Hike Mount Toubkal in Morocco

Welcome to Marrakech. A private transfer awaits to whisk you off to your garden hotel and the bustling souks nearby. As well as the medinas, we recommend exploring the serene Jardin Majorelle, a Ville Noveau villa once owned by Yves Saint Laurent, and the resplendent Ali ben Youssef Medersa with its ancient Moorish architecture. At 6pm, you’ll meet your group at the hotel and head out across Djemaa El Fna Square, where you’ll see hundreds of street food stalls come alive. Wander amid the troupes of snake-charmers and storytellers en-route to a local restaurant, where you’ll get to know your guide and fellow travelers over supper.

Today you’ll begin at 8am, driving two hours south to Imlil village – the gateway to Mount Toubkal at 1,740 metres. You’ll begin with a short hike to lunch at Aroumd village, at 2,000 metres, before crossing the Ait Mizane floodplain. This next trail takes around seven hours and it’s challenging yet beautiful. You’ll tackle the 1,207-metre hike in altitude by zigzagging along a series of switchbacks, following sun-dappled mule trails that snake through the rugged terrain. You’ll then go up to 3,207 metres and your cozy but basic guesthouse at Neltner, set between craggy peaks. Feast on a hearty home-cooked dinner before getting an early night. Tomorrow, the summit beckons.

You’ll be up at dawn for a ten-hour trek. The summit climb involves scrambling across steep scree fields and you’ll need to take it steady to manage the rising altitude. After four hours, you’ll cross a ridgeline crest to a wide plateau: the fabled roof of North Africa, looming majestically at 4,167 metres. Look west to glimpse the Atlantic coast beyond the peaks of Nfiss valley. To the east lies the shimmering plains of the Sahara, while the extinct volcano Siroua lingers to the south. Toast to your feat over an al fresco breakfast before you loop four hours back to Neltner for lunch, arriving in the lovely Berber village of Imlil at dusk.

You’ve done the hard work: now’s the time to treat yourself. After breakfast, you’ll travel 90 minutes back to Marrakech and your beautiful oasis hotel. The summit climb behind you, visit a local hammam for a purifying body ritual. Slather yourself in Argan oil body milk and get pummelled and scrubbed in the plumes of a steam bath in this time-honored Moroccan rite. As twilight sets in, we suggest you venture out for a farewell dinner, moseying through Djemaa El Fna square as it flickers in the glow of fire dancers and a thousand twinkling lights.

Congratulations – your feat is accomplished and your adventure over. It’s up to you to arrange your own transfer to the airport as you please or – if you you’re not quite ready for the Moroccan fun to end – sunset camel rides and luxury glamping await in our longer bucket-list Morocco adventure.