The Majestic M\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'Goun Massif Duration: (11 days / 10 nights)
The Ighil M’Goun summit is second only in height to Jbel Toubkal, the highest peak in the Maghreb, yet can be hiked up all year round. The remote and beautiful Aït Bou Guemès Valley gives hill walkers and ramblers a long but easy hike past spectacular gorges, isolated Berber villages and mountain streams towards a non-technical ascent of this sacred snow-covered summit

DAY 1:MARRAKECH –AZILAL – AÏT BOU GUEMES – AGOUTI.
Departure from your hotel around 7 in the morning for a really pleasant drive towards the east, through part of an extensive palmeraie, then between the rocky, sparsely-populated foothills of the Western High Atlas mountains and the more verdant Middle Atlas range to the crenellated pisé-walled market town of Demnate, with its kasbah and ancient Mellah - or Jewish Quarter - and massed olives groves. From here we follow the winding road up past a scattered hill-top collection of agadirs set amidst the almond trees and irrigated fields of Aït Taguella, where we turn up to the verdant natural site of the renowned Cascades d’Ouzzoud.
It has taken us some 3 hours to get here and we alight from our vehicle to stretch our limbs for a walk down through stands of olive and fig trees to the waterfall and small lake. The falls consist of several streams that crash 100m into a pool, causing a shifting rainbow and, with any luck, we’ll get to see troops of the Barbary Ape on the lakeshore before we climb up back to the top to rejoin our vehicle an hour later to continue our drive on to the Middle Atlas village of Azilal (1360m), where we’ll stop for our picnic. We now turn to the south through the Tizi n’Ouâttar into one of the most beautiful and unspoilt of all the Berber valleys in Morocco – the hidden, isolated valley of Aït Bou Guemès, “The Happy Valley.” Stark mountain slopes have given way to terraced irrigated fields of barley, potato and corn, shaded pastures watered by mountain streams, orchards of apple, peach and cherry, all overlooked by interlinked pisé hamlets of the Aït Isha Berber people.
Arriving at the village of Aït Mehammad we now approach the Jbel Azourki (3690m) to turn, at Aït Abbès, towards the south-west down to the village of Agouti (1800m), where we shall dine for the night in our accommodation in a Berber gîte d’étape.

DAY 2: AGOUTI – ABACHKOU – R’GOULT
Today we strike out after an early breakfast on our 5½ hour hike towards the south down along a oued in the beautiful Aït Bou Guemès Valley between fields of wheat, barley and potato, through stands of apple, peach and walnut trees to reach the hamlet of Abachkou in the Agouersif valley after some 3½ hours’ hiking. Here we shall stop for our picnic amongst the nut trees. Refreshed, we continue on south up mule trails for a couple of hours growths of fig, walnut and almond trees, terraced fields of wheat and barley, outcrops of rock and sunblasted boulders, wild fig and prickly pear to set up camp on the outskirts of the hamlet of R’Goult (2100m), which we can visit whilst dinner is being prepared.

DAY 3: R’GOULT – TASSGAIWALT.
After breakfast we strike out for a 3 hour morning hike, passing through the village of R’Goult and fields of barley, wheat and corn to traverse the col (2800m), giving us a splendid vista of forests and mountains to descend down for 2 more hours to our bivvy site at the village of Tassgaiwalt (2500m), where we shall picnic, set up camp for the night and stroll around the village to meet the hardy Berber inhabitants carrying out their daily activities and, certainly, to visit, for about 90 minutes, before it gets too dark, the rarely seen Neolithic etchings in rock, including those of a panther hunt, before returning for our dinner.

DAY 4: TASSGAIWALT – TASSAOUT GORGES – TARGHDITE PLATEAU.
We set out today for another 5 hour hike, now down into the Tassaout Gorges to wade along the river bed for some 4 hours until we reach a narrow couloir. From here we need to be roped together, not a difficult passage but requiring some teamwork, as we ascend for an hour to the Targhdite Plateau (2900m), the grazing lands of the great warriors of the south - the semi-nomadic, fiercely independent Aït Atta tribe, whose black tents dot the countryside - where we’ll meet up with our muleteers who have prepared our picnic for us close to an old mountain hut. We propose a 3 hour round trip hike up to the Targhdite crest (3150m), a little difficult, perhaps, for some, though the challenge is well worth the effort! A warm-up exercise, maybe, for tomorrow’s peak. Otherwise, you may just wish to loll around or walk the surrounding landscape whilst camp is set up and dinner prepared.

DAY 5: TARGHDITE PLATEAU – M’GOUN SUMMIT - OUMLILMTE.
Up today at the crack of dawn for our 4½ hour hike up across hillocks and boulder-strewn terrain to the M’Goun summit and a pause for about 1½ hours for our picnic. The M’Goun Massif is the largest area of land above 3000m, yet is has no really soaring peaks. Even though it boasts of one of the greatest summits in the entire Maghreb, actual ascent to the highest point at 4068m is not really difficult as your mountain guide helps you to avoid the worst of the scree. An obscure, pre-Islamic tribal cult had made this summit a sacred place, and the tradition continues to this day amongst the Aït Imi peoples. The vista up here is amazing, giving us sight of the southern M’goun chain and, on a clear day, to the south, the kasbah village of Skoura, the Jbel Sarhro, the valley of the Roses and Jbel Toubkal. Once refreshed, we set carefully off down some scree to rejoin a mule trail which leads us to the Tizi n’Oumsoud and the Gorges of Oulilmte, where we shall stop by a spring to set up camp (2600m) for the night and enjoy a welcome dinner after some 8½ hours hiking.

