Long Berber Villages Trip
4 Days Trip
A longer, more in-depth exploration of Berber culture and the beauty of Morocco
Itinerary
Day 1: Marrakech - Imi oughlad - Tizi n’tachte - Tiziane
We will start our journey with an early morning departure from Marrakech for a pleasant drive south, winding our way up through the Moulay Brahim gorge and upper valleys to arrive at the higher foothills of the western High Atlas Mountains. Our trailhead of Imi Oughlad (1450m) with the Jbel Toubkal, at 4167m the highest peak in north Africa, Aglzim 3650m and Aksoual 3884m, looming before us.
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Here, we exit our vehicle and meet up with the Berber muleteer crew, always a fun part of our treks.
We set off towards the north-west for a 2hour acclimatization hike up switchback mule tracks, passing by cornfields, woods of pine and juniper trees, to the Tiz N’tachete (2000m), where we shall stop to look back down on the Imlil and Ait Oussaden valleys. Afterwards, we will carry on for another half hour to Imi N’ifri and our field picnic.
Then, a slow hike down for about 2 and half hours south-west along a dirt track to Assif n’ ait Oussaden and the red clay terraced village of Tiziane (1750m) for our accommodation in our Gite D’etape or Bivouac.
Day 2: Tizziane - Tizi n’Taghrhourte - D’knt
After breakfast we set off on our hike up along the Assif n’ait Oussaden valley, passing through the walnut groves, up to Tizi n’Taghrhourte (1995m) and through a rare, almost flat stretch to arrive at Assaka spring, where we will stop for our field picnic amidst an awesome silence after some 2 and half hours of relatively easy walking.
Our afternoon’s hike takes us down along the edges of the forest until we reach the Berber village of D’knt (1870m) where we will have our dinner and spend the night in a family’s home or in a Bivouac.
Day 3: Dknt - Tizi n’Tagdalte - Tizi Oussem
We set off for our morning 3 hours hike up through groves of walnut trees, fields of corn and barley to greet the many sheep and goat herders, as well as women and children bent over with 20kg loads of dates and dried herbs.
We traverse the Tizi n’Tagdalte to the descent amongst the juniper trees until we come to a small spring set amongst the trees, where we will stop for our picnic.
Once refreshed, we hike down winding tracks of upper slopes for around 3 hours to come to a small river at the beginning of the valley of Assif Nait Oussaden. From here we enter the village of Tizi Oussem (1850m) for our dinner and accommodation in a mountain Gite d’etape.
Day 4: Tizi Oussem - Tizi Mzzik - Imlil - Back to Marrakech
After breakfast, we go up through pine and juniper trees to travel the Tizi Mzzik (2450m) and descend slowly to the foot of the col just before the hamlet of M’zzik where we stop for our field picnic amidst orchards of cherry, apple and nut trees and the surrounding peaks.
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This afternoon, we set off down to the Berber trail on the way to the village of Imlil where we end our trek.
What is Included:
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Transfers from and to your hotel
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English, French speaking Berber tour leader
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Accommodation
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Mules to carry your luggage during days of the trek
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Kitchen equipment
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Cook who prepares all the meals during the trek
What is Not Included:
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Soft drink (water...)
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Personal travel insurance