Trekking in the Atlas Mountains was my second Much Better Adventure. I am a solo traveller on these trips, as my wife now prefers slightly less energetic holidays for us – so the adventures are perfect for me. I love the outdoors, and have been walking in the hills and mountains ever since I was a teenager (I'm now 60). The adventure was to be four days of walking from Imi Oughlad to Imlil, stopping overnight at mountain gites in Tziane, Tizgui and Tizi Oussem.
On arrival day, our group met up on the sunny roof top terrace of our amazing riad in Marrakech. We had only known each other only for a few hours, but we could already tell that we had loads in common, with lots of laughing together, and a shared passion for hiking and adventure. The sun was setting and the excitement was building as we were all arriving, and messages on the group WhatsApp (“Hi all, just landed – looking forward to meeting you all!”) were coming in at an ever increasing pace (“We’re all up on the roof at the riad,” we replied excitedly).
Our group was quite international, and we had a real mix of backgrounds. The full group comprised two couples, two friends travelling together, and eight solo travellers – a great mix. We had an age range from 26 to 70, and I think it was great to have this range of ages – it meant we all had different perspectives on things. I was neither the youngest nor the oldest (just!).
Our first day of hiking saw us cover 12km to Tiziane. At our rest stop we could see the amazing views from the modest height that we had already gained. I was actually glad of the pause, as I realised that I was out of breath already and slightly concerned as to my fitness for the rest of the three days ahead – but then I realised it was not the uphill climb making me breathless, it was because I was talking so much to my fellow travellers. Once I balanced my walking and my chatting better then everything was fine, and the metres of elevation gain just kept clocking up (nearly) effortlessly.
Lunches were always much looked forward to by us all. We marvelled at how Ibrahim, our cook, was able to set off after us, overtake us, carry everything he needed with the help of two mules, set up camp and then prepare and cook such delicious, fresh, amazingly presented food for 14 people. Tagines, pastas, salads, fruits and mountains of Moroccan bread would be dished up and enjoyed by all – and refreshing mint tea, of course.
It was great to have this range of ages – it meant we all had different perspectives on things.
I was fascinated when we came into a village at the end of a long day's walk. The people and children were so friendly and would wave to us as we walked past their homes, which seemed to be built into the rock.
The man in Tizgui village shop was very happy for his photo to be taken, and a few of our group bought some rather strange sweets, some unfeasibly bright fizzy drink and local crisps – we ate most of it, but we all agreed that the items had some unusual tastes. We always knew when we must be getting near to our gite, as we could often see the little yellow van that was carrying our kit parked on a track – a first sign that we would soon be relaxing and enjoying afternoon tea after a long day's walk.
In fact, sitting on the roof of our gites in the fading afternoon sun after a long days walk become a real thing to look forward to and enjoy – simple pleasures meant a lot to us on this trek. We didn’t really care what facilities the gites had after a few days, provided they had a terrace in the sun and amazing views. Ibrahim and our guide, Hussein, would bring us mint tea, water and some sort of lovely snack for afternoon tea. We could chat about the day's walk and the amazing things we had seen, or just read a book and take in the views.
On a few mornings I would wake early, while still dark, and the rooftop was a great place to go to just sit on my own and watch the stars, with the peace being broken by the 5am call to prayer.
I found the natural and man-made landscapes of the Atlas Mountains to be fascinating and breathtaking. Hussein would explain the various features to us: the small white flecks of quartz in the rock; the vivid blue or green colours streaks being due to copper; the terracing of the hills to help with water retention; how the locals would take turns to irrigate their own particular parcels of land and crops; and what was growing – wheat, cherry blossom, apple blossom, and iris.
Our walks would start early, normally before 8am, to get most of the climbing done before the heat of the midday sun. This gave stunning views and contrasts as the sun would start to peer out from above a distant mountain range and bathe the hills in bright sunlight, picking out features in the contours not noticed before.
It also gave us a welcome burst of heat, as early mornings at elevation could be a bit chilly. Although, the days would keep heating up, and the afternoon descents could get quite hot – resulting in us applying ever increasing amounts of sun-screen.
The walking was at a very leisurely pace – I preferred being at the back, so that I could keep stopping to admire the views and take photos at my leisure, with the group stretching out into the landscape unfolding ahead.
The trek was a great opportunity to chat away about anything and everything. It was so dynamic, with so much going on to occupy your senses – and lots of laughter. At other times, you could just wander in your own little world and enjoy the solitude of the beautiful mountains, valleys and pastures.
On our last day, before we reached Imil to return to Marrakech, we had spent much of the morning climbing up to 2,500m (8,200ft) pass at Tizi h’Mzik, with about 1,000m of climbing. At the top, there was a man selling freshly squeezed orange juice which was too good to resist. I drank my juice while chatting away to Hussein and he pointed out all the villages below, around Imlil, to where we were heading. This was also just before our three days of glorious weather and sunshine would soon break.
As forecast, a weather front started to come in during early afternoon, just as we were descending from Tizi h’Mzik. There were phenomenal winds coming down, but no-one really minded – we had been so lucky with the weather for the whole trip. Hussein dished out our lunch in record time, keen to get back before the rain got worse. We still had a few miles left, and we were going to see a waterfall just outside Imlil. It was raining heavily by now – but that didn’t stop two brave women in our group from taking a dip in the pool below the waterfall.
When we got back to Marrakech, the weather had returned to brilliant sunshine and we had a great farewell evening meal at the riad, with a pre-dinner drink on a rooftop terrace. After breakfast the next day, there were some sad goodbyes, but we’ve all kept in touch upon our return, and our WhatsApp group still pings back into life every now again with thoughts and news from our group.
Feeling inspired? Check out the route that Ian hiked, or browse all our trips in Morocco's Atlas Mountains.