Mountain Trekking Tour

Detailed Itinerary

9 Day / 8 Night Tour

Day One: Marrakech
Arrival in Marrakech - a warm welcome awaiting you by your driver / guide at the Menara airport. Transfer to your hotel or Riad where you will be given time to settle in and freshen up. In the evening take an orientation tour with your driver, and witness the carnivalesque public square Djemaa el-Fna come alive at sunset. Overnight

Day Two: Marrakech - Imlil
Today we start with a transfer to Imlil village (1,800 m) important starting point for hiking in the Atlas Mountains. In Imlil we meet our team and once all our baggage is loaded on the mules we start walking towards Tacheddirt village (the highest village in Morocco - 2300 m). We pass by the small village Tamatert and soon the trail begins to rise as we climb up to the pass at Tizi n'Tamatert (2279 m). Once on the top the vast Imenane valley with numerous scattered villages will reveal its beauty to you. We walk on the upper slopes of the valley and later descend to the pretty village of Ouaneskra and continue, for a further half-hour to Tacheddirt, where we stay in local lodge. Hiking time: 5 hours. Overnight

Day Three: Trek
After early breakfast we start our first hard day, when we go all the way up to one of the highest passes in Toubkal area Tizi Likemt (3555 m) passing shepherds with their flocks of sheep and goats. After lunch on the top we trek down to the shelters of Likemnt where we set our camp. 6 to 7 hours walking. / +1255 // - 800 m. Hiking time: 6:30 hour Overnight

Day Four: Trek
We walk along the Ourain river until the Ourain Pass 3100 m. From here we have a very nice view over the villages of Amsouzert and to the south face of Toubkal peak. After a rest we trek down to Amsouzert, where we stay overnight in local Berber house. Hiking time: 6-7 hours. Overnight

Day Five: Trek
Today's hike is shorter and easier. We start south up the valley of the Assif Izli, through many Berber villages until we arrive at Lake Ifni (2295 m) where we'll stop for our picnic in the midst of quiet waters and steep slopes of the looming mountains. Here we set up the camp. You can either stroll around the lakeshore or, according to the season, take a swim in the lake while our evening's meal is being prepared. Hiking time: 4 hours.
Overnight

Day Six: Trek
Summit day! We start early in the morning and ascend Toubkal (4167 m) by the North route. We admire great views of the Anti Atlas and the villages of Armed and Imlil. After some time on the peak we descend the same way to Neltner refuge and spend another night there. Hiking time: 7-8 hours (ascend 4-5 h, descend 2-3 h). Overnight

Day Seven: Trek Marrakech
After late breakfast we trek down to Imlil passing by Shamharouch sanctuary and armed village. Lunch will be served near Armed. From here we have 1 more hour trek down to Imlil. Transfer to Marrakech. Expected arrival at around 17 0’clock. Hiking time: 4 hours 

Day Eight: Marrakech
Explore Marrakesh and enjoy your day exploring the exotic city of Marrakesh with a guided tour, experiencing its beautiful Koutoubia mosque and fabulous central square – Djemma-el-fna. Packed full of colour, spicy aromas, traders, snake charmers and fortune tellers - Djemma-el-fna Square is a feast for all of the senses! Overnight 

Day Nine: Marrakech Airport
Private transfer to airport and assistance with return flight formalities.

Packing List

Luggage
Take a sturdy kit bag in which to store your spare clothing, sleeping bag and equipment. Make sure everything is wrapped in waterproof liners. This will be carried by a mule from Imlil to the mountain hut
Take a 15 - 25L day pack in which to carry provisions for the day. Water and food, sunglasses, camera, jacket/ etc Make sure your rucksack has a waterproof liner

Feet
Boots: a good pair of light weight summer walking boots (or heavy duty approach shoes) will be fine
Socks: take several pairs of standard walking socks and a spare pair of  warm mountaineering socks to be kept in reserve for summit-day. A fresh, dry pair of socks are much warmer than a pair you’ve been wearing for a couple of days
Blister plasters (Compede is best)
Foot powder
Gaiters. Optional, but not really necessary in summer

