High Atlas Trek: Western Valleys to Imlil & Back | 5 Days | Remote Berber Valleys — Five Passes — Toubkal Views
5 Days/ 4 Nights
This five-day High Atlas circuit is a journey through a Morocco that most visitors never reach: a quiet world of ancient walnut groves, seasonal shepherd camps, red clay Berber villages and high passes where the silence is broken only by the wind and the distant bells of a goat herd moving between pastures. Beginning at the western foothills of Imi Oughlad with the great peaks of the Toubkal massif filling the horizon, the route threads south and west through three of the most remote valleys in the Atlas before crossing the famous Tizi Mzzik pass into Imlil on Day 4.
The final day completes the circuit in style: a grand loop from Imlil over two further passes, through almond orchards and Berber hamlets, with Jbel Oukaïmeden presiding over an extraordinary mountain panorama, before the road carries you back to Marrakech. Five days. Five passes. An experience of the High Atlas that goes far beyond the ordinary.
Highlights
- Begin with an acclimatisation climb through pine and juniper above Imi Oughlad, crossing the Tizi n'Tachte (2,000m) with views back over the Imlil and Aït Oussaden valleys
- Follow the remote Assif n'Aït Oussaden valley through walnut groves to the Tizi n'Tagrhourte, with a field picnic beside the high Assaka spring in extraordinary mountain silence
- Trek through Berber highland communities on Day 3, meeting shepherds and goatherds at altitude, crossing the Tizi n'Tagdalte into the village of Tizi Oussem
- Cross the celebrated Tizi Mzzik pass (2,500m) on Day 4 for sweeping panoramas of the Toubkal massif before descending into Imlil — the legendary trailhead of North Africa's highest peak
- Complete the circuit on Day 5 with a grand loop over the Tizi n'Tamatert and Tizi n'Aguerssiouâl passes, through almond and walnut groves and the beautiful Imnane Valley
- Stand at the picnic viewpoint above Amssakrou with Jbel Oukaïmeden (3,268m) rising dramatically overhead and three distinct mountain passes visible in a single panorama
There is a particular quality of remoteness to the western valleys of the High Atlas that sets them apart from the better-known approaches to Toubkal. These are working landscapes: the mule tracks exist not for trekkers but for the families who use them every day, carrying firewood and grain between their stone villages and their high summer pastures. Walking these trails in the company of a skilled local guide means entering these communities as a respectful guest rather than a passing tourist — sharing a greeting with a shepherd, pausing while a laden donkey navigates the same path, watching women with twenty-kilogram loads of dried herbs descend from the high slopes with a strength and purpose that puts most trekkers to shame.
The first three days build through the Assif n'Aït Oussaden system — a sequence of valleys, passes and villages that few visitors ever see — before the route climbs to the Tizi n'Tagdalte and drops into the world of Tizi Oussem and the summer settlement of Tamsoult above it. Day 4 brings the most celebrated moment of the trek: the Tizi Mzzik pass at 2,500 metres, the highest point of the circuit and the gateway to Imlil. From the top, the whole Ait Mizan Valley opens below and the great peaks of Toubkal, Aglzim and Aksoual fill the eastern sky. It is one of the great viewpoints in the western Atlas.
The final day is, in the view of many trekkers, the finest of the five. Beginning in Imlil and heading east into the Tamatert Valley, the route crosses two passes — the Tizi n'Tamatert (2,279m) and the Tizi n'Aguerssiouâl (1,767m) — in a single, beautifully varied day that takes in the Imenane Valley, the Berber villages of Tinerhourhine, Ikkiss and Amssakrou, a picnic lunch with Jbel Oukaïmeden commanding the northern skyline, and the final valley walk back to Imlil and the waiting vehicle. It is a fitting end to a trek that has covered more ground, in more varied terrain, than most visitors to the High Atlas manage in twice the time.
Tour Duration: 5 days
Starting time 08:00
Walking grade:
Difficult
Day-by-Day Itinerary
Day 1: Marrakech → Imi Oughlad → Tizi n'Tachte (2,000m) → Tiziane
5–6 hrs | ~14 km | ↑800m ↓500m | Overnight: Gite or bivouac, Tiziane (1,750m)
An early morning departure from Marrakech for the drive south through the Moulay Brahim gorge and the upper valleys of the western Atlas foothills, arriving at the trailhead of Imi Oughlad (1,450m). Here the great peaks announce themselves immediately: Jbel Toubkal at 4,167m, Aglzim at 3,650m and Aksoual at 3,847m rising in a dramatic wall to the east. Your Berber muleteer crew joins the group and the trek begins, heading north-west on switchback mule tracks through cornfields and juniper forest to reach the Tizi n'Tachte at 2,000m — a first pass with a first reward: the Imlil and Aït Oussaden valleys unfolding far below. A further half hour brings you to Imi n'Ifri and a well-earned field picnic. The afternoon descends south-west along the Assif n'Aït Oussaden to arrive at the beautiful red clay terraced village of Tiziane (1,750m), your first night in gite or bivouac.
Day 2: Tiziane → Tizi n'Tagrhourte (1,995m) → D'knt
5–6 hrs | ~13 km | ↑680m ↓560m | Overnight: Gite or bivouac, D'knt (1,870m)
From Tiziane, the trail follows the Assif n'Aït Oussaden valley upward through beautiful walnut groves — some of the most ancient and impressive in the Atlas — climbing steadily to the Tizi n'Tagrhourte at 1,995m. Beyond the pass, a rare and welcome stretch of almost flat terrain leads to the Assaka spring: a natural pause point for a field picnic in a silence so complete it feels almost sacred, the surrounding mountains holding the valley in a stillness broken only by the wind and running water.
