DARHOTELCAMPING, INN( 0667 41 46 23; [email protected]; per person Dh50) Ideal for families trekking
together, this guesthouse is a new, fully equipped apartment downstairs from the family home
of English-speaking guide Omar Jellah. Through arched doorways is a salon with Jebel Toubkal
views, stucco-edged bedrooms, and an enviable kitchen with new appliances. You can cook
here, or arrange meals (Dh100).
Dar Adrar $
( 070 726809; www.daradrar.com; s/d incl breakfast Dh130/200, with bathroom from
Dh250/300,) Sitting on top of the world across from Armoud, Dar Adrar has simple rooms that
don’t distract from the mountaintop views, an in-house hammam (Dh40) and an excellent
resource in owner and mountain guide Mohamed Aztat.
Hôtel Armed $
( 0524 48 57 45; s/d incl breakfast Dh150/300) Across the valley from Armoud, this hotel-
restaurant offers straightforward rooms with stiff beds, hot showers, help arranging treks, a
panoramic terrace and solid Berber cooking – even local guides eat here.
Camping-Auberge Atlas Toubkal/Chez Omar le Rouge $
( 0524 48 57 50; s/d Dh50/100, camping per person Dh15; ) Hillside camp site with
parking (Dh10) or basic rooms with hard mattresses and communal facilities, including hot
showers (Dh10) and meals (breakfast/tajine Dh20/40).
JEBEL TOUBKAL ASCENT
North Africa’s tallest peak, Jebel Toubkal (4167m), doesn’t require climbing experience. In
summer, anyone in good physical condition can reach the summit. In early October runners of
the Toubkal Marathon (www.toubkaltrail.com) scamper 42km up and down Jebel Toubkal,
with current record times of 7:23 hours set by an Italian woman and 5:39 hours by a local hero
from Imlil. For extreme ultramarathoners, the organisers tacked a 106km High Atlas trail onto
the marathon, calling it the Toubkal Trail .
Although the 3313m ascent from Imlil isn’t technically difficult, challenges include Toubkal’s
notoriously extreme, fast-changing climate, steep slopes of volcanic scree, and altitude
sickness. Hikers should factor in sufficient time to ascend slowly and steadily; for a more
leisurely ascent, camp en route at Sidi Chamharouch. An ascent of Toubkal can be combined
with satellite peaks, and very fit trekkers ascend Ouanoukrim (4088m) as well.
THE TREK AT A GLANCE
Duration two days
Distance 22km
Standard medium to hard
Start/Finish Imlil village
Highest Point Jebel Toubkal (4167m)