Summit Snow, Desert Trails

Highlights

• Summit of Toubkal (4,167 m) and a 1,000 m ski descent
• Night at the Toubkal refuge
• Four days of mountain biking in the central Atlas
• Barbary macaques and nomad plateaus

Itinerary

1. Day 1

   Marrakech – Imlil – Toubkal refuge

   We leave Marrakech around 8:00 for Imlil (1,750 m), where you meet your guide and muleteers over tea. Then a 6–7 hour walk up the valley, past the Sidi Chamharouch shrine, to the Toubkal refuge for the night.

2. Day 2

   Toubkal summit (4,167 m) and ski descent

   Breakfast at 5:30 and away at 6:00. The route zigzags above the refuge, across snowy scree and between two rocky peaks to the top of North Africa. After the view, you ski 1,000 m back down to the refuge.

3. Day 3

   Imlil – Marrakech – Ait Bougmez (+20 km by bike)

   Down to Imlil and a five-hour drive to the Ait Bougmez valley. In the afternoon, a warm-up ride on the slopes of the M’Goun to Ait Imi. Night in a rural guesthouse.

4. Day 4

   Ait Bougmez – Zaouiat Ahansal (71 km, +1,380 m, −1,700 m)

   Over the Tizi n’Tirghist (2,629 m) and a second pass, then a long, enjoyable descent into the Assamsouq valley and down to the village of Zaouiat Ahansal. Night in a family home.

5. Day 5

   Zaouiat Ahansal – the “Cathedral” (43 km, +840 m, −1,320 m)

   Along the Ahansal river past fortified granaries, then a gradual climb with the ochre cliffs of Taghia behind you and the Mestefrane rock, the “Cathedral”, ahead. A winding descent to Imi n’Ouareg.

6. Day 6

   Cathedral – Anergui valley (37 km, +420 m, −50 m)

   A track cut into the rock climbs gently above the Akhachane gorge, where Barbary macaques live on the cliffs. The ride ends in the Anergui cirque and its fortified villages.

7. Day 7

   Anergui – Imilchil (40 km, +850 m, −100 m)

   A steep path to the ridges, then the high Tingarf plateaus, grazing land of the Ait Abdi nomads, and a trail via Tasraft to Imilchil and its twin lakes.

8. Day 8

   Dades valley – Marrakech

   A rest day by the pool in the Dades valley with a gentle afternoon walk in the oasis, then the drive back to Marrakech.

Timings are a guide. Your guide adapts the pace to the group and the weather.

Route

Starts at Imlil

Photos from this tour