camp

At first I thought it was uninhabited but we saw a woman tending a donkey loaded with thistle. Higher up were herds of yet more sheep and goats. We continued up to the Mahboub Pass at about 7900 feet where we stopped for a break. Across the valley we could see a high peak with zigzags on its slopes from old mining days. 

View From Mahboub Pass

We headed 2000 feet down to the main road between Marrakesh and the Sahara. It's one of two roads that cross the High Atlas. We stopped for lunch nearby. After lunch we had to continue our descent into a canyon below the highway.  We could see "open-air" cow trucks passing high above.

"Open-air" Cow Truck

We traversed narrow side slopes along the canyon until we eventually climbed back up to the Afra Plateau and crossed it to our campsite.

Hiking on the Afra Plateau

People from the nearby village began to arrive for a big soccer game in the field behind our campsite. The soccer match ended around sunset with the home team losing and all the villagers returned home, restoring peace to the plateau.

Our Camp Near the Soccer Field

We got an early start the next morning and headed down a road past the village who lost the soccer match last night. We left the road to enter a narrow canyon and followed a trail which ended on a tarmac road near another village.  We stopped for a cold Coke and a nut break while some of the guys played pool on an old table set up in the next room.

Pool Game on Trek

After descending 1800 feet to get to the low point of our trek at 4400 feet, it was time to climb back up.  We started on the road but veered off onto a trail. We could see our mules heading up on the road.  Our trail eventually led to the same road and we climbed to a small plateau for lunch.  We had to wait for Mohamad to prepare our typical lunch of mixed salad, fish, cheese and lentils.  

Lunch!

Our lunches had become leisurely affairs. After eating we hung out on cushions napping until the Mohamads had finished packing the kitchen and Hamid could help them load the mules.

Post-lunch Nap

When it was time to leave, I had a hard time getting going again.  We followed the road to a high plateau called the Yagour Plateau, the site of ancient petroglyphs. One of them was of a large sun deity worshipped by the Berbers before they were converted to Islam.  It was carved sometime before the birth of Christ.  

Ancient Petroglyph of the Sun

From the petroglyph site we could see that our camp had been set up below.

Our Camp on the Yagour Plateau

Around camp Berber nomads were grazing sheep and goats on the long dry grass of the plateau. 

Berber Shepherds

We left around 6:45 the next morning and headed across the valley past corn and barley fields. The plateau became a bowl and we had to climb over the lip to the high point of the day at 7500 feet. Then it was down past abandoned houses and into a narrow canyon. 

Heading Into the Canyon

We continued down the gorge on a good trail crossing the river past a series of villages. 

Berber Villages

We went all the way down to the Ourika Valley where a tarmac road passed through with the most traffic we've encountered so far. After lunch we watched as Mohamad, our ever resourceful cook, nailed a rear shoe back onto one of our pack mules. 

Fixing a Shoe

As we started our climb out of the valley, a stray dog  followed us. We followed switchedbacks up and up gaining back some of our lost elevation. Near the top we stopped to admire the view of the route we had taken before lunch.

Our Route Down the Green Canyon

We reached the top of the plateau and pressed on along a road until we reached our campsite. 

Our Campsite

We were up just before 5:00 and when I got out of the tent, the stray dog was still hanging around. We were off at 6:30 heading up a trail that rejoined the road.  We could see a village perched on a hillside above but veered away on another road at a junction with a soccer field. We could see the Ourika Valley below. We were supposed to have come up this valley yesterday but the itinerary had been changed to avoid Setti Fadma, a busy spot for both foreign and Moroccan tourists. 

Ourika Valley

We continued on the road all the way to the valley floor and walked through the villages of Tadrart, Anfi and Tiourdiou. 

Village of Tadrart

We hiked up to Timicha for lunch and set off at 1:30 for the final hour and a half climb to camp.  We were now on a trail that hugged the wall of the valley. The stray dog was still with us but finally gave up and stopped following us. We reached the village of Iaabassen and climbed above it to a camping area. We had a great view overlooking the village where women were busy threshing barley.

Threshing Barley at Iaabassen

We left around 6:30 the next morning and climbed steadily up toward the Tizi n'Tacheddirt at around 10,000 feet.  