Legs
A pair of good quality walking trousers, such as the Haglofs Rugged Mountain Pant will do the trick
Shorts are not really acceptable for local religious and cultural reasons, trousers with zipperd-vents will help keep you cool
Waterproof over trousers
Underwear, avoid cotton underwear as this get wet with sweat and chaff. Take two or three pairs made from wicking material

Body
Base layer shirts x 2 (one of which should have long sleeves)
Mid-layer fleece
Heavy outer fleece jacket. Alternatively, it might be worth having a look at one of the one of the new Primaloft insulated jackets (such as a Rab Generator Jacket) as an alternative to a heavy weight fleece. They tend to be warmer and less bulky than the equivalent fleece jacket. They’re windproof and water resistant too
In summer, you will probably be warm enough wearing a base-layer and a mid-weight fleece. However, it is unwise to trek in the mountains without being prepared for cold weather, take a thick fleece too
Gore-Tex Jacket

Hands
A pair of woollen gloves for cooler days
A pair of thermal gloves for summit day

Head
Warm hat
Sunglasses
Sun hat

Other
Head torch and spare batteries – useful for early starts and late finishes (and night time trips to the toilet)
Sun protection (including for lips)
Platypus type drinking system
2 season sleeping bag (good for O deg C), the huts can get cold, even in summer
Wash-bag and toiletries:  antibacterial hand wash (essential), toilet paper, a packet of travel fresh wipes/ baby wipes, soap, toothbrush/ tooth paste, sanitary towels. Don’t forget to take ear plugs in case your hut partner snores!
Trek towel
First aid kit: antiseptic cream, blister plasters, headache tablets, Immodum, rehydration sachets, selection of plasters, throat pastilles (see the Health link for further suggestions).
Trekking poles (optional)
Book
Camera, batteries (make sure you take a spare fully charged battery)
Spare laces
Whistle
Copy of your travel insurance document - compulsory
Passport

Food
We provide good quality meals during the climb, but it’s always a good idea to bring some food of your own. One of the side effects of climbing to high altitude is a loss of appetite, bringing something extra to eat is a good way of making sure you replace the calories you burn. Some suggestions:
Breakfast: Muesli Bars. Porridge sachets with powdered milk/ syrup
Lunch/ Snacks: Biltong, (John West) Tuna Fillets, nuts, salami, sweets.
Evening Meal: 
Wayfarer meals are best (but expensive) because they can be boiled in the bag and make no mess. Anything you can add boiling water to, such as Mug Shots or Pot Noodles, also do the job. Tinned Sardines, relish, spices can also be added to the main meal. Avoid pork - Morocco is a Muslim country and this could cause offence.

Winter/ Autumn
You will need to upgrade some of your summer clothing to cope with harsher winter conditions, you’ll need the sort of equipment that you would use for UK winter conditions hill walking.
Sleeping bag. Take a bag that can cope with –10C. 
Warm layers. Take a couple of extra warmth layers/ mid-weight fleece to wear underneath your main fleece if thing get really cold.
Gloves: A pair of good quality mountain gloves will be needed, something like the Mountain Equipment guide glove. It’s always wise to carry a pair of Dachstien mitts to keep in reserve.
Drinking bottle (Platipus tubes can freeze)
Down Jacket: not essential, but useful for hanging around in the hut/ on the summit.
Boots . Make sure your boots have at least a three-quarter length shank crampons compatibility. Scapa Manta, Scapa Chamoz; Sportiva Nepal or similar.
Crampons: A pair of 10 or 12 point general mountaineering crampons.
Ice Axe. One general mountaineering axe required.
Glacier / Sun Glasses. Vital. Must have strong UV protection with reasonable side protection as well.
Ski Goggles: very useful if the wind picks-up and you have to deal with spin-drift snow conditions.