They picked us up in Marrakech (8 am), took us to Imlil where we got a nice breakfast. Then , our amazing guide AbdulRaheem took us to the refugee at 3100 meters. The trip there was amazing and he was very kind and accommodating of my mediocre level of fitness (by allowing for breaks and walking slowly). We slept at the refuge and woke up at 04:00am to climb to the top. Very tough but amazing views and very worthwhile.
Once again, highly recommended!
Day 1: I was picked up at a hotel in Marrakesh on time... read more and driven to Imlil where I was met by a rep of the company and my first day guide Abdul. Abdul, a very friendly young man, took me to a hotel and after dropping off bags (and having a cuppa), we were off to a nearby peak of 2500m. I loved our very brisk hike as it was a great workout, but we also stopped a few times to enjoy the beauty of the around us and to take pics. Abdul was great at taking best pics and videos. Very instagramable)))... at the end of the walk we were back to Imlil, I had a great lunch (best tagine in my life) at a local restaurant/hotel. It was awesome!
Day 2: in the morning, on time, after having a lovely breakfast I met with another goer and a guide, Hassan. Even though Hassan didn't speak English, his open and warm personality was just fantastic, so we quickly set up great channels of communication. Over the course of 2 days, neither I, nor another goer had any issues with not understanding Hassan... and that even though we didn't speak any one language in common. Hassan took us to a refuge (at 3000m), clearly walking slower than he could have, probably evaluating our fitness level, but also allowing us to stop and rest or to enjoy the scenery. We made to a refuge in a good time, had a dinner and set up for an early night. Refuge was busy, in our room there were 16 tourists in total, so it got quite warm and, in hindsight, sleeping bag was probably not absolutely necessary.
Day 3: we got up at 2:30am and the breakfast was already waiting for us thanks to care of Hassan. We quickly had a bite, packed bags, put crampons on (they were absolutely necessary), got our lights on and stares hiking up to the top of Toubkal. Even though both I and the other goer had a high altitude pills taking with our breakfast, around 1/3 into the hike we both felt light symptoms of the altitude (finger tips got anaemic), but with additional intake of water, the symptom has dissipated. By 6:30 we made to the top, right in time for the sunrise. I cannot describe the feeling, the beauty of early morning mountains... they have to be seen... we spent good 45 minutes enjoying views, taking pictures and videos and then started a descent, by a different route. Hassan offered us to hike on another peak and I was up for it, but as I was a part of the team, I went on with the other hiker's decision. Nevertheless, the climb down was challenging enough on its own, but also very interesting as Hassan told us a few interesting stories while on the way down and even showed us remnants of a helicopter which crashed there many years ago! At some point we had to put crampons back on again as walking down a glacier was challenging. We arrived back to Imlil at around 13:45, had lunch at a small local place, had a few more pics near a waterfall and then we were driven back to Marrakesh.
To summarise, the adventure was worth every penny spent on it. Abdul and, especially, Hassan made it happen. They are my heroes! Thank you guys!!!
At first I dint think I could do... read more it because I’m 11 years old but now I’m proud to have done it!
All of the team were super friendly all the way, helping with some missing kit (head-torches a must!), making sure we got to the summit as a whole family, cooking delicious food at every meal and making sure we enjoyed every momenteven the last push to the summit.
If you want to climb Toubkal or hike in the surrounding mountains then Atlas Guided Treks is your best bet for sure!
Everything felt... read more easy from our intial conversation via email and what's app to our request at the end of our hike for him to arrange for the the bag with our hiking gear to be delivered to the airport, when we fly home, 10 days after we finish our time with his company.
We were picked up from the airport (2 hrs flight delayed) and taken to a comfortable riad in Imihil with pool surrounded by cherry trees in aromatic blossom with a view up to the snow capped peak of Toubkal.
We set off after breakfast to walk to base camp. Then woke early the next morning to climb Toubkal and returned to a comfortable guest house in Aroumd.
Our guides, another Hassan and Ibrahim were friendly, respectful, capable and flexible. They went beyond our expectations to make our time together enjoyable and memorable. On hearing it was my birthday on the way up to base camp Hassan arranged for a cake to be made and delivered (no small feat). It was a joyful surprise to be sung happy birthday in Berber.