Hiking Up to Tizi n'Tacheddirt

We had oranges on top of the pass and I felt guilty for throwing the peels on the ground. No worries, the goats came and scarfed them up. 

The Goats Looking for Orange Skins

Now for the fun part, hiking down! We descended 3000 feet to reach the largest village in the High Atlas. 

The Largest Village in the High Atlas

After lunch we "booted up and socks down" for the final push to Ait Souka. We had an easy climb up a road to our second "pass" of the day before heading down to our gite. 

The Gite at Ait Souka

The gite staff served us soup, bread, chicken and veggie tagine for dinner. 

Dinner at the Gite

We left the gite at 6:50 the next morning and started down into the village of Ait Souka. We eventually started to climb passing one more small village before stopping at the big sign at the entrance to Toubkal National Park. 

Entering Toubkal National Park

We hiked up on a good trail pausing frequently to let mules and other trekkers pass.  This region is more visited than any area we trekked in the previous 14 days. We reached the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch, a big rock painted white. Apparently a holy man was enshrined here. The waters coming down from the mountain are said to contain spiritual healing powers. A small mosque had been constructed next door. 

The Shrine of Sidi Chamarouch

We passed a small shop with drinks ingeniously cooled by spring water forced through a perforated plastic bottle.

Cooling the Drinks

The trail gradually contoured up the side of the valley. Finally we could see the Mount Toubkal Refuge and white mess tents in the distance. 

 Mount Toubkal Refuge

As we got closer we could see our red tents set up on the side of a hill. We had to cross a stream and climb up to them. 

Our Mount Toubkal Base Camp

We got up around 4:25 the next morning to get ready for our ascent of Mount Toubkal. The climb was straightforward with a bit of scrambling over rocky bits. 

The Slopes of Mount Toubkal

We reached the summit at 9:15. Surprisingly no one else was there. We enjoyed the view and took photos.

The Summit of Mount Toubkal

We took a different route down from our ascent. It was very steep and slippery with scree. 

Descending on Scree

We passed by the site of a plane crash. Apparently 8 members of the mafia were killed when their plane crashed here in the winter many years ago. 

Airplane Wreckage

Finally we could see camp below. Everyone was happy to be down and remarked how tough the descent was. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt that way.

Returning to Camp

Some of us opted not to do the climb of Ouanoukrim the next morning. We headed down valley around 7:20 taking our time and enjoying the views. The muleteers caught up to us and left Yamine to lead us down. We followed him down valley until the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch came into view where we stopped for a cold drink in one of the shops. Not far below, camp had been set up in a grove of Spanish Juniper trees.

Our Last Camp

Our last dinner in the mess tent was served at 7:00. We had soup, bread, French fries, chicken and veggie tagine.

Last Camp Dinner

After dinner we had our tipping ceremony to thank our wonderful crew for all their hard work these past 18 days! 

Farewell Ceremony

We left camp the last morning around 7:50 and headed down valley past the National Park sign thanking us for our visit.

Exiting Mount Toubkal National Park

We reached Armend and continued down on a dusty trail and entered a cool walnut grove which led to the tourist village of Ait Souka. 

Ait Souka

We reached the end of the trek and stopped for tea at Cafe-Restaurant Bab-imil to wait for our muleteers. Finally our mules arrived and stopped a short distance away to unload. 

Unloading the Mules at Trek End

We said our final goodbyes to the crew and set off for Marrakech arriving around noon. We met in the lobby at 6:00 and took taxis to Hotel Tazi, one of the few establishments in Marrakech to serve alcohol. We sat in a large room with a bar in comfortable cushy chairs and were served our first cold beer in 3 weeks!

First Beer at Hotel Tazi

A waiter convinced us stay for dinner. We moved to a large dining room next door and were served tiny dishes of vegetables: eggplant, potatoes, carrots and cauliflower along with bread. We then had chicken and vegetables cooked in a tagine.  There was plenty of bottled water and wine to drink. It was a fun meal. The waiter kept referring to us as his family. 

