The Atlas
Mountains (Morocco)
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mountaineering/trekking/travel webpage
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In the late 70′s and early 80′s the
High Atlas in Morocco was one of my favorite destinations. I did a dozen
trekking trips between the Jebel Toubkal on the west and Imilchil
on the east. Unfortunately, I did not take any photos. I re-discovered
Morocco in 2002 and since then I did several trips. Despite the much larger
number of visitors than in the 70′s, the mountain remains as beautiful
as ever and the hospitability of the Berber people hasn′t changed. Jebel
Toubkal (June 2003) Jebel
Mgoun (October 2003) Jebel
Waougoulzat (June 2004) Taghia-Koucer-Assif-Melloul (September 2005) High
Atlas of Marrakech (June 2006) Tabant-Mgoun-Imejdag-Taghia-Oussikis (June 2008) Traverse
of the East ridge of Jebel Mgoun (July 2010) Ait-Bouguemez Valley to Anmiter
around Jebel Rat (April 2013) Traverse
of Jebel Sahro and central High Atlas
(April-May 2014) From
the Sirwa Massif to the Mountains of Amezmiz (April-May 2016) Maps: Topographic maps covering most of the
interesting areas in Morocco can be downloaded (for free) from the excellent ″Je
me casse au soleil″
website: http://jemecasseausoleil.blogspot.com/2012/08/cartes-du-maroc.html
About
guides and mules: Many treks in the Atlas can be done without
guides or mules. However, over the years I have found that guides and mules
make the treks more enjoyable and certainly much more comfortable. Treks are
then less physically demanding, which makes it possible to explore
alternative routes and do additional hikes in the evenings. Guides and
muleteers also know paths that would be very difficult to find from a map.
They increase safety, especially when confronted to packs of mean dogs. In
addition, using guides and muleteers help the local economy. Fees are usually
very reasonable. |
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I strongly recommend Oumar Oulaїdi, who is a CFAMM (Ait Bouguemez Mountain Training
Center) certified guide, with considerable additional training in France. I have known Oumar
since the early 2000‛s. I have been on several trips with him and he
has helped me arrange the logistics of other trips. He is very friendly and
reliable, with a good sense of humor. He can organize and guide treks in all regions
of Morocco, including the High Atlas Mountains, the Anti-Atlas (Jebel Sahro, Jebel Sirwa, and Tafraoute area), the Sahara desert, and the Atlantic
coast. For individuals and small groups who are only looking for limited
support, he may just provide reliable muleteers. He can arrange logistics,
including riad reservations in Marrakesh and other
cities, and transportation. His family owns a gite
(a kind of guesthouse) in Tabant in the Ait Bouguemez Valley. The
hospitality of the Oulaїdi family is
flawless. Their gite is very comfortable and clean.
It provides hot showers and the food is delicious. Oumar
and his father have created foundations to help preserve Berber culture and
support education in the Atlas. How to contact Oumar: - Email: oumar@treksolidaire.com
(new email address) - Cell: +212-668964561 - Telephone of Oulaїdi
family‛s gite in Tabant:
+212-523459346 - Fax: +212-524373310 |
Some photos of the Oulaїdi family′s gite
in Tabant (the family, the terrace, the view from
the terrace):
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Here
are three photos taken by Oumar near Tabant during the winter of 2015 after a huge snow storm.
Very spectacular! Few people know that so much snow can fall in the mountains
of northern Africa. |
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