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The 3 Peaks Challenge in Morocco

Tackle 3 summits over 4000m back-to-back on this tough traverse of the High Atlas, including the highest point in North Africa

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Trip Ref #10423

The 3 Peaks Challenge in Morocco

Tackle 3 summits over 4000m back-to-back on this tough traverse of the High Atlas, including the highest point in North Africa

DURATION
4 nights
LOCATION
Morocco
ANNUAL LEAVE
3 days off work
SEASON
May—Oct
GROUP SIZE
Up to 14 people
MEETING POINT
Marrakech Menara Airport
ACCOMMODATION
Classic

Riad · Mountain hut · Traditional riad

OVERALL RATING

4.8

Based on 62 reviews
DIFFICULTY
Challenging

Full days of scenic hiking, loose footing, scrambling and altitude - you'll need a pretty good level of fitness for this one

Scramble to the top of Mt Toubkal (4167m) and the double summits of Mt Ouanoukrim: Timzguida (4089m) and Ras (4083m)

Hike through the Imlil Valley alongside Berber guides and your very own mule train

Stay in a classic Marrakech riad and scenic mountain refuges built in incredible locations

Day 1

Explore Marrakech

Fly into the colourful city of Marrakech and head to your traditional riad in the historic medina. Spend the day exploring the souk and the unforgettable main square/ever-changing show that is the Jemaa el-Fnaa – a place that’s been beguiling and entertaining travellers for centuries. Finish the day with some amazing Moroccan food in a local restaurant.

Day 2

The foothills of the Atlas Mountains

Hiking

6hrs · 10km · 1540m up · 300m down

Wake up early and drive through the foothills of the Atlas Mountains to Imlil, where you'll meet your support crew and start your trek. Gradually ascend the Toubkal Valley, pass Berber farming villages and stop for lunch on the trail. In the afternoon you’ll arrive at the refuge. Settle in, meet other hikers and refuel with a well-earned dinner cooked by your support crew.

Day 3

Bag two peaks in one

Hiking

6-7hrs · 17km · 1000m up · 1000m down

Today you'll climb Mt Toubkal’s sister peaks; the Mt Ouanoukrim (4089m) 'twins', Timzguida (4089m) and Ras (4083m). You'll set off from the refuge and tackle a short scramble to ascend the ridge over the Tizi n Ouagane pass. Mega views to be had from the top as you stand atop the second and third highest peaks in North Africa. You can see all the way across the High Atlas range, including Mt Toubkal, your challenge for tomorrow. Head back to the refuge for a good sleep ahead of the final push.

Day 4

The mighty Mount Toubkal (4167m)

Hiking

10hrs · 17km · 1130m up · 2530m down

Two down, one to go! You'll leave in darkness and climb to the summit of Mt Toubkal (4167m) arriving in time for a beautiful sunrise over the Atlas Mountains and the Sahara Desert. Rest up, bag some epic pics and begin the long descent back to Imlil. You’ll arrive at your riad in the early evening in time to find a restaurant for couscous or a tasty tajine before collapsing into bed.

Day 5

Time to say goodbye

Relax over a last Moroccan breakfast and if you have time, explore the city and the souks some more, before heading back to the airport in time for your flight home.

Included

Guides

Expert, English speaking Berber guides

Accommodation

2 nights in a mountain refuge and 2 nights in a Marrakech riad

Meals

Munch on tasty food throughout

Transfers

To and from the airport and everything in-between

Porterage

Your very own mule train

Not Included

Tips for your guides

Travel insurance

Flights to and from the meeting point

Visas where required

Day 1

Riad · Twin share

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 2 – Day 3

Mountain hut · Mixed dorm

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 4

Traditional riad · Twin share

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

Day 5

Departure day

Breakfast

Lunch

Dinner

What is the food like?

Moroccan food is a unique blend of sweet and savoury flavours. Local specialities include tajines (a stew cooked in an earthenware pot), couscous and pastilles (flaky pastries stuffed with meat and dusted with cinnamon and sugar). Food is often spiced with cumin, turmeric and ginger.

Meals on the trek are fresh, healthy and cooked by your Berber muleteers. Breakfast will usually feature bread, jam, cookies, fruit, juice, coffee and milk; while lunch will feature salad, tomatoes, carrots, lentils, beans, rice or pasta, fish (sardines, tuna) and seasonal fruit. Dinner will usually include soup, a classic Moroccan tajine, couscous, olives, nuts and fruit.

