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1. day :Marrakech –imi oughlad –tizi n’tachte –tiziane : early
morning departure from marrakech for a pleasante drive south winding
our way up through the moulay brahim gorge and upper valleys to
arrive at the higher foothills of the western high atlas mountains
and our trailhead of imi oughlad (1450m) with the jbel toubkal , at
4167m the highest peak in north africa , aglzim 3650m and aksoual
38847m ,looming before us . here we alight from our vehicle and meet
up with berber muleteer crew . We set off up in north-westerly
direction for a 2hour acclimatisation hike up switchback mule tracks
, passing by cornfields woods pine and juniper to the tiz n’tachete
(2000m),where we shallstop to look back down on the imlikl and ait
oussaden valleys before carrying on for another half hour to imi n’ifri
and our field picnic .thence a slow hike for about 2 and half hours
south-west down along a dirt track to assif n’ ait oussaden and the
red clay
terraced village of tiziane ( 1750 m )for our accommodation in our
bivouac.
2. day :tizziane – tizi n’taghrhourte – D’knt :after breakfast we
now set off on our hike up along the assif n’ait oussaden valley ,
passing through the wallnuts groves , up to tizi n’taghrhourte
(1995m )and through to a rare almost flat strecth to arrive at
assaka spring, where we will stop for our field picnic amidst and
awesome silence after some 2 and half hours relatively easy walking
.our afternoon’s hike takes us down along the edges of the forest
untill we reach the berber village of D’knt (1870m) or agouns n
Assoul where we will have our dinner and spent the ina bivouac .
3. day : D’knt – tizi n’tagdalte – tizi oussem : we set off for our
morning’s 3 hours hike up through groves of walnut trees, fields of
corn and barley to greet the many sheep and goatherders – and women
and children bent over with 20kg loads of faggots and dried herbs.
We traverse the tizi n’tagdalte to the descent amongst the juniper
trees till we come to a small spring set amongst the trees , where
we will stop for our picnic .once refreshed , we are off down
winding tracks of upper slopes for some 3hours to come to a small
river at the beginning of the valley of assif n’ait oussaden . from
here we enter the village of tizi oussem (1850m) then up to the
summer village Of Tamsoult for our camp.
4. day : ÂAZIB TAMSOULT -TIZI AGUELZIM - TOUBKAL REFUGE.
after breakfast, we now set out eastwards on a moderately difficult
hike up winding mule tracks to the Tizi Aguelzim (3550m) , thence a
further 3 hours south-east to the Toubkal Refuge which marks the
spring snowline at 3207m, where we shall have our dinner, in bivouac
around the Refuge.
5. day : TOUBKAL REFUGE - SUMMIT JBEL TOUBKAL- SIDI CHAMHAROUCH -
Imlil - Marrakech
A very early breakfast to set out around 6am., to attain, after a
three hour steep climb, the highest peak in the Maghreb (4167m). The
panorama from here is simply stunning. Whenever you are ready, we
shall take the Ikkhibi Sud or South Cirque for a straightforward -
with your guide - 2 to 3 hour descent back to the Refuge for a
picnic.
After lunch We shall now set off towards the north along steeply
descending, zigzagging trails of the higher slopes of the Valley of
the Assif n'Isouhouanem n'Ouagounss towards the Shrine of Sidi
Chamharouch. Set beside a waterfall, There is a pilgrimage
'marabout' shrine here, probably the remnant of a pre-Islamic
culture, but forbidden to non-Muslims. another 2hours downhill will
allow to get to the village of Imlil from where most of the treks
start prior to take the taxi back to Marrakech.
Other alternatives :
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