Marrakech and the Atlas Mountains

Marrakech doesn’t just assault your senses. It picks them up, puts them over its shoulder and spins them around and around until they beg for mercy. Ok, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but from the moment you first enter the Medina, or old city, it’s hard not to feel a little overwhelmed.

The Djemaa el Fna, one of the oldest and busiest squares in Africa, explodes with colour, noise and exotic aromas. This huge square is surrounded by restaurants, cafes and the labyrinth of narrow streets and alleyways that is the famous souk. It serves as a 24 hour market place, outdoor eatery, musical funfair and circus all in one.

Snake charmers fight acrobats and dancers for your attention. Musicians battle it out with story tellers to be heard above the incredible din. Thick, barbecue scented smoke fills the air, with each stall holder proclaiming the unrivalled quality of their food.

The best way to enjoy this incredible square is to get away from it. My advice is to find your way through the pandemonium to one of the several rooftop cafes that overlook the action. Things really get into full swing around dusk so find yourself a good spot and enjoy the show.

Once you’re ready to throw yourself back into the fray, a stroll to the north of the square brings you to the souk, the largest traditional market in Morocco. If you have come to Morocco in search of bargains, this is the place for you. Be prepared to haggle though, it’s almost considered rude not to. A maze of alleyways and archways, it is easy to get lost in here, absorbing the staggering array of goods on offer. Spice stalls jostle with mobile phone shops, the old and new sitting comfortably together in a microcosm of modern day Morocco.

There are several places to stay within the walls of the old city but we chose a hotel in the new city, where the majority of the people who visit Marrakech stay. Whilst the Medina is unmistakably African, the new city has a much more continental feel. I stayed at the Hotel Andalus which is a decent if somewhat tired hotel. It still represents good value for money and has a huge outdoor pool; a great place to top up the tan during the day before taking on the town in the evening.

Our next destination lay around a hundred kilometres to the south and then quite a few thousand metres up. Marrakech sits in the foothills of the snow capped Atlas Mountains, which offer some world class trekking. The High Atlas are less than an hour’s drive away, the loftiest of these being Jebel Toubkal. Standing at just under 4200 metres, it’s the highest peak in North Africa.

I’d recommend pre-booking a trekking tour as this will definately save you time and hassle. Also by booking with a reputable tour operator, better safety standards should apply. One option is to do a group tour in Morocco . If you prefer to travel independently, check out Travel Nation’s sister company website : www.moroccotravelplan.co.uk. Either way, by pre-booking, you leave much less to chance and can just get on with the business of lacing up your best walking shoes and enjoying the stunning scenery!

The cool mountain air and solitude (we saw two other tourist groups in four days!) felt like the perfect antedote to the heat and intensity of Marrakech. The tour started in the small mountain village of Asni and slowly wound it’s way to the town of Imlil, the starting point for the ascent of Jebel Toubkal. The scenery was spectacular; steep, lush valleys framed by snow capped peaks in the distance.

En route, the days settled into an agreeable routine of early starts, fuelled by copious amounts of sweet mint tea. Nights were spent in small Berber villages, which were generally just a collection of very simple stone houses where mules and chickens outnumber people at least ten to one! Lie ins were not an option – the pre dawn Islamic call to prayer, echoing and reverberating through the valley, meaning it was impossible not to be awake before sunrise.

A few days later we found ourselves in the touristy town of Imlil. Suitably acclimatised, I felt ready to take on the mountain. Until the cloud cover cleared that is, and I saw it towering monstrously above. The path from here to Jebel Toubkal is a well trodden one, but still a real challenge. The scenery from Imlil to Toubkal refuge, at an altitude of around 3200 metres the last place to stop before attempting the summit, becomes much harsher and starker. Before even making it to the refuge, we were tramping through ankle deep snow. My concern grew as it dawned on me that our guide, Ali, hadn’t been joking when he’d said we’d need crampons to make it to the top!

The less said about Toubkal refuge the better. Unless you enjoy sharing a room with a dozen snoring strangers, it’s probably not somewhere you would choose to stay under other circumstances.

We were on our way well before dawn, this time to try and beat the rush and make it to the top while the sun was still rising. It was an arduous climb and with snow and ice under foot most of the way up, would have been very treachorous without crampons and a good guide. Two and a half lung bursting, calf crunching hours later we made it to the top, with not another soul in sight.

As the sun climbed above the horizon, the desolate mountain sides shimmered in a hazy glow. Beyond the jagged peaks it was possible to see the vast expanse of the Sahara desert to the south. The complete stillness was breathtaking. Until an excitable group arrived five minutes later, whooping and high fiving each other loudly enough to start an avalanche. Somehow resisting the urge to throw the nearest one off the top, I prepared myself for the long trudge back to Imlil and the end of a week that would live long in the memory.

Footnote: I visited Morocco in May. You can visit all year round but the best times to go are Spring and Autumn. A stop in Morocco can easily be accomodated on some of the more expensive round the world tickets (that tend to to take in other more ‘exotic’ destinations as well). A stop in Morocco on a round the world ticket can be best fitted in between Europe and either Africa or Latin South America.

Footnote: I visited Morocco in May. You can visit all year round but the best times to go are Spring and Autumn. A stop in Morocco can easily be accomodated on some of the more expensive round the world tickets (that tend to to take in other more ‘exotic’ destinations as well). A stop in Morocco on a round the world ticket can be best fitted in between Europe and either Africa or Latin South America.

Example itinerary:
LONDON HEATHROW – MARRAKECH (via Madrid) – RIO DE JANEIRO (via Madrid) – surface – SAO PAULO – LIMA – surface – QUITO – SANTIAGO – AUCKLAND – surface – CHRISTCHURCH – MELBOURNE – surface – SYDNEY – MANILA – HONG KONG – KATHMANDU – LONDON HEATHROW (via Hong Kong) is approximately £2600 inclusive of all pre payable taxes and fuel surcharges.