Central Atlas (April 2014) -- Part 1: From Qalaat Mgouna to Assif Imejdag

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Map.

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(Trek itinerary is in red dotted line. Big red dots labeled by numbers designate night camps.)

 

Old adobe houses and kasbahs in Qalaat Mgouna near our campsite #8. The roses of this region of Morocco (right) are famous.

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The same houses as above at sunrise.

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From Qalaat Mgouna to the village of Igherm Aqdim, for two days, we hiked along Assif Mgoun. We had to ford it many times.

 

Village of Ait Hammou ou-Yahya.

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Unusual rock formations and textures between Ait Hammou ou-Yahya and Timstiguit.

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In the village of Timstiguit.

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Between Bou Taghrar (near which we put our camp #9) and Tamgallouna.

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Remains of an old water canal along Assif Mgoun.

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Tamgallouna.

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Igherm Aqdim. We stopped in this village, the last one for quite a while, to buy some food for the following days.

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At Igherm Aqdim we left the green valley of Assif Mgoun and we headed east for a while. The change of scenery was immediate and dramatic.

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We then followed the dry riverbed of Assif Imejgane. This path is a traditional route used by many Ait Atta nomads from Jebel Sahro to move with their animals to the cooler Atlas in April until September. As a young child, Ahmed (with the red-white turban on the photo below) did that trip many times with his parents. The relatively recent well in this photo was built especially to provide reliable water to the nomads.

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Along the riverbed of Assif Imejgane there are many man-made caves used as temporary shelters by the nomads on their way up and down. Some caves are quite large.

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We establish our camp #10 at one of these caves. I put my tent outside, but Ichou and Ahmed slept inside the cave.

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View toward the north at Tizi n′Toudat. The two small white dots in the valley on the right of the photo are nomad camps.

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At the water source below Tizi n′Toudat, with an Ait Atta woman and her son filling water bottles.

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Small side canyons before reaching Assif Amejdag.

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Views and interesting textures along Assif Amejdag. See here for photos that I took along Assif Amejdag during another trek in 2008.

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Click on the following links to see photos of other sections of the trip:

- Jebel Sahro, Part 1: from n′Ouarg Valley to Tizi n′Tagourt,

- Jebel Sahro, Part 2: from Tizi n′Tagourt to Qalaat Mgouna,

- Central Atlas, Part 2: from Assif Imejdag to Zawyat Ahancal.

 

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