Mt Toubkal (4167m), Atlas Mountains, Morocco

From Marrakesh, I traveled to the neighbouring Atlas mountains. On the way we stopped at a traditional Berber village. At a roadside stall I bought a 350 million year old fossil, from when the Atlas mountains were buried under the sea.

Traditional Berber village

Mint tea

On the way we stopped for lunch and had traditional mint tea and some kind of bread which you dip in date and almond paste and Argan oil. It was super delicious.

We kept on going until we got to the small mountain village of Imlil. The towns in this area are all Berber - the indigenous people of Morocco. Although the Atlas mountains are in general a dry place, the towns are well irrigated and green, due to the fertile mountain soil.

At 4137m. Mt. Toubkal is the highest mountain in the Atlas mountains, and the second highest on the African continent. Certainly high enough to start feeling the altitude!

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The author en route to the Atlas mountains

Me on the way up

View from the tea house where we had lunch

We stopped at a little mountain store on the way up. I was pretty hungry, but the servings were too generous for me! I also listened to traditional Berber music while I had my lunch. Not an experience that happens every day!

The lodge

A frozen waterfall in Africa! This was just up from a lodge and gives a sense of how cold it was!

As we arrived at the lodge as it was getting cooler. The altitude made things a lot colder and the wind was cold. The lodge itself was very well equipped, and plenty of people were staying there. In winter it gets so much snow it is a ski resort, and it is very affordable for locals, it only costs $5 to ski there per day. I had dinner and went to bed, tucked under as many blankets as I could find. I didn't have much rest because the next morning we were all getting up at 3am.

Peaks of the Atlas mountains

The next morning, bright and early, we bustled awake and headed off up the mountain. It had snowed a bit overnight and there was a lot of wind and it was very cold! We headed on up, a row of bobbing head torches. Towards the summit we could see a bit more in the pre-dawn light. The sun rose just as we reached the summit.  It was amazing to see the sun rise over North Africa. The locals said prayers to Allah and we took our summit photos and headed back downhill quickly. It was freezing cold and the wind was blowing so hard it was hard to stand up straight! 

Me on the summit of Mt Toubkal!

View from the summit

Looking across the Atlas mountains

Snow dusted slopes on the way back down

We headed back down and I went back to Marrakesh. By the evening I was sitting in my colourful hostel drinking mint tea. The next day I caught the train back to Casablanca and also went to the hamman (spa complex) at the mosque. It was very affordable and definitely recommended after any climb of Mt Toubkal.