Imlil Day Excursion
If you’ve explored the Marrakech medina and haggled for bargains in the sprawling souk, heard storytellers weave their magic in the Jemaa el Fna Square, and dined al fresco on Moroccan cuisine, it’s time to travel further afield to discover more of the magic of Morocco.
Marrakech sits in the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountains, North Africa’s chain of mountains linking Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
Here, the High Atlas range is cut by the Draa River to the south and Imlil Valley, Ourika Valley, and Zat Valley to the north.
There are lots of excursions to from Marrakech to the Berber valleys of the High Atlas Mountains which are only about a 1-hour drive from the city.
Here are some examples of day tours you can do from Marrakech.
Itinerary
Day 1: Marrakech-Imlil-Toubkal-Achayn
Departure by car (with AC) from Marrakech by 8:30 AM for a scenic 2-hour drive south up the Moulay Brahim Gorges.
You can visit Asni weekly market which is held every Saturday, and venture further to Imlil (1740m), set in the upper level foothills of the Western High Atlas Mountains.
A main trailhead with streams and paths branching out in all directions Imlil is famous for it’s fantastic range of seasonal activities and quaint mountain town charm. Here we shall leave our vehicle to take a welcome glass of mint tea in the village and meet your local guide prior to setting out for a 4km excursion.
We’ll head south to the Berber village of Aroumd (Aremd) (1843m), passing the small towns of Ait Souka, Targa, and Imoula you’ll get a prime view of the Western High Atlas peaks of the Toubkal Massif before us – Jbels Aguelzim (3547m), Aksouâl (3847m) and the Adrar Adj (3122m).
We shall stop at Aroumd to visit the village, built seemingly house upon house on a large hillside overlooking ancient irrigated terraced fields of barley, corn and vegetables and surrounded by almond and walnut trees.
We then carry on for another half an hour to get to our lunch wish will be served among a Berber family in the village of Achayn prior to setting off back down the other side of the valley back to Imlil and our return trip to Marrakech.
More info
Period
Year round
Duration
1 day
Grade
Easy