Dinner at Hotel Tazi

We were told that belly dancers would perform at 8:30 but none showed up. Curtains were hung over the windows to hide the decadency inside. A lone belly dancer dressed in a costume with large gold wings showed up around 9:00 and came dancing around our table. 

Entertainment at Hotel Tazi

Our time in Morocco had come to an end. We trekked along the High Atlas for a total of 18 days covering almost 200 miles and climbing over 40,000 vertical feet. We got a rare glimpse into the lives of Berber nomads who graze their sheep and goats in the high mountain valleys and plateaus. We visitied old Kasbahs, saw ancient petroglyphs and stayed in welcoming gites. A big thank you to Hamid our trip leader who kept us all safe and happy. We are sincerely grateful to our cook Mohamad for preparing such delicious Moroccan cuisine with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Finally, we wish to thank Mohamad 2 and our muleteers for carrying our gear and setting up each campsite. We couldn't have done this trek without you!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map for the second half of the trek:

Along the High Atlas - Part I

Greetings Everyone,

We're off on another grand adventure! Trekking in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains had been on my to-do list for many years and now we were on our way to Marrakech, Morocco to make this wish a reality. We left home on June 15 and flew to Marrakesh by way of New York City and Lisbon, Portugal. Upon arrival in Marrakech we were met by Hamid, our guide for the trip. We arrived a day ahead of our group and had a little time to explore this vibrant city. One of the main attractions is the Djemaa el-Fna Square and the towering Koutoubia Mosque. Being Ramadan, the square was quiet during the day but after sunset and the call to prayer it came alive with Moroccans eager for a meal after 17 hours of fasting.

Koutoubia Mosque and Djemaa el-Fna Square

The next day we met our group, a multinational mix of folks from England, Wales, Scotland, U.S., France and Chile. We set off from Marrakesh on June 18 for the starting point of our long trek along the High Atlas. We stopped in the Berber town of Azilal. While Hamid was buying supplies we explored the market where everything from vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, clothing and housewares were for sale.

Market Day at Azilal

We were surprised to see White Storks nesting on the minaret of a local mosque. I thought they bred in Europe and spent the winter in Africa. Morocco must be at the southern end of their breeding range.

White Storks at Azilal

For our first night we stayed in a traditional Berber gite or guest house in the tiny village of Iskataffen situated in the Bou Gemmaz Valley. Here people lead a peaceful life growing crops of apples, walnuts, wheat and barley and raising herds of sheep and goats.

The Village of Iskataffen

Early the next morning we were eager to set off on our 18-day trek. We met our trek crew composed of Mohamad our cook, his assistant Mohamad 2, five muleteers: Amgon, Abdoul, Yamine, Ali and Salah and 7 mules. We headed down valley and took a short detour to a Kasbah perched strategically on a hill with a commanding view of the entire Bou Gemmaz valley. 

View of the Bou Gemmaz Valley

Inside the Sidi Mouza Kasbah a Berber man and boy were brewing tea for their foreign guests. As my eyes grew accustomed to the dim light I could see a bag made from goat skin, wool pants made for a very tall man, the wooden butt of a rifle, a grinding stone, lanterns and shoes made from old tires. 

Inside the Sidi Mouza Kasbah

A Kasbah is a small fortress used to protect food from raiding neighbors. This Kasbah is one of the only round ones in this area and is 300-400 years old.

Sidi Mouza Kasbah

We continued down the valley before veering off to the south and up the Arous Valley. We stopped at the last village of Ayt Sayd for lunch. We were entertained by the village kids who were playing in the river, singing songs and blowing whistles. After lunch we followed the Arous canyon stopping briefly at a tea house before making the climb to our first campsite at the seasonal grazing encampment of Azib Ikkis. Our crew had already erected a cook tent, a mess tent and our sleeping tents. We got set up just as a thunderstorm hit the valley.

Our First Campsite at Azib Ikkis

Our second day of trekking took us over 2 passes: Tizi n-Oumskiyk at about 9600 feet and Tizi n-Tarkeddit at 10,700 feet. Far below we could see the Tarkeddit Plateau, our destination for the night and the starting point for our first climbing objective, Jebel Mgoun.

