Morocco's Atlas Mountains - Imlil

After the manic activity of Marrakesh, we were ready for a little time out in nature and headed to the Atlas Mountains for a few days. 

We chose the little town of Imlil, the starting point to ascend the rather stunning Toukbal Mountain, which is the highest in Northern Africa.(We didn't have time to try and ascent, but it was tempting!) The road trip only took about an hour and half and we arrived outside the small neighbourhood that housed our riad. Like all things ancient in Morocco, there was no getting to the hotel without walking a narrow winding path.

Imlil (and, indeed, most of Morocco) hadn't seen rain for several months, so the dirt paths were little more than dusty slides. We made it to the riad without incident (Mohammed carrying our two suitcases) and were pleasantly surprised to find a comfortable, well positioned hotel waiting for us. The terrace had stunning views of the mountains we'd come to explore.

Chillin' on the terrace of our riad

The first day we hiked up to the waterfalls near the town. The altitude only affected us slightly, even though we'd been away from Cuenca for a while. The falls were lovely and we can't quite decide whether the enterprising man with his orange juice stand marred or improved the setting.

Of course, along the route were vendors selling all the traditional Moroccan wares. We're lucky we got away from the country without having our entire house carpeted.

On day two we decided to tackle one of the nearby peaks (Douar, I believe). We hiked through the village and a pine forest, before hitting the barren slopes of the peak. The dust was at least an inch deep and was scattered with scree. Going up wasn't all that bad, despite me gasping at the altitude and steep incline. The views at the peak were stunning and our guide, Mohammed, offered to take us up a more technically challenging peak next door, once we'd had our lunch. Of course, we couldn't resist, even though my legs were starting to feel like jelly after the weeks of inactivity. Hard scrabbling over rock face, we made it to the peak and had sweeping views of both the plains that headed to Marrakesh, the soaring peak of Toukbal and the town of Imlil. 

I think the most surprising thing, on arriving in the mountains, was that the leaves were changing. Of  course, it was November, but I hadn't anticipated signs of autumn in Morocco, for some reason. You could feel it in the air, though and once the sun was down there was a decided chill. The temperatures might have also accounted for the unnaturally blue sky. Sometimes, we'd look up past the mountains and the sky looked fake, but it wasn't. The azure was almost blinding in the depth of its blueness.

Mt Toubkal

Mohammed and Danica checking out Imlil

The descent was brutal, I confess. The dust was like walking on ice and I fell several times, taking some skin off my palm and landing on butt. I managed to slip my way down the mountain, exhausted by the effort. Ron's shiny black boots looked matte brown by the time we reached the riad. If you decide to hike in the dry season, I'd recommend poles, which I don't normally use, but they would have come in handy there.

We had our final dinner in Morocco, enjoying a simple cous cous and packed our bags in preparation for the long journey home.

Some final thoughts on Morocco: it's apparent to me, that the women really do have a choice about how they dress. We saw very traditionally dressed girls hanging out with Western dressed girls, non-traditional parents with girls in scarves. No heavy judgement, which is pretty cool. If you don't like mint tea, Morocco probably isn't for you, it's also known as Moroccan whiskey, as alcohol isn't widely available. Ironically, if you go somewhere that alcohol is available, they think you're quite mad when you order a non-alcoholic beverage. They're almost proud to be able to provide something that they feel you might be deprived of. The final thing of interest is their use of "you're welcome", they mean it literally...you are welcome (in our country, in my establishment), but it does take getting used to. "Where are you from?" "Canada" "You are welcome."  Quirky and charming. Go at least once and enjoy the madness, hospitality and incredible history.