Maroc 2017

What about Africa for a change?

We spent six weeks in Morocco, a country at the door step of Europe and full of surprises.

We discovered a great people, medieval medinas and modern cities, Roman ruins, colonial relics and breathtaking landscapes, an interesting mix of tradition and modernity.

Full map of all Maroc 2017 pages

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Thinking of our next destination: Italy and Portugal come to mind, or maybe the time has finally come for a US road trip…

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A Taste of the High Atlas: Imlil and Around

(vero;2018-July-31)

We knew that Morocco is a trekker's paradise. However, we decided against visiting the High Atlas when we planned the trip: we wanted to experience the country as a whole and did not want to overload ourselves with hiking boots, tent or cooking gear. But once on the ground, we could not resist and changed our itinerary to include three days in Imlil, in the middle of the High Atlas, just to have a look… We enjoyed very much what we saw and will definitely come back to that region for the express purpose of trekking.

Some of the photos in this gallery are panoramas. Press F to expand those pictures to their real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through the picture.

On the first day we decided to hike to the Toubkal refuge and down again (1500m altitude difference). Djebel Toubkal is the highest point of northern Africa, culminating at 4167m and is a popular trek which most people do in two days spending a night at the refuge before the final ascent. Going to the refuge is easy and the trail is wide and well trodden. The picture shows the small village of Armoud, 3 km uphill from Imlil.

After Armoud a well-defined mule trail leads to a hamlet with plenty of stalls to accommodate trekkers but also pilgrims visiting the shrine of Sidi Chamharouch (shown on the picture).

Mountain scenery on the way to the refuge.

The trail was easy to follow; spot a few goats grazing the rare grass left in this mineral landscape.

The Toubkal refuge, very busy with many trekkers spending the night there before their planned ascent on the following day. For us it was the end of the road, we took a long break and went back to Imlil.

Looking up in the direction the trekkers have to follow on the way to the summit.

On the way down we met some late trekkers making their way to the refuge.

In Sidi Chamharouch, goats munching on a tree along the trail.

The site of Sidi Chamharouch in the declining sun light.

On our second day, we left Imlil (1740m) to the east and followed the road to the pass of Tizzi n'Tamatert (2279m) and even went a bit further beyond.

This is easy going as we walked on a road and the views are wide-ranging and beautiful. Press F to expand the picture to its real size and use the bottom scroll bar to navigate through it.

Looking down on the village of Tamgaist.

The landscape was colourful with a mix of green, pink and all shades of brown.

An easy way to recognise schools in Morocco: their buildings are (nearly) always painted in pastel colours as is the case in the village of Tamgaist.

Go back to Sunday Souk in Taroudannt or go on to Marrakesh or go up to Photos