I felt very grateful for Ibrahim's generosity lending me his crampons when mine didn't fit and his warmer gloves when my fingers turned blue.
Both Hassan and Ibrahim are knowledgable, discreet and attentive. Without their encouragement our 11 year old daughter would not have made it to the top. We always felt in safe hands and their local reputation was evident by the friendly greetings they received every step of the way.
The food was plentiful and tasty, credit to the travelling chef, and the mule handlers were helpful and kind.
Somehow all of this was provided for less than the cost of the air flights from London.
Thank you Hassan for your grace and hospitality. You create wonderful experiences for so many people. I feel so grateful to have benefitted and look forward to returning, inshallah.
I summited Toubkal with the awesome Sabir - who looked after me the whole way, without ever being overbearing. He was just lovely and I don’t think I could have made it to the top without him.
Book with these guys. You won’t regret it.
He was recommended by a friend and certainly lived up to the high praise. ... read more We had wanted an authentic tour and we were not disappointed.
He was very knowledgeable and talked to us about the history of the Berber people as well as the environmental side of the Atlas Mountains. He was clearly loved and known (he is in fact a local) by the people in the villages we walked through and all the places we stopped knew him well.
The walk itself was not too taxing and we extended it slightly taking a zigzag route up the mountain. Having visited the highest Berber village for tea, we walked a circular route around to lunch at Hassan’s Aunt’s house where we were served THE BEST Tagine of the entire break in Marrakesh!
The whole day was exactly what we had hoped for and I couldn’t recommend Hassan and Toubkal Ascent/Atlas Guided Treks more!!
The day from Marrakech included transfer to / from mountains
A visit to Argan... read more oil community
Wonderful 2 hour trek through Berber villages and mountain
Fantastic traditional lunch in a local home.
Hassan looked after my friend and I wonderfully. He couldn’t have been kinder or more helpful, explaining the history and culture of Berbers.
This was a very lovely, personal experience.
All the arrangements went like clockwork and Hassan was a lovely, generous host. This is our second trip with Hassan and we highly recommend him, we will certainly be booking more trips with him again in the future.
Hassan organised a fantastic action packed 5 day vacation visiting the highlights of Morocco with perfect timing. We were met at the airport and taken to a lovely village Imlil in the heart of the Atlas Mountain and the start of the Mount Toubkal Ascent. We met our trek guide also called Hassan with a traditional tea and started walking along a winding path passed various fruit trees then higher onto a lunch stop in a small village with lovely tasting fresh salads. We continued through rocky landscape being overtaken by colourful Mules laden with hikers backpacks. We finished day1 at a very comfortable refuge somewhere around 3000m with tea and delicious warming dinner.
Day2 - Summit day started very early with a energy building breakfast then we walked approximately half way up where we were provided with crampons and continued slowly to the summit and were rewarded with incredible views. From 4200m approx we could see across the Atlas Mountains and beyond onto the desert. We then descended to Imlil stopping for breaks and lunch.
Hassan was incredible looking after my relatively inexperienced children. Helping them through the steep sections and pacing them appropriately. We were in very competent hands.
Day3 we started the desert tour. We drove through a high pass then descended the other side of the Atlas across a range of desert-scapes
Some of the highlights were (forgive my spelling) Ksar Ait Ben Heddou an unmissable village, Argan nuts, the lush vallley of the roses, spectacular Dades valley and gorges. Stopping for a comfortable night in a hotel perched on the side of a mountain with lovely views.
Day4 started with another tasty breakfast on a sunny Veranda. We then visited an impressive gorge before heading into the heart of the Merzouga desert. We had a quick dip before finding our camels which carried us effortlessly through the dunes to an impressive and lovely camp. We stopped to take photos of the setting Sun. Our huge tents had showers and wc. We had fun in the sand on snowboards ! The evening finished with a lovely dinner followed by traditional music sitting around a fire on cushions.
Day5 We woke early and rode our camels back through the sands stopping for photos as the sun rose. We had a breakfast, a quick dip in a pool then we drove back along the route and returned to Marrakech.
Hassan organised trips, excursions, food and accommodation all with that lovely balance of comfort and tradition.
Thank you for a very memorable vacation which we’ll treasure forever