I'm looking for ideas of treks in Morocco for the fall 2018. Most likely the travel time would be sometime between October 15 to November 15 or 30th. I'd prefer a trek that goes through villages. Normally, I'm okay with elevation up to 17,000 feet.
Is October / November too late in the year to hike in the Atlas and Mt Toubkal? That's where I would ideally like to go but I've heard that the weather would be an issue and I'm not seeing guided trips offered during this time.
Thank you for your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions!
hikerboo
1
willemspie
No, trekking is still possible in that period in the Toukbal area. Personally, i'd rather recommend you the Ait Bouguemez, Mgoun area.
2
timcullis
Your maximum elevation of 5,150m is higher than anywhere in North West Africa! And certainly higher than I've done in the Rockies and Andes.
Trekking is still possiblein the winter months at high altitudes such as Toubkal and the M'goun traverse (4,000m plus), but clearly if there's bad weather you may have to abort, which is why in the winter months the travel companies tend to concentrate on lower altitudes such as Jbel Sahro. You could also do lower-level treks in the Atlas, not going beyond 2,750m. Jebel Siroua is another alternative.
I'd recommend the book by Alan Palmer (who pops in here from time to time) which is available on Amazon US, see https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=alan+palmer+trekking+morocco
3
hikerboo
That elevation was from the Annapurna Circuit. It was a struggle but I did it! Because it was such a struggle, I'm interested in village treks below 17K ft! Thanks for the book suggestion. I'm definitely going to check that out. It may be that I'll need to choose a lower elevation trek. Either way I'm sure it will be spectacular! Thanks again!
4
hikerboo
I just started looking into the Ait Bouguemez, Mgoun area but it seems like that would also have the same issue with weather that the Toukbal area would have given my late October time frame. But thanks for that suggestion as I hadn't thought of it!
5
willemspie
You don't need to climb Mgoun if there is snow. There are trekking routes through the valleys kn this area, the Mgoun gorge in particular, also possible to Zaouia Ahansal, or the upper Tessaout gorges are also very impressive.
Further South, Personally i don't like Jbel Sarho so much, too mineral, not green enough. On the other end, i liked Jbel Siroua. It is described in Alan Palmer's book too.
6
hikerboo
This sounds perfect! I really like your suggestion, and I think this option would be really workable given the time of the year. Thank you!!!
7
alanpalmer
You're quite right, hikerboo, that the weather in late October and November might restrict your choice of route in the M'Goun region.
Snow would be the real problem as, if snow, your mules, in all probability, would not be able to cross over the passes of Tizi n'Oumskiyq (2909m) and Aghouri Est/ Tizi n'Tarkeddid (3400m) to reach Tarkedded Plateau.
If these passes were closed, it would be worth checking out the viability of crossing Tizi n'Roughelt (2860m) to reach Tessaout Valley or Tizi n'Ait Imi (2905m) to reach Achabou Gorges.
On the other hand, as Tim and willemspie have advised, Jebel Sahro and Jebel Sirwa offer very good alternative winter trekking destinations. I personally love both of these regions. Please feel free to have a look at my photo albums of them which might help you to decide if either of these would suit you:
Sirwa:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Trekinmorocco.co.uk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=137541179725867
Sahro:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Trekinmorocco.co.uk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=136714429808542
https://www.facebook.com/pg/Trekinmorocco.co.uk/photos/?tab=album&album_id=141650305981621
8
Thorn Tree
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