View from the Tizi n-Tarkeddit Pass

We headed down onto the plateau where Berber shepherds were grazing large flocks of sheep and goats. Camp had been set up in the center of the plateau near a refuge that provided hot showers and toilets to trekkers and climbers.

Our Camp on the Tarkeddit Plateau

When we rose early the following morning for our climb, Venus had risen over a crescent moon creating a surreal scene. 

Venus with a Crescent Moon

We headed out in darkness using our headlamps to light the way. We contoured up on switchbacks as the sun rose reaching a plateau before the steep climb to the ridge.  When we reached the long summit ridge we were hit by a fierce wind. I was concerned about being blown off the narrow ridge but we managed to keep our footing. We could see the summit of Mgoun looming ahead, it was not far to go now.

Approaching Mgoun

We arrived at the summit around 9:40 and lingered long enough to enjoy the view and take a group photo. We wanted to be off the ridge long before any anticipated thunderstorms.

Mgoun Summit

We returned to camp 9 hours after we had set off. That night we fell asleep to a cacophony of sounds; barking dogs, tinkling frogs, braying donkeys and bleeting goats and sheep.

We left the plateau the following morning and climbed to a higher plateau called Tizt N'Asdrem where more Berber nomads were living in summer encampments grazing their sheep and goats. We continued to a viewpoint at the edge of the plateau where we could see the village of Tasgarnalte far below surrounded by irrigated fields of wheat, barley and potatoes. The hills were different hues of red, purple and yellow.

Viewpoint Over the Village of Tasgarnalte

After our break we continued steeply down through a broad canyon whose slopes were covered in purple and yellow-flowered scrubs. These were among the only plants to survive the ravenous goats and sheep because I thought they were unpalatable. However Hamid told us that the livestock will eat the flowers but have not grazed this area yet.

Flowering Shrubs 

We switchbacked down slippery scree to an area of massive, ancient juniper trees where we stopped for lunch. After lunch we continued down past village fields of barley that had been planted in March and would soon be ready to harvest. We passed through Tasgarnalte Village and on the other side camp had been set up in the front yard of a local family.

The next morning we continued our trek past Berber villages now connected to the outside world by a new road. The local women were carrying heavy loads of fodder on their backs. After many years of this hard labor many of the older women were permanently bent over.

Heavy Loads of Fodder

We left the road and climbed above the river to the village of Azib n'Ikkis where there was a Kasbah made of stone and wooden beams.

The Kasbah of Azib n'Ikkis

We climbed higher reaching another village called Ichbbakane where we stopped to admire the mosque with its square minaret. Hamid told us that Morocco is the only Islamic country whose minarets are square. In much of the rest of the Islamic world, minarets are round as an artifact of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans never conquered Morocco, hence the square minarets remained. On top of the minaret were three balls representing the three main religions Judaism, Christianity and Islam and their common origin. The crescent moon on the very top points to Mecca. 

The Minaret at Ichbbakane 

We continued our climb until we reached the last house where a barking dog was chained. It's owner stood nearby until we safely passed. From the top we contoured back down to the river which we had to cross to reach our lunch spot. After lunch we recrossed the river and followed the streambed passing a few more villages. Finally after 9 long, hot hours we reached the village of Ait Ali Nitto where we spent the night in Gite D'Etape Assounfou.

The Gite at Ait Ali Nitto

The next morning we followed the road out of town passing a day market where only men were setting up shop.  At the end of the road was the picturesque village of Megdaz.  We climbed above to get a view of the village with its five kasbahs and two mosques, one old and one new with their minarets.

The Village of Megdaz

We continued climbing to Tizi Awrghiz where we got our first view of our second climbing objective Jebel Anghomar. We contoured around the base of a cell tower before heading down to a dry riverbed and walked along it to the village of Tagoukht where we had lunch serenaded by the village boys.

View of Jebel Anghomar from Tizi Awrghiz

After our lunch break we passed back through the village then up once again through a sparse forest of juniper trees. We generally climbed but sometimes had to descend to cross a gully.  Finally we could see camp above but had to cross a deep ravine to reach it. This could be the last night of Ramadan, depending on if the new moon would be seen early the next morning. 