The afternoon descends along the forest edge through juniper and pine to arrive at the Berber village of D'knt — also known as Agouns n'Assoul — at 1,870m: a small, self-sufficient community where dinner is cooked from local produce and the night is spent in a simple gite or under a wide mountain sky.
Day 3: D'knt → Tizi n'Tagdalte → Tizi Oussem → Tamsoult
6 hrs | ~14 km | ↑750m ↓770m | Overnight: Gite or bivouac, Tamsoult summer village (above Tizi Oussem, 1,850m)
The morning begins with a sustained, rewarding climb through walnut groves and terraced fields of corn and barley — and through a landscape that is very much lived in. Shepherds move their flocks between seasonal pastures, goatherds navigate the same trails, and women descend from the high slopes with twenty-kilogram loads of firewood and dried herbs, carrying the raw weight of daily life in the Atlas with a matter-of-fact resilience that is humbling to witness.
The crossing of the Tizi n'Tagdalte opens a descent through juniper forest to a small spring where a shaded picnic breaks the day. The afternoon drops through the upper slopes for around three hours to the river at the head of the Assif n'Aït Oussaden valley, and then into the village of Tizi Oussem before climbing to the summer settlement of Tamsoult above it, where camp or gite awaits.
Day 4: Tamsoult → Tizi Mzzik (2,500m) → Imlil
5–6 hrs | ~12 km | ↑650m ↓760m | Overnight: Atlas Toubkal Guesthouse or similar, Imlil (1,740m)
The morning opens with a walk to the small waterfall at Azib Tamsoulte — a peaceful, photogenic spot and a perfect curtain-raiser for the day's main event: the crossing of Tizi Mzzik at 2,500m, the highest and most celebrated pass of the entire circuit. The ascent is steady and sustained, gaining height through open mountainside with the panorama expanding at every step.
From the top, the reward is total: the Ait Mizan Valley laid out below, the rooftops and walnut trees of Imlil visible in the middle distance, and the full drama of the Toubkal massif — Toubkal itself, Aglzim, Aksoual — filling the eastern horizon in an unbroken wall of high peaks. The descent into Imlil follows the main Toubkal valley path, arriving at Morocco's most celebrated mountain village in time for a well-earned lunch and a comfortable night at Atlas Toubkal guesthouse or similar.
Day 5: Imlil → Tizi n'Tamatert → Imnane Valley → Tizi n'Aguerssiouâl → Imlil → Marrakech
6–7 hrs | ~20 km | ↑790m ↓790m | Trek concludes in Imlil; drive to Marrakech
The final day is a grand circuit from Imlil and back — a fitting close to five days of sustained mountain walking. The route heads east from Imlil (1,740m) through the Tamatert Valley, climbing to the Tizi n'Tamatert pass at 2,279m where the Imenane Valley opens before you, green and broad and beautifully sheltered from the wind. The descent drops north through the Berber village of Tinerhourhine into the valley floor, then follows the Imnane north along winding mule trails through almond, walnut and apple orchards and a succession of terraced hamlets to the villages of Ikkiss and Amssakrou.
Here, with Jbel Oukaïmeden (3,268m) rising dramatically overhead and the twin passes of Tizi n'Ou Arg (2,258m) and Tizi n'Tiratene (2,268m) visible in the ridge above, a picnic lunch is the natural pause — a moment to take stock of the mountains and the week that has passed through them. The return heads west through the Tizi n'Aguerssiouâl pass (1,767m) and into the Assif n'Aït Mizane valley, then south through the villages of Taddart and Aït Souka before the trail turns east back into Imlil. Final farewells with the mountain crew, a last glass of mint tea, and the drive back to Marrakech through the foothills — the mountains receding in the mirror, the city coming back into view.
Tour Details
Price includes
- Experienced English-speaking mountain guide for all 5 days
- Berber muleteer crew for luggage transport and picnic preparation throughout
- 4 nights accommodation in gites, bivouacs and Imlil guesthouse (Dar Adrar or similar)
- All meals on trail: picnic lunches (Days 1–5), dinners (Nights 1–4) and breakfasts (Days 2–5)
- Private vehicle transfer from Marrakech to Imi Oughlad (Day 1 morning) and from Imlil to Marrakech (Day 5 afternoon)
- Bottled water and trail snacks throughout
Not Included
- Travel insurance (required — please arrange before travel)
- Personal trekking equipment (full kit list provided on booking)
- Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
- Tips for guide, muleteer crew and gite hosts
Availability
Best April–June and September–November; winter and summer trekking available on request
- Total Distance: Approximately 73 km over 5 days
- Total Ascent: Approximately 3,670m cumulative
- Highest Point: Tizi Mzzik Pass, 2,500m (Day 4)
- Passes Crossed: Tizi n'Tachte (2,000m), Tizi n'Tagrhourte (1,995m), Tizi n'Tagdalte, Tizi Mzzik (2,500m), Tizi n'Tamatert (2,279m), Tizi n'Aguerssiouâl (1,767m)
- Start: Marrakech / Imi Oughlad trailhead (1,450m)
- End: Imlil (1,740m) with vehicle transfer back to Marrakech (Day 5 afternoon)
- Meals: All picnic lunches on trail; dinners and breakfasts at gites; fully supported by muleteer crew
Accommodation
Berber gites and bivouacs (Nights 1–3); Atlas Toubkal guesthouse or similar in Imlil (Night 4)