Vegetarians, vegans and other dietary requirements and allergies can be catered for - please just request on your passenger info form.

What is the accommodation like?

Marrakech

You'll stay in a beautiful riad - a traditional Moroccan house with an interior garden or courtyard. The exact riad will be confirmed nearer the time based on availability and group size, however, all are chosen for their excellent reputation, location, beautiful decor and welcoming service.

On the trek

You'll stay in the Mouflons mountain refuge located at 3,207m. Facilities are basic, with bunk-bed dorms, however, there is a fun, social area to relax in the evening and chat with other climbers from all around the world.

Upgrades

For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room can be booked for an extra charge for the nights in Marrakech, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability and they are very limited due to the layout of traditional riads).

The Area

map

Logistics

Starts

Marrakech Airport (RAK)

Arrive any time on Day 1

Ends

Marrakech Airport (RAK)

Leave any time on Day 5

Transfers

Private transfers between the airport and your riad are included for any time you choose to arrive on day 1 and depart on day 5, or if you have booked additional pre or post trip accommodation with your host.

If you are making your own arrangements to extend your stay in Morocco, private transfers between Marrakech airport and Marrakech city are not included but can be arranged with your host for an additional cost. Please see Optional Extras for details.

Travel options

There are daily flights to Marrakech from major airports across the UK and Europe.

Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear

In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.

What's included?

  • Sleeping bag (you can bring your own if you like)

What do I need to bring?

  • Rucksack or duffle bag (carried by mules)
  • Day-pack (carried by you)
  • Waterproof shell jacket
  • Waterproof shell trousers
  • Trekking shorts
  • Trekking trousers
  • Wool/microfleece top
  • Long sleeved light layer tops (2-3)
  • Light base layer leggings/running tights
  • Warm hat and light gloves
  • Trekking socks
  • Lightweight, sturdy trekking boots with ankle support (broken-in)
  • Flipflops/crocs
  • Walking poles
  • Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sun block)
  • Small first aid kit/personal medication
  • Personal toiletries
  • Sanitary supplies (hand sanitiser, toilet paper, wet wipes, and ziplock bags to carry stuff out)
  • Head torch
  • Water bottle (2 x 1L)
  • High energy snacks/drinks
  • Electrolytes/rehydration solutions (especially if travelling during the summer)
  • Travel towel
  • Sleeping bag liner, if desired
  • For April departures, it is likely there will still be snow on the ground, so a set of thermals and an extra fleece/layer will come in handy. Warm gloves and socks will also be well used.
*Requests for optional extras can be made after booking on your “My Bookings” page

Pre/Post Trip Accommodation Double/Twin Room

Payable Before Departure

Pre/Post Trip Accommodation Double/Twin Room

Per Night

Pre/Post Trip Accommodation Single Room

Payable Before Departure

Pre/Post Trip Accommodation Single Room

Per Night

Optional Private Room Upgrade

Payable Before Departure

Optional Private Room Upgrade

Private transfer between Marrakech Airport and Marrakech City (per vehicle)

Payable Before Departure

Private transfer between Marrakech Airport and Marrakech City (per vehicle)

- michael(August 2023)

Excellent mini adventure. All perfectly organised. Be prepared for early morning starts, and aching muscles!

- Joshua Anthony(August 2023)

Truly a brilliant time. A very stress free experience and well worth the money. Was always looked after by the local guides.

- Adrian(August 2023)

A great trip with good laughs and stunning views. Managed to see the peaks at sunrise too! Well organised and the hosts accommodated for my food allergy. Great value for money.

- Lukas(August 2023)

Great organized trip with a good host in the riad and a good mountain guide. Besides the mountains, a highlight of the trip was the food that was served (lots of variety, healthy, plentiful).

- Simon(August 2023)

Stunning scenery and fun friendly guides took us on an epic hike. Beautiful, exhausting and rewarding. Highly recommend!

- Alanda(August 2023)

The group dynamic and our guides (Abdu & Mohammed) were fantastic throughout. The trekking and environment were stunning. The twin peak day was my favourite; heading up in the dark, enjoying the sunrise and clambering along to the third peak. It felt more remote and was a perfect end to the trip (we did it the day after the summit day which was a good decision for our group). In summary, being somewhere new and doing something memorable with wonderful people seems to be what MBA do just right.

