Follow the Clinton’s Foot Steps To Atlas Mountains | Private & Luxury

Drive from Marrakech to Imlil and trek to Toubkal Refuge via Aremd - the valley of Ait Mizane Imlil. Leaving the city, we head south towards the steep peaks and the plunging valleys of the Toubkal Massif. Crossing the plain of Haouz, we pass by the Berber Saturday market "Souk" in the village of Asni, from where our route begins to climb towards the foothills of the Massif. Below us, the Ghighaia valley stretches far away and small villages cling to the sides of the steep hills as we head towards the village of Imlil. Here, we leave our vehicle, start our trek, in the direction of the Mizane valley, first towards the village of Aremd, then on the sanctuary of Sidi Chamarouch. Built on a moraine spur overlooking the bottom of the valley, Aremd is the largest village in the valley and offers an interesting mix of traditional terraced farming, gites and streets that seem to be permanently crowded with goats and livestock. Continue east and cross the flood plain our road takes us along the mule tracks and up to the high rocky cliffs above the valley. Crossing the river, we finally arrive at the pastoral sanctuary of Sidi Chamarouch. From there, the trail continues to climb regularly, winding and zigzagging to the snow line and the toukbal refuge (3207m), our stop for the night.

About 5-6hrs walking

Early in the morning we start our accent from the summit of Jebel Toukbal, the highest peak in North Africa. Our route takes us to the southern circle, crossing the stream above the refuge, then heading through one of the mountains of many scree fields, where we will have to negotiate a seemingly endless carpet of rocks and boulders . The walk is relatively simple, but the scree and the altitude will make going quite difficult in some parts, however, the views along the way make the trip more than useful. Resting the ridge line, we find ourselves on the plateau, from where it is a short walk from the summit and the views across the surrounding landscape are quite breathtaking. From there there are unrestricted views in all directions, from the plain of Marrakech to the High Atlas in the north and as far south as the Anti-Atlas and the Sahara. Pliny, the great Roman scholar, has already described the High Atlas mountains as "the most fabulous mountains in all of Africa" and from our point of view above the valley, it is easy to understand why. By retracing our steps, we then descend the mountain and return to Imlil before returning to Marrakech.

About 9 hrs walk