Morocco · The High Atlas
Marrakech sits at the foot of the High Atlas, and on a clear day you can see the snow on the peaks from a rooftop in the city. An hour and a half later you can be standing among them, in a world of terraced valleys, mud-brick villages and the warm hospitality of the Berber people who have lived here for centuries.
How far you go is up to you. A day trip to the Ourika Valley delivers waterfalls, a river lunch and a first taste of the mountains. With more time, we send you to the trailhead village of Imlil and out on foot, walking from village to village with a guide and a mule for the bags, sleeping in simple gites and sharing mint tea with the families who run them.
For the determined, Mount Toubkal is the prize: at 4,167 meters it is the highest peak in North Africa, a serious but achievable two-day trek. Whatever the distance, this is the Morocco of big skies and quiet trails, a complete change of pace from the medinas below.
