Places to stay in High Atlas – Trekking

A good places to stay in High Atlas for trekking is the Club Alpin Français (CAF) Refuge right on the village square. It offers dormitory-style accommo- dation for Dr20 (members), Dr30 (HI members) and Dr40 (non-members). It also has a common room with an open fireplace, cooking facilities (Dr5 for use of gas), cut- lery and crockery. It’s possible to pitch a tent here, too.

Bookings for refuges (huts) further up can no longer be made from here, but in- stead must go through the CAF ( 270090; fax 297292), BP 6178, Casablanca 01, or through CAF, BP 888, Marrakesh. This could be awkward in summer without lots of forward planning, so you might have to be prepared to sleep out. However, guides and local people are often more than will- ing to put you up for about what you would pay in the refuges.

The Oukaïmeden, Toubkal and Taza- ghart (Lépiney) refuges cost Dr26 (CAF members), Dr39 (HI members) and Dr52 (non-members). Prices at the Tacheddirt refuge are the same as the Imlil refuge. You need your own bedding.

Back in Imlil, there are several other ac- commodation options. The best deal is the Hôtel L’Aine, which charges Dr30 per per- son in quite comfortable and bright rooms. It’s the first place you pass on your right as you enter the village, and has a pleasant tea- room stacked with all sorts of ancient books. Some of the rooms are set around a small garden, and you can sit up on the roof for some private sunbathing. There is a hot shared shower and basic meals are avail- able.

Refuge Toubkal Places to stay in High Atlas – Trekking mountains

Near the Hôtel L’Aine, the Café Tafraout (390653 in Marrakesh) has rooms with shared hot shower for Dr30/60. They also have a small, basically equipped house to rent which costs Dr400 for up to 10 people. The Café Aksoual, on the main street virtu- ally opposite the CAF, has fairly basic rooms for Dr25. The showers are cold.

On the little square is the Café Soleil (319209 in Asni), now rebuilt after being washed away in the floods of August 1995. Pleasant basic rooms with shower and small balcony cost Dr40/70. One room that sleeps four costs Dr25 per person. There’s a ter- race downstairs and a good restaurant where you can eat well for about Dr30.

A little further up the main street is the Hôtel Étoile du Toubkal ( 435663; fax 435682) which has clean but still fairly basic rooms for Dr110 to Dr300 (Dr20 less in the low season). There are hot showers. They can change money and have a restau- rant offering a set menu for 70 DH and main courses of Moroccan fare for Dr40 to Dr50.

A 30 minute walk south of Imlil is the village of Aroumd, which is surrounded by extensive orchards and terraced fields. Accommodation options here include vil- lage rooms and the French-run Atlas Gîte (449105 in Marrakesh) where double rooms with bathroom cost around 60 DH per person. The French cooking here is said to be excellent.

4×4 Marrakech excursion , a small Morrocan agency which specialises in walking, biking, bird- watching and school field-studies trips, has restored the kasbah which overlooks Imlil and the valley. The kasbah has simple but comfortable rooms with shared hot shower starting at around 50 DH per person.

For information and bookings contact Thami at the Hôtel Foucauld in Marrakesh (445499; fax 441344). It may be possible to camp upstream from Aroumd, but you must ask permission first. Many local peo- ple in Imlil and the surrounding villages will be happy to put you up in their homes, but set prices in advance to avoid misun- derstandings afterwards.

Places to Eat in High Atlas – Trekking

Apart from the hotels and cafes already mentioned (they all do food and in the mountain air it all tastes fantastic) there are a couple of hole-in-the-wall places along

the main street of the village where you can a couple of hole-in-the-wall places along order tajines, salads, omelettes and so on Wherever you go to eat, it’s best to order your meals a couple of hours in advance.

There’s also a bakery in the village and quite a few small grocery shops well stocked with basic goods such as dried fruit, nuts, olive oil, instant coffee, tins of sar- dines, processed cheese, powdered milk and biscuits. You can buy cigarettes in the vil- lage, but not alcohol.

You’ll need to carry food with you when trekking, so you can either stock up here, or in Marrakesh where provisions will be cheaper and more plentiful. You may be able to buy bread, eggs and vegetables in villages further afield, but don’t count on it. Water taken out of mountainside streams should be treated with purification tablets.