UKC

I'm thinking of booking a trek (10 days) to do a circuit and ascent of Toubkal with a trekking company; just to take some of the hassle out of booking etc. However I thinking about staying on in Imlil for a few days as I have two weeks available.

Can anyone advise what there is in the way of a 2-3 day leisurely trek from/to Imlil and how can I get a porter/guide?

Thanks.

In reply to mypyrex:

We stayed at the Riad Dar Adrar (http://www.daradrar.com/) which was excellent.

The owner Mohamed should be able to organise gear hire, mules, guides etc. for you. He can also arrange pick up and drop off from the airport.

In reply to michaelmurray: Thanks

Just wondering how easy it is to organise a trek independently for a few day and what the best options are from Imlil.

In reply to mypyrex: I jumped on a plane with nothing booked in advance, it's a pretty easy place to go to.
Riad Dar Adrar - lovely place to stay, didn't use a guide or porter when I was there but Mohammed is reputed to be one of the best for English speakers and his rates seemed very cheap (compared to home) at the time.
Get the Cicerone book and just have a scan for possible routes, there are plenty of options for ridge walks as well as summits but what you would want from a holiday may well vary from what I like.

Kelvin

In reply to mypyrex: You might be pleasantly surprised to hear that the hillsides above Aroumd ( next village up towards Toubkal from Imlil) are littered with magnificent looking boulders and you'd probably be able to pass a day or two exploring these if you had rock boots and chalk.

I didn't climb on them when I was there but they look tremendous.

In reply to mypyrex: Hi

Used this guy for a 10 person 8 day trip to Toubkal in Feb this year - Hassan's email agafayhassan2000@hotmail.com and his tel no (mobile) is 00212 667 842 236.

Hassan acted as a one stop shop and organised pretty much everything - transfers, hotel, gite at Around, hut, mules, guides, cook etc.

We stayed in Around which is 40 mins walk from Imlil in a fantastic Gite run by family friends of Hassan be heading up to the CIF refuge. Would def recommend this guy.

He tailored our trip to what we wanted to do and very good value.

HTH Davey

Can anyone tell me if it's as dusty in the High Atlas as it is/can be in the Himalaya?

Thanks.

PS for David Best. Given that I've not been to Morocco this is a genuine question seeking advice from the INTELLIGENT and INFORMATIVE members of UKC rather than an"I'm going to Morocco..." statement; so don't even think about it.

In reply to mypyrex:

Pyrex, the guy who wrote the Cicerone Morocco guidebook is Des Clarke, a friend of mine. He lived in Morocco for many years and has his own guiding business over there. I can't think of anyone more qualified to give advice: http://www.nomadicmorocco.com/index.htm

In reply to mypyrex:

It is pretty dusty!!!! Can say that authoritatively having just got back from there last month

These are my snaps from mainly around Imlil - then heading out to Tizi Tagharat and the N-E ridge back to Imouzzer then descending down onto the North Col and down the North Cwm, rather than heading up to Toubkal top and take the South Cwm.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fao2/sets/72157633345042318/

In reply to Lil_Pete: Thanks, nice pics.

In reply to mypyrex:

Meant to say email us if you've any questions you want answered or want to know what prices were paid for you to haggle from/to:

pete at theclimbingacademy.com

In reply to Lil_Pete:

Oh and do not be tempted to walk from Asni to Imlil; there's no reason any sane human would. But arriving on Market Day in Asni I couldn't be arsed with the hustle and bustle, it was a lovely day and the 1:1000 000 map showed it as about 15km ... This negated the numerous switchbacks and the like, it took near as dammit all day to walk up that road! All for the sake of 10DH i.e. 80p !!!

Lesson learnt!

In reply to Lil_Pete: Enjoyed looking at your flickr photos. Thanks for sharing them.

In reply to mypyrex:
So, when you get to Morocoo you are looking for a guy called Mohammed. He's got dark hair.

In reply to nw:

Hahahaha!

In reply to mypyrex:
Houssain from the last house on the way to Toubkal (a Aroumd above Imlil)looked after us a treat on a couple of occassions. He guides Toubkal, does any number of multi day lower trips, sorts mules & cooking, has guestrooms & good food etc etc
email - chajaa2@yahoo.fr
mob - +21270611693
Tell him John,Yvonne&Jack send their love!!