Morocco trekking holiday, Marrakech & coast
Description of Morocco trekking holiday, Marrakech & coast
Enjoy a stay at one of the most prestigious accommodations in Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains. This kasbah – once the summer home of a local chieftain – has been sensitively restored to become a luxurious traditional hotel, surrounded by a wealth of excellent trekking routes. Plus, as it’s tailor made, you can combine your Morocco trekking holiday with Marrakech and Essaouira, to appreciate the charms of mountains, city, and coast.
Your mountain hotel has been built up from ruins to offer comfortable accommodation that’s all about rustic simplicity. The kasbah sits at the heart of its local community – all guests pay a small tourism levy that has been used to pay for everything from a village school to a hammam and an ambulance. But perhaps most significantly, your holiday contributes to a superb educational charity that enables girls from remote mountain communities to continue their schooling beyond their primary years.
The kasbah is surrounded with excellent walking trails that range in challenge. So whether you want an easygoing morning trek through little villages, or a full-day trek at higher elevations, it’s entirely up to you. And there’s no need to worry about route maps, as you’ll be accompanied throughout by a local Berber guide. Born and raised in the area, your guides offer a fantastic introduction to Berber culture, and life in the mountains.
A highlight of many trips is an overnight stay in an isolated trekking lodge, which you’ll reach with the help of a mule carrying your bags and supplies. The lodge has its own hammam attached, ideal for soothing your muscles before another meal of hearty Moroccan mountain fare.
Following your stay in the Atlas Mountains you can continue on to Marrakech, or the port city of Essaouira on Morocco’s Atlantic coast. Or both, if you prefer! You’ll travel by private transfer (Marrakech is just 90 minutes from the kasbah), and stay in luxury riads, which are traditional Moroccan houses with interior courtyards or gardens. Spend a few days exploring the ancient medina of Marrakech, or pretty Essaouira with its white-painted houses and small souk.
This Morocco trekking holiday with Marrakech and Essaouira is a fantastic opportunity to enjoy stunning mountain landscapes, vibrant city life and the pleasures of a relaxed coastal community, all while staying in a series of delightful and memorable hotels.
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1 Reviews of Morocco trekking holiday, Marrakech & coast
Reviewed on 16 Apr 2023 by Ali Dennis
1. What was the most memorable or exciting part of your holiday?
All of it! A fabulous country with such a huge range of things to experience, with warm and friendly people, amazing sights , sounds colours, smells and FOOD!
Very well planned and arranged by the tour operator and the Kasbah.
A great location for teenage kids.
We encompassed Trekking, the desert, the beach and Marrakech and it was such a fabulous mix of experiences.
2. What tips would you give other travellers booking this holiday?
Stay in the Kasbah du Toubkal, its a really special place. Take the advice of Kerrie and Gilly about where to go and where to stay as they really know the country and have great partners they work with in Morocco, the guides and drivers were so helpful and we really enjoyed spending time with them and learning about their culture and lives. We also trekked to the Kasbah's trekking lodge and stayed there which was remote and wonderful, I think one of the most peaceful places I have ever visited.
Essaouria was a lovely chilled Moroccan beach resort, the Dar L'Oussia was an amazingly located Riad, in the Medina but right by the beach and port, and such a pleasure to stay in, the staff were again so helpful and friendly.
3. Did you feel that your holiday benefited local people, reduced environmental impacts or supported conservation?
Definitely. All the guides and locals in Imlil knew the Kasbah and a lot of peoples livelihoods were supported by it. But the most special aspect is the support it gives to 'Education for all' which is a charity that supports education and boarding houses at senior schools in Asni for girls in the local community. These girls didn't used to be able to get this education as it was too difficult for them to travel. The local people were incredibly grateful for the jobs the Kasbah created and particularly the support it gave to educating their children.
4. Finally, how would you rate your holiday overall?
10/10. We absolutely loved it!
Responsible Travel
Planet
1. Village labourers used traditional building techniques and local materials in its construction, with everything having to be carried in by hand or on the backs of mules. Power tools could not be used, as electricity didn't arrive in this remote region until 1997.Perched on imposing outcrop 1,800 metres above sea level, the kasbah crowns Imlil Valley with its population of around 5,000 mostly subsistence farmers, whose own fields and walnut, cherry and apple orchards flourish below.
2. Trying to reduce plastic waste. Please help us to make this a reality.
As in many countries, Morocco has a waste disposal problem which here in the inhabited Toubkal National Park can be more noticeable. Rubbish, particularly plastic rubbish, that does not decompose, is one of the main culprits.
Accordingly we are trying to reduce the use of plastic bottles at the Kasbah, as we believe these are unnecessary. We are in the very privileged situation of having safe spring water as our water supply, so we are instigating a new system at the Kasbah based on 2 of the R’s, Reduce and Rethink in relation to plastic water bottles.
Our ultimate aim is that we and our guests will not be a source of plastic water bottle waste. We believe this is possible, as we have a source of safe drinking water and hence bottled water serves no useful purpose.
A NOTE ABOUT ANIMAL WELFARE: We work closely with “SPANA” a British charity working for the Protection of Animals abroad.
We only use mules whether ours or hired in that are in good health have Spana bits, are loaded with 60 to 80 kg of baggage and muleteers are discouraged/banned from riding when the mules are loaded. We worked with Spana to produce this website www.imlilvalley.com and associated pdf brochure for use by everyone involved in tourism to encourage good practice in several area’s of sustainable tourism including mule welfare.
People
1. Education for All Morocco Limited EfAM is a charity established in 2006 by Discover Ltd and other friends in Marrakech. EfAM was set up to build boarding houses near to secondary schools in Morocco, providing accommodation and care to girls from remote mountain communities in the High Atlas mountains, enabling them to further their education through the Moroccan state system. Primary education in Morocco is compulsory and readily available to both boys and girls between 7 and 14 years old. However, it is unusual for girls in the High Atlas mountains to continue their education beyond primary level. This is because the nearest secondary school may be over 20km away, and impractical to travel to each day. Many families do not have the financial resources to support their daughters through secondary education. Those that do may lack a family network near to a secondary school to whom they can entrust their daughter. Girls from these communities deserve the opportunity to continue their education.“We believe that if you educate a girl, you begin to educate the next generation.”
Education for All and Discover Ltd organise community work and service projects through which you and your students can make an essential contribution to our ongoing work in Morocco. We have already built 3 boarding houses, which between them accommodate over 100 girls. Through fund raising and practical community work or service projects.
2. All our invoices will incur a 5% charge this is in favour of the local Village Association “Association des Bassins d’Imlil” and Education For All. The Association Bassins d’Imlil covers the whole of the surrounding valleys. This association provides the ambulance that you see in Imlil which provides a service to the local population and visitors, other community projects that have been undertaken include the rubbish clearance system and the provision of the village Hammam. Education For All helps provide college education for girls from the rural High Atlas.
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