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Trek High Atlas — Toubkal National Park, Morocco

Mount Toubkal — North Africa's Highest Summit

Two days from a Berber village to the roof of North Africa at 4,167 m — mule tracks, a blue-painted shrine, a mountain refuge, and a long scree climb to a summit that sees the Sahara.

Mount Toubkal — North Africa's Highest Summit
Photo: SimonKing74 · CC0
Duration
2 days
Distance
30 km
Walking time (est.)
12 h 15 min
Ascent
2360 m
Difficulty
Hard
Best season
Spring to autumn, roughly May–October (winter and early spring need crampons and an ice axe)

Walking

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    Getting there and back

    Start
    Imlil (about 1,800 m)
    Finish
    Imlil

    Loop: you finish where you started

    Directions to the start

    Toubkal is the highest mountain in North Africa at 4,167 m, sitting in the High Atlas about 63 km south of Marrakesh. What makes it remarkable is how close it is to the city: you can leave a Marrakesh riad after breakfast and be sleeping at 3,207 m under the summit that night. The walking is non-technical in summer — no ropes, no scrambling — but the altitude and the endless scree make it a genuinely hard two days.

    The route up the Ait Mizane valley is a working mule track through Amazigh (Berber) villages, not a wilderness trail. Walnut groves, terraced fields, and a blue-painted shrine give it a character no other 4,000 m peak has.

    Getting there. A shared taxi from Marrakesh to Imlil (about 1,800 m) takes roughly 75–90 minutes. Imlil is the trailhead and where guides, mules and gear hire are arranged.

    Guides & permits. Since 2019 a licensed local mountain guide has been required for the Imlil–Toubkal route, and checkpoints in the Ait Mizane valley check passports and guide credentials. Bring your passport. Refuge beds should be booked ahead in high season.

    Good to know:

    Climb profile

    Hardest day: Day 1

    Ascent per day, from the recorded day totals. Not a GPS elevation trace.

    Day by day

    DayDistanceAscentDescentWalking time (est.)
    Day 1 Hardest dayImlil to the Toubkal Refuge
    Distance11 kmAscent1400 mDescentNot recordedWalking time (est.)6 h
    Day 2The summit and the long way down
    Distance19 kmAscent960 mDescentNot recordedWalking time (est.)6 h 15 min

    Number of days

    3 days

    This route sleeps above 2,500 m, so you can add days but not remove them: climbing faster raises the risk of altitude sickness. Added days are rest days where the climb has been biggest.

    Your plan in 3 days

    1. Day 1 Imlil (about 1,800 m) → Toubkal Refuge (3,207 m)

      11 km 1400 m 6 h

      Leave by 12:35 PM

      Stretches: Imlil to Aroumd Aroumd to Sidi Chamharouch The climb to the refuges

      Sleeps where the written plan does (day 1).

    2. Day 2 Toubkal Refuge (3,207 m)

      Rest and acclimatise: a second night in the same place.

    3. Day 3 Toubkal Refuge → Imlil

      19 km 960 m 6 h 15 min

      Leave by 12:21 PM

      Stretches: South cirque to the col The summit ridge Descent to Imlil

      Sleeps where the written plan does (day 2).

    Back to the written plan (2 days)

    Days are cut only where a written stretch ends, balanced by estimated walking time. The written plan below is unchanged.

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    Day 1

    Imlil to the Toubkal Refuge

    Imlil (about 1,800 m) → Toubkal Refuge (3,207 m) 11 km 1400 m 6 h

    Leave by 12:35 PM

    Navigate this day

    The approach walk. A mule track climbs the Ait Mizane valley from Imlil through walnut groves and the village of Aroumd, past the shrine at Sidi Chamharouch, and up a bare, rocky valley to the refuges below the peak.

    Water and food

    Water
    None found near the stops. Carry enough for the day.
    Food
    Snack Koukouch Fast food 40 m from stop 1
    Snack moulid Fast food 130 m from stop 1
    Guide De Montagne Supermarket 180 m from stop 1
    Restaurant Dar Assarou Restaurant 210 m from stop 1
    Café Restaurant Bab Toubkal Restaurant 320 m from stop 2

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Ways off

    No lift, bus stop or station is mapped near this day’s stops. The way off is back the way you came or on to the end.

    No way off mapped for 9.3 km (as the crow flies) between stop 2 and stop 3.

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Segments

    1. Imlil to Aroumd
      Imlil to Aroumd 3 km 100 m Map

      Imlil → Aroumd

      Mule track through walnut groves

      An easy start on a broad track out of Imlil, climbing gently through walnut trees and terraced fields to Aroumd, a stone village stacked on the hillside above a wide boulder flood-plain. About 1 hour.

