CAFE, GUESTHOUSEHOSTELwho will ply you with her legendary seasonal couscous dishes, including wild mushroom.
Simple, sunny whitewashed guest rooms with colourful wedding bedspreads and shared
bathrooms are downstairs.
Hôtel Asgaour $
( 0666 41 64 19; 3-person tr shared/private bathroom Dh150/100) Basic but airy, clean
rooms with lumpy pillows and hot showers (Dh5) upstairs, plus a restaurant downstairs serving
bubbling, well-caramelised tajines (Dh50 to Dh60).
From Oulmes to Setti Fatima, both sides of the river are dotted with rustic cafe-restaurants
offering tajines priced to move, though some on the east riverbank are accessed by dodgy
rope-and-plank bridges. Two of the better choices in Setti Fatma proper are Café-Restaurant
Imlil (on left side near the parking at the end of town), and Café-Restaurant Azrrabzou
(opposite the river) over a plank bridge in a patch of almond trees. Both offer set meals with
salad, tajine/kebabs and bottled water for Dh50 to Dh60, or large Dh50 tajines to satisfy two
famished trekkers.
Information
Bureau des Guides ( /fax 0524 42 61 13) Located 200m beyond the Hôtel Asgaour. Offers
advice on treks to Imlil ( Click here ), east to Tourcht, north to Imi-n-Taddert, to Anammer and
Tiz n’Oucheg in the Aït Oucheg Valley, and from the Yaggour Plateau into the Zat Valley.
Pharmacy Asgaour ( 10am-8pm) A helpful pharmacist with a good selection of first aid,
medicine and women’s products.
OUKAÏMEDEN
Best known as Morocco’s ski resort, Oukaïmeden (elevation 2650m, 75km from Marrakesh) is
also a High Atlas trekking destination, with outer-space landscapes, ancient petroglyphs, and
alpine wildflowers in spring; Club Alpin Français (CAF) can point you towards trailheads.
In snow season, skiers will find seven ski runs from nursery to black, six tows, and the
highest ski lift in Africa (3243m). Gear, passes and lessons are available in town at prices that
will delight skiers used to European and American rates. Peak season has historically been late
January to March, but in recent years snow has been scarce by March. When snow is low on
the slopes, skiers can cross-country ski here or ‘snowboard’ the dunes in Merzouga (Click
here ).
Long before snow bunnies arrived, there was a high-altitude civilisation in Oukaïmeden. A
sign points toward petroglyphs on the right side of road as you enter town. For a modest tip
(Dh10) a local guide can help you locate six different enigmatic symbols carved into the rock
face: a hunter, bull, dagger, human, a mysterious circle thought to represent feminine power,
and an animal that looks like a deer but is believed to be an elephant.
Sleeping & Eating
CAF refuge €
( 0524 31 90 36; www.caf-maroc.com; dm CAF or HI members/nonmembers Dh69/110, hot
showers Dh5; ) Offers heated dormitories (four to eight beds per room), a bar-restaurant
(breakfast/dish/meal Dh22/60/80, beer Dh15 to Dh32, wine Dh65 to Dh120), a well-equipped