- Faris(July 2023)

Great trip with excellent guide and superb sites. It was awesome to do this trip with a small group of us total and I felt the challenge was of a reasonable level.

- Samara(July 2023)

The trip was brilliant overall. The host and guide and every colleague was fantastic and helpful. Mohammad was the mountain guide, he was knowledgable and patient. Mohamad, our cook was also great and flexible. Assia and Yousef and Abdul and Hicham were also great and very helpful. Riad view point was great and comfortable. Ambience and breakfast was delicious and fun.

- Zak(July 2023)

Incredible trip. Challenging but doable with relatively good fitness. The sunrise from Toubkal summit is insane; totally made the 2.30am start worth it! We had a great group dynamic and it was all very well managed by MBA and their local host. Highly recommend this trip for anyone wanting a quick adventure.

- Tyler(July 2023)

My journey to the top of the Atlas Mountains with MBA was a delightful experience. Our guide Hakeem was a master at setting a hiking pace for everyone to be successful AND enjoy the journey. The bonus of getting time in Marrakech before and after the trek made the whole journey to Morocco a great memory.

We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.

What's the number?
It works out on average at 222kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.

The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.

But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:

  • Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
  • A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
  • 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.

What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.

Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.

Full days of scenic hiking, loose footing, altitude - you'll need a fairly good level of fitness for this one. The walking, however, is of a moderate difficulty and relatively straightforward and the views make the journey more than worthwhile!

Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.

Spring and autumn temperatures in Marrakech average 10 - 25 °C, and it rains a small amount roughly 7 days each month. From June to September it gets quite hot in the city, averaging 15 - 35 °C, and it only rains a few days each month. In the height of summer, daytime temperatures in Marrakech have been known to approach 45°C on occasions so please ensure that you come prepared with sun protection, light and airy clothing and electrolytes/rehydration solutions if travelling at this time of year.

In the Atlas Mountains from March to October daytime temperatures average 25 - 30°C but it cools off considerably at night, and the higher you go the colder it gets (you may even need gloves on a summit day in August!) Nighttime temperatures can drop below freezing at and above the mountain refuge. Afternoon storms are always possible, but they are usually quick and generally don’t prevent anyone from enjoying the trek.

View detailed weather for the climb here on Mountain Forecast

Mules will carry your main overnight luggage during the trek and you will need to carry your daypack with your daytime essentials (extra layer, snacks, water etc.). For the welfare of the mules, please ensure your main overnight luggage is in a soft-sided bag and weighs no more than 15kg.

Absolutely! We recognise that you may want to leave some of the kit you bring to Morocco somewhere safe before you start your trek. When you reach Imlil, you will be able to leave any non-essential items you don’t want to take on the hike at your local guide's base there.

Your host works with Muleteers who collaborate with local charity, Spana, (The Society for the Protection of Animals and Nature) on the AMI program (Aid to the Mules of Imlil). The charity provides training, guidance and incentives to mule owners to encourage and support good care for their animals in all aspects of their working lives. The program also provides a monthly clinic which offers free veterinary care to the animals and the distribution of humane tack.

We recommend checking out the country specific information here and also talking to a travel nurse.

For current advice about travelling in Morocco, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.

Tips are not included in the trip cost. These are entirely at your discretion but there is an expectation to tip for good service. Your guide will help with advice however we suggest a minimum of 150 - 200 Dirham per person.

Of course, you are free to tip more or less and the amount should be reflective of your perception of service and quality - a tip is not compulsory and should only be given when you receive excellent service.

Ramadan will take place from 10th March to 8th April 2024. The national holiday of Eid ul-Fitr will follow for 2-3 days. Ramadan is an Islamic festival where the religious do not eat or drink during daylight hours. While this is a really interesting time to travel, especially to witness celebrations where the fast is broken in the evenings, you can expect some business hours will be shortened, alcohol is not permitted during daylight hours and some restaurants will be closed during this festival period. Activities for local people tend to be limited during the day and the nights are very active in cities with lots of different foods being sold and consumed. Ramadan will not affect the inclusions on your trip although you should be aware that dinners will be served after locals break their fast in the evenings.

Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.

Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.

Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.

We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!

We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.

If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.

All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.

You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.

Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.

Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.

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