two days valley trek in the Atlas mountains

After five fab days in a Riad in Marrakesh Medina we were ready for some fresh air and tranquility with some exploring and excercise. This trip gave us all that and more. From the moment we met our guide, Lachen, in Imlil, he was attentive to our needs and set a pace suited to us. Walking through the tranquil mountains was fabulous. The terrain was challenging and bringing walking shoes and suitable clothing was crucial. The night in the burber quest house was chilly, no frills, authentic. Reminded us how lucky we are with all of lives luxuries. The organisation was faultless from the taxi pick up, meeting our guides to the return trip. Mohamed managed our bags on a mule, went ahead and prepared hot food/salads, which were great. The walking up to 2,400m was pretty challenging . . . But that's what we signed up for. Great . Thoroughly recommend this trip.

My teenage son, husband and I did this two-day trek in the Atlas mountains with the guide Abderrahim, accompanied by Mustafa and his hardworking mule (no name) who carried our bags, all the items for making camp and the food for two days (which was delicious). We were picked up at our Riad in Marrakech and driven into the mountains (that was slightly confusing as the driver had very little English and I wasn't entirely clear where the meeting point was - turns out it is in a village called Imlil about an hour's drive outside of Marrakesh). Abderrahim was a fantastic and knowledgeable guide. As an English Lit graduate his English was excellent. He told us about Moroccan history, about the indigenous Amazigh people (and why the term Berber is offensive), we talked about international politics and the cost of living - all why trekking us up and down mountains. He was patient and understood he was dealing with Westerners with a primarily sedentary lifestyle in their everyday lives. I experienced mild symptoms of altitude sickness which was frankly quite scary for me and my family but he handled me and the situation with such clarity and calm. He took charge, calmed me down, told me what to do and in the end I was totally fine. I really appreciated his expertise and easy manner which meant I didn't panic (too much). The walk itself was much harder than me or my family thought it would be (do come prepared with a good pair of trainers or walking shoes and some decent walking gear). It didn't help that we did it in July at the start of a heatwave in Morocco! That was bad luck on our part. it was very hot which made it hot, dusy and arduous at times. My main advice to anyone is that this is pretty serious walking. We covered 35km in two days, so if you haven't done any walking recently, up some hills and dales, you may find this hard work. The description states for all fitness levels, but honestly, I think you have to have a decent level of fitness to do two days. I thought my fitness was ok, but it was tested. That said, I think it was worthwhile doing this for the experience. It was good to get out of the city for a couple of days and see how rural Moroccans live. Life is hard in the mountains. We could see the aftermath of last year's earthquake and the temporary accommodation some people are still living in. The scenery of course was quite spectacular - like being in a Western at times - beautiful views across the Atlas mountains. There are quite different types of terrain you cover in those two days, each mountain seems to have its distinct personality. Unexpectedly, we had some of the best food we have eaten so far during those two days: lovely freshly prepared salads and tagines all made by Mustafa on a camping stove with supplies carried on the back of a mule. Respect. Shout to Mustafa for keeping us fuelled on such tasty food.