A closer look at the route
This is the Toubkal massif taken slowly and from the inside. Rather than driving to the trailhead and pushing straight for the top, you start low at Tassa Ouirgane (1,500m) and walk the length of the Azzaden valley — small oak forests, terraced barley and wheat, apple and walnut trees, and villages where the mule is still the only way in. Each night the camp is pitched a little higher, until the ridge line finally opens out.
From the Tamsoulte shepherds' huts you climb to Tizekert (2,500m), then over the Aguelzim pass (3,450m) with the whole ring of four-thousanders in view, before the summit day itself. The descent runs down through the pilgrimage hamlet of Sidi Chamarouch and Aremd to Mazik, where Dar Mazik and a long dinner are waiting. Four to eight hours of walking a day, camping and gîtes, and a genuinely remote route for most of the week.
Arrival in Marrakech
Welcome at Marrakech airport and transfer to your hotel. Route briefing with your guide over dinner, and overnight in the city.
Marrakech → Tassa Ouirgane → Tiziane
Minibus to Tassa Ouirgane (1,500m). Meet the mule team and walk up the Azzaden valley through small oak forests to Azerfsane village, then on to Tiziane (1,800m). Bivouac. 5 hrs, +300m.
Tiziane → Azibe Tizekert
Through a string of Berber villages with terraced fields, apple and walnut trees. Reach Tizi-Oussem, follow the winding path to the Tamsoulte shepherds' huts, then climb steadily to Tizekert (2,500m). Bivouac. +700m.
Tizekert → Toubkal Refuge
Walk to the Lepiney refuge below the Tazararte couloirs, then take the steep path to the Aguelzim pass (3,450m), face to face with Toubkal and the surrounding 4,000m peaks. Descend to the Toubkal refuge (3,207m). 6 hrs, +950m / −250m.
Summit of Toubkal (4,167m)
The climb to the highest point in North Africa, with panoramic views over the Siroua massif, M'goun, Ouarzazate and the neighbouring peaks. Long descent to the bivouac below Mouzares. 8 hrs, +960m / −1,167m.
Down to Mazik village
Descend through the pilgrimage hamlet of Sidi Chamarouch to Aremd, the first village of the Aït Mizane valley, and continue to Mazik. Dinner and overnight at the gîte. 5 hrs, −1,200m.
Mazik → Asni souk → Marrakech
Breakfast at Dar Mazik, then a 30-minute walk down to Imlil and the minibus to Asni for the weekly market. Continue to Marrakech, hotel, dinner and overnight.
Departure
Transfer to the airport and assistance with departure formalities.
Included
Certified mountain guide (English / French)
Cook, muleteers and mules
Camping equipment and mess tent
Accommodation in bivouac, gîte and hotel
Full board (all meals)
All transfers by private minibus
Not included
International flights
Travel & repatriation insurance
Drinks and personal expenses
Sleeping bag and personal equipment
Tips