DAY 6: OUMLILMT – TIGHERMT N’AÏT AHMED.
An easy 4½ hour hike awaits us today as we set out up through these impressive gorges. For about 15m., we shall need to be roped together as we clamber up the sides, but there’s nothing to fear; it’s relatively easy. For those who don’t wish to take this path, they can follow the winding track up behind the mules to the top. We strike out across sunblasted plains, passing by an ancient, and now uninhabited, once-Jewish village to picnic en route and thence on towards the beginning of the M’Goun Valley to set up camp at our beautiful campsite of Tighermt n’Aït Ahmed (2100m) for our dinner and overnight under some impressive starlit skies.

DAY 7: TIGHERMT N’AÏT AHMED – SKALIA – IMI N’RKT.
This morning we set off down the valley through the occasional fields of barley, corn and potato and alongside the Oued Imgoun, passing by several hamlets set amidst palm, nut and fig trees on both sides of the river until, after some 3¾ hours of steady hiking, we reach the village of Skalia, where we shall picnic on the banks of the river amidst almond trees near some small kasbahs. From here we strike out for a further 3 hours down the riverbed to the village of Imi n’Rkt, where we shall stop for a while to visit some of the Berber women as they weave their colourful and intricately-designed carpets. About 300m outside of this village, our campsite has been set up and our dinner laid out .

DAY 8 : IMI N’RKT – TAGHZOUT – TIGHANIMINE.
Breakfast tucked away, camp struck, we set off further down the riverbed for this day’s 7½ hour hike past prickly pear and agave cactus to enter a wood of red juniper – the close cousin to the cedar – and back down once more to the river to follow its course to the hamlet of Taghzout. We are to cross this river twice before we stop for our picnic at the entrance to the M’Goun Gorges…between the rock faces to step out of the water close to where there’s a man selling tea and wild honey – and Cocal Cola!. Here we’ll put our boots back on to hike down along the river amidst terraced fields of barley to the village of Tighanimine, where we’ll have our dinner and camp on the outskirts for the night between the fig trees.

DAY 9: TIGHANIMINE – AGUERZAKA – IGHERM AQDIM.
Our 6 hour hike today takes us on down for some 3 hours between the soaring cliffs slashed by the winter waters of the Oued M’goun, at times wading through the waters, until we reach the hamlet of Aguerzaka and our picnic spot. Boots back on, we set out further south through the encroaching cliffs, passing by the hamlets of Imi N’Ouagga and Issoumar until we come to the pretty village of Igherm Aqdim with four of its houses resembling an old kasbah. Here we’ll stop for for a visit of about 90 minutes before leaving for our dinner and campsite in the fields just outside the village, with the Jbels Touchar (2559m) and Tadaout (2135m) as our companions.

DAY 10 : IGHERM AQDIM – BOUTGHRAR – AÏT YOUL.
Today, a 7½ hour hike awaits us as we set out for 3 hours towards the east, passing through stands of fig and walnut trees, the occasional apple orchard to the villages of Tizguine and Mglouna. At this latter, we’ll stop to admire the small kasbahs to thence hike the Tamassint Range (1901m), crossing the Assif Imejgane, palm groves, stands of fig and nut trees to enter the smaller gorges of Boutghrar. Once through these spectacular gashes in the dry landscape, we come to the hamlet of Boutghrar where we shall stop nearby for our picnic, surrounded by smaller hamlets and old kasbahs and the ever-welcoming village elders and children – who rarely get to see the ‘nazrene’, or foreigners. Many of these isolated villagers still believe Morocco is still under the rule of the early 20 th. Century French Protectorate. From here we ascend the arid slopes for about two hours before reaching the fortified Berber village of Aït Youl where we shall have dinner and bivouac near the old Glaoui kasbah. Whilst dinner is being prepared, we can take leisurely visit of this still-impressive structure and learn something of its strategic position guarding the old caravan routes from Mauritania to the northern Barbary coast.

DAY 11: AÏT YOUL- DADES GORGE - AÏT BOULMANE - QALÂA’T M’GOUNA - SKOURA - OUARZAZATE - TADART- MARRAKECH.
The end of our hiking has been reached and today, and we set out in our 5½ hour drive back to Marrakech through some absolutely spell-binding countryside. Firstly, we set off towards the south down through the startling Dadès Gorge into what can best be described as ‘Beau Geste’ country, on through to Qalâa’t Mgouna (Citadel of the Mgouna Tribe) where thousands of small, pink roses, first planted by French settlers, are grown to make the rose oil essence - “Eau de Rose” - so beloved of the Berber people. From here we turn towards the west and the magnificent Valley of a 1000 Kasbahs – the Dadès Valley – the harshest and wildest of the southern valleys, which makes the sudden appearance of palmeraies even more dramatic, hemmed in as it is between the Western High Atlas range and Jbel Sarhro. We shall stop to visit the fabulous kasbah of Amerhidil (to be found printed on the current 50 dirham banknote) in the Skoura oasis, where Nature puts on her show of red earth, yellow sand, blue-green waters, green vegetation and brilliant blue sky. We continue along this Valley of the Roses to Ouarzazate, where we’ll stop for lunch before continuing on up along the corkscrewing road through the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka (2260m), down through to Tadert (1650m), the Tizi n’Aït Imgher (1470m) and over the Al Hawuz Plain to the Imperial City of Marrakech - and the end of our services.