      About this place

      Imlil is a small village in the high Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It is 1,800 metres (5,900 ft) above sea level. A portrait of Imlil and the problems and prospects of Morocco's mountain populations appeared in 1984 in the book by James A. Miller called Imlil and published by Westview Press. It is close to the mountain Jebel Toubkal, the highest peak in Northern Africa. Imlil makes a good base for attempting to summit Toubkal as it lies at the end of the tarmac road, and is a natural place to hire mountain guides and mules for the onward trek. Imlil is the centre of mountain tourism in Morocco due to its unique position. From here, 90% of visitors head up to Toubkal, the highest mountain in Morocco.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Mounir Neddi · CC BY-SA 4.0
    2. Aroumd to Sidi Chamharouch
      Aroumd to Sidi Chamharouch 4 km 450 m Map

      Aroumd → Sidi Chamharouch (about 2,350 m)

      Rocky valley path beside the stream

      Cross the flood-plain and follow the stream up a rocky path to Sidi Chamharouch, a small settlement built around a white-and-blue painted boulder that marks a Muslim shrine. It is a place of pilgrimage — non-Muslims should not cross the bridge to the shrine itself. The usual mint-tea stop. About 2 hours.

      About this place

      Aroumd is a small Amazigh village in the Ait Mizane Valley of the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco. Its population is around 1,900. Its altitude is 1900 m above sea level. Aroumd is 40 minutes' walk up the valley from Imlil, and is quieter and seen as more traditional. Aroumd is the highest village in the Ait Mizane Valley and so forms a good base for summitting Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. The route into Toubkal passes by Aroumd which is in Toubkal National Park.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Macabe5387 · CC BY-SA 4.0
    3. The climb to the refuges
      The climb to the refuges 4 km 850 m Map

      Sidi Chamharouch → Toubkal Refuge

      Long zigzags up a bare, rocky valley

      The valley narrows and the greenery stops. A long, exposed series of zigzags climbs the west flank to the two huts at 3,207 m — the Refuge du Toubkal and Refuge Les Mouflons. This is where altitude first starts to bite. About 3 hours.

      About this place

      Toubkal National Park is a national park in the High Atlas mountain range, 70 kilometres from Marrakesh in central-western Morocco. Established in 1942, it covers an area of 380 km2. Jbel Toubkal is the highest peak of the park at 4,167 metres.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Erokhin · CC BY-SA 4.0
    Day 2

    The summit and the long way down

    Toubkal Refuge → Imlil 19 km 960 m 6 h 15 min

    Leave by 12:20 PM

    Navigate this day

    Up before light for the south cirque route — a steep scree climb to the col, a rocky ridge to the summit, and then a very long descent that retraces the whole valley to Imlil.

    Water and food

    No drinking water or food found near this day’s stops. Carry what you need for the whole day.

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Ways off

    No lift, bus stop or station is mapped near this day’s stops. The way off is back the way you came or on to the end.

    Places mapped by volunteers on OpenStreetMap; opening times and taps change, so check before relying on one. © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Segments

    1. South cirque to the col 2 km 730 m Map

      Toubkal Refuge → Tizi'n'Toubkal col (about 3,940 m)

      Steep, loose scree

      Cross the stream and climb east up the Ikhibi Sud — a steep scree slope into a hanging valley, then another steep pull to the col at about 3,940 m. The scree is loose and demoralizing: two steps up, one back. Most people start in the dark. About 2 hours.

    2. The summit ridge 2 km 230 m Map

      Tizi'n'Toubkal col → Toubkal summit (4,167 m)

      Rocky ridge, no scrambling in summer

      Turn north and follow the boulder-strewn ridge to the metal pyramid marking the summit of North Africa at 4,167 m. It is non-technical in summer but thin, cold and windy. From the refuge the whole ascent takes about 2.5–3 hours if you are acclimatized.

    3. Descent to Imlil
      Descent to Imlil 15 km 0 m Map

      Toubkal summit → Imlil

      Scree, then the long valley track

      Drop back down the scree to the refuge — fast and brutal on the knees — collect your gear, and retrace the entire Ait Mizane valley through Sidi Chamharouch and Aroumd to Imlil, losing about 2,350 m in all. Longer than anyone expects. About 5–6 hours.

      About this place

      The High Atlas, also called the Grand Atlas, is a mountain range in central Morocco, North Africa, the highest part of the Atlas Mountains.

      Read more on Wikipedia Photo: Ralf Steinberger · CC BY 2.0

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