The back story
The High Atlas: Imlil, Toubkal and the mountain valleys
Toubkal National Park, the village of Imlil and the kasbah hotels beneath North Africa’s highest summit, about an hour from the city.
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Ralf Steinberger · CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia CommonsToubkal National Park lies between the N’Fiss and Ourika valleys, a few dozen miles from Marrakech, the Moroccan National Tourist Office notes: some 94,000 acres of protected juniper and oak, with eagles overhead and, in some gorges, Barbary macaques. Imlil, 60 km from the city, is the village where the paths begin.
Imlil
Imlil sits beneath the Toubkal massif; Kasbah du Toubkal stands on a hilltop at 1,820 metres, a 15-minute walk above the village, with mules carrying the luggage (the Kasbah’s site).
Toubkal
The climb of Jbel Toubkal (4,167 metres) takes two days with a guide (ONMT; ANIMA).
Photo Credit
Image courtesy of © Erokhin · CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia CommonsOukaïmeden
The high resort of Oukaïmeden has rocky sites and paths for hiking and rock art from the Bronze Age, the tourist office notes.
Walk from Imlil with a local guide, and leave the summit for another trip.
Our advice: carry warm layers in every season; the mountains are much colder than the city.
Why it's on our list
- Imlil
- Toubkal
- Oukaïmeden
Location
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