Hiking Morocco: The High Atlas Mountains

Your opportunity to meet your CEO and fellow travellers, and learn more about your tour. Opt to join the group for a local meal afterwards. Don't forget to see the notice in the lobby (or ask reception) for the official time and place to meet up with the group.

Enjoy a visit to the local Silver Market in the town of Tiznit, on Morocco's western coast. This bustling market feature artisans crafting detailed jewelry pieces using traditional methods. Watch the process and ask questions to your CEO as the demonstration continues. Tiznit is also home to a historic medina enclosed by 19th-century ramparts and the town is full of narrow alleys and traditional Moroccan houses adorned with colourful tiles and ornate doors.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.There will be a lunch stop along the way at a souk where there will be many options to choose from.

Spend time on your own in Tiznit and explore the nature-lover's paradise. Hike along some of the nearby trails gain a true sense of the western Moroccan countryside where it just about meets the ocean.

Travel inland today via private vehicle between Tiznit and Icht. There will be stops along the way.

Visit the village of Kerdous in the serene environment of the Anti-Atlas Mountains. Then begin the hike to the Amtoudi granaries and village itself and experience the Berber ways of storage.

Sit back and relax as you enjoy the ride by private bus from Icht to the desert landscape pf Zagora. There will be stops along the way and plenty of time to find a place to eat lunch on your own in the charming town of Foum Zguid.

After arriving to Zagora the group will walk through the desert landscape for about 2 hrs before having some welcome tea while enjoying a Moroccan sunset. Dinner will be had back at camp with the whole group and then you'll have a bonfire under the stars.

Hold on and enjoy a ride on this even-toed ungulate, also known as the desert horse. Bring your camera for some fantastic photos of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Enjoy a welcome with dates and milk from your host family and learn more about Moroccan sweets and dry fruits. Afterwards, begin the cooking demonstration for the regional dishes of Medfouna and Tajin, and take part in the steps to create a delicious traditional meal for everyone to try.

Sit back and scan the scenery from the comfort of your private vehicle between Zagora and Aït Ben Haddou. There will be a stop in Ouarzazate along the way where you will have time for lunch on your own.

Explore the UNESCO World Heritage site and kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou, tne most famous ksar in the Ounila Valley, located in the foothills of the southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains. Of all the remaining kasbahs in Morocco, the walls and interior of this area are the most intact. It's a collective grouping of dwellings inside defensive walls and was once one of the many trading posts on the route linking Sudan to Marrakech. The kasbah still houses a few families, but many now live in the adjacent village. Like many of the earthen built fortresses in Ouarzazate, Aït Ben Haddou has been used in many film and television productions like Gladiator, Babel, and Game of Thrones.

Sit back and enjoy the drive between Aït Ben Haddou and Aït Bouguemez with a stop along the way for a hike.

Hike to the “door to the cave” or Imi n’fri in the local Berber dialect. This natural rock bridge was formed by the collapse of an underground cave system. Hike for about an hour and half total and take in this impressive natural phenomenon from above and below, where the Wadi Méhasseur flows between the sheer, vertical rock walls. Walk down the steps to the cave and perhaps take a dip in the cold waters for a quick refreshing swim.

Enjoy free time in the beautiful valley setting of Aït Bouguemez on your own in the late afternoon and evening.

The Aït Bouguemez valley is enclosed by the towering High Atlas Mountains and a beautiful patchwork of fields stretched across the banks of a river. All throughout those fields are Berber villages continuing a traditional way of life. Walk through the valley on this hike and climb a nearby hill to visit the collective granary and learn a bit about the history of the structure and how the local villages utilized it to protect their harvests.

Settle in and scan the scenery from the convenience of a private vehicle.

On the way back to Marrakech the group will stop at the Akrich Project for a visit and to learn more about the work this G Adventures-supported initiative is doing to support the local community and preserve cultural heritage. First see the organic tree nursery started alongside a historic Jewish cemetery as well as the Aboghlo Women's Cooperative to have lunch and talk with the women who are gaining financial independence here as part of the community. We were to accompany an American visitor, Morton Strauss, to two locations – Akrich, where a HAF organic tree nursery was started in 2012 alongside an historic Jewish cemetery, and the Aboghlo Women’s Cooperative, a HAF partner in the Ourika valley.