The crew was up at 3:00 AM so Ramadan had not ended. I couldn't imagine trekking all day in the hot sun with nothing to eat or drink but that is what our crew had been doing. We hiked down to a road on the border between the provinces of D'azilal and Ouarzazate. We could see a village and Jebel Anghomar looming above far across the valley. We began a long climb up toward a red plateau which we contoured past. The landscape was rocky and barren, yet sheep and goats are grazed here.  I struggled to keep up with the group as we made our final climb up to Tizi n-Tghaghayt.  We stopped for a break and we could see Lake Tamda far below.  It's one of the only permanent freshwater lakes in the High Atlas.

View of Lake Tamda

We descended to a dry riverbed and followed it toward the lake where four Ruddy Shelducks were bobbing on its surface. 

Ruddy Shelducks

After dinner Hamid told us the climb tomorrow of Jebel Anghomar would be difficult.  Few trek groups tackle the peak and there's no established trail. The route follows a steep gully with rocks.  The descent would be on loose scree. We decided not to go. The rewards didn't outweigh the risks.  

We heard the others get up for breakfast at 5:00 AM in preparation for their climb. Part of me wanted to go with them but I knew my knees and bruised toes could not handle a steep, fast descent. We along with the others not making the climb left camp at 7:00. On the way out we had to be careful not to step on the hundreds of tiny African Green Toads at the edge of the drying pool in front of our tents.  

African Green Toad

We passed the Ounila Stream, our water source, and headed straight down the valley. Once again we hiked through a rocky, barren landscape where the occasional Berber shepherd was tending his flock of sheep and goats. The muleteers and mules finally caught up to us.  One of the mules had cut his leg badly and some in our group helped the muleteers tend his wound. We reached the confluence of a fast flowing stream called Tichkiwiyn. Along its banks grew trees with colorful pink flowers called Common Oleander. 

Common Oleander along Tichkiwiyn

Further down the trail we spotted at least 3 squirrels with stripes scamper up the rocks. They turned out to be Barbary Ground Squirrels, the only squirrels that live in Africa north of the Sahara.

Barbary Ground Squirrel

We continued along the stream until we reached the village of Tighza and our welcoming gite. The rest of the group arrived after lunch tired but happy that they had climbed the peak. 

Tonight the gite staff prepared and served us dinner.  We had soup served with funny wooden ladle-like spoons and chicken and vegetables cooked in a tagine, an earthenware pot.

Tagine

We started trekking around 7:40 the next morning. We hiked through town and left the road to join a trail marked for the Trans-Atlas Marathon (TAM), a race of 280 km. We climbed up to a barren, rocky plateau where even goats and sheep don't graze, then down to a road and veered off to go overland.  There were many small depressions that appeared to have once been filled with water but there were too many to be natural. They turned out to be formed by people mining salt. We continued down to a dry riverbed where lunch had been set up under some poplar trees. After lunch we quickly reached the village of Telouat to visit its famous kasbah. From the outside the structure looked like crumbling mud brick walls but inside were architectural wonders. 

The Kasbah at Telouat

The Kasbah was more than a fort, it was the palace of the El Glaoui family. The head of the family became fabulously wealthy by forcing all the salt caravans from Timbuktu to Marrakesh through his kasbah.  No doubt he charged them a pretty penny to spend the night.  Upstairs were the ornate rooms where the king-like Glaoui elder housed his harem. The walls were adorned with mosaics, painted wooden doors and windows and carved plaster above the tile. 

Inside the Kasbah at Telouat

Unfortunately the people of Telouat don't want UNESCO to restore the Kasbah. We climbed to the roof for a last view of the Kasbah. Thunder was rumbling in the distance so we didn't stay long.

Rooftop View of the Kasbah at Telouat

We left and headed toward irrigated fields above town and arrived at camp about an hour later. After 9 hard days on the trail, we're half way through the trek. We've covered 101 miles, climbed 23,000 vertical feet including Jebel Mgoun, the 3rd highest peak in the range, visited many Berber villages and old kasbahs. Stay tuned to see how we fare during the second half of our trek along the High Atlas!

We hope all is well with everyone.

Peggy and Marc

Our route map: