HOMESTAYemmental. At the co-operative’s centre, you can sample and purchase their products.
‘Food-packaging companies are capitalising on our local produce, and we wanted to prove
we could make better products for a fair price by producing them artisanally’, explains the
collective’s precocious president, Malika el-Ouarkhoumi, who cofounded the collective at age
- ‘At first some people didn’t want their daughters involved, but now there are 12 of us
involved full-time, and since we’ve won an award from Morocco as a model collective, every
family wants to be involved.’
Sleeping & Eating
High Atlas Home $
( 0642 34 56 67; www.highatlashome.com; dm Dh80, adult/child incl half-board
Dh180/150) In a valley dotted with generic gîtes , this historic Berber home is a breath of fresh
mountain air with family-friendly dorms and cosy, comfortable doubles clustered around three
sunny courtyards. Your host family lives in the rear courtyard, and can arrange birdwatching
excursions, treks to hidden petroglyphs and Berber botanical hikes. Meals are served family-
style on cushions in the living room, under a lovingly preserved ceiling painted 50 years ago.
High Atlas Home extends Berber hospitality to guests and neighbours, too: 20% of proceeds
from every stay support a Tikniouine women’s microcredit association, helping local women
launch organic farming cooperatives and crafts collectives.
HIGH ATLAS WILDLIFE
» » Mouflons An endangered mountain sheep with big horns, these shaggy, nimble creatures were brought back from the
brink of extinction in this area, and now have a dedicated reserve in the Toubkal National Park.
» » Moorish geckos These skittish, spotted little creatures with big eyes and splayed toes might be drawn to lamplight at
night or glimpsed dashing across mountain paths, along with tiny striped Iberian wall lizards.
» » Raptors Look up, and you may spot some magnificent golden eagles, lammergeyers (bearded vultures), Egyptian vultures
and golden eagles coasting on a mountain breeze.
» » Wild boars Rare finds; small, bristly bundles of energy making snuffling sounds in the underbrush.
» » Gazelles The sight of corkscrew-horned gazelles gracefully scampering up rocky High Atlas terrain inspires awe, and
possibly a twinge of envy.
» » Endangered snakes Most High Atlas snake species are small and non-threatening, and have more to fear from intruders
than vice versa – larger snakes are trapped by snake-charmers for performances in the Djemaa el-Fna.
» » Painted frogs Brownish spots camouflage them in High Atlas terrain, but you might hear them croaking, or spot them
mating for two hours at a stretch between January and November.TABANT
The heart of the valley in more ways than one, Tabant attracts locals and visitors alike with its
official mountain guide school and bustling regional Sunday souq , with a fresh produce market
along the main street next to the used-donkey sales lot.
The local association runs Tabant girls’ boarding school , a trailblazing school for children