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Travel
Information
We
offer this holiday land only. There are some scheduled flights
with British Airways from London Gatwick to Marrakech.
There are
flights to Marrakech from the UK with low cost airlines eg.
Easyjet, Ryanair, Atlas-blue,...).
You
can also get a train from Tangiers to Casablanca and then on to
Marrakech if you are joining land only (the Marrakech Express of Crosby,
Stills and Nash fame!).
Season:
All year (but with provisions - see below*)
*During
the winter months of January/February, you can expect snow on higher
ground, but it normally stays clear in the valleys where most of the
walking takes place. Thus this time of year should be considered by the
more experienced walkers, used to winter walking (without ice axes).
During the months of July - August temperatures can soar up to 35C at
Oukaimedene and even into the 40s in Marrakech. So people who do not
particularly like the heat may want to avoid those months. It is
possible to adapt and avoid the worst of the sun and heat by starting
early and having a long siesta over lunch, although on occasion you will
have already reached the day’s destination by lunchtime.
Arrival: The
start of the tour is in the ancient red city of Marrakech. From the airport 15 - 20 minutes taxi to the
first hotel, centrally located.
The
hotel is not directly accessible by vehicle and from the
centre you will
need to walk the last 10 mins to the hotel. If you cannot carry
your luggage you will need to hire a cart man
(about 20-30 dirhams).
End
of Tour: After breakfast on
Day: 8. Taxi to airport. (15 - 20 mins).
Level of Difficulty
The
tour, although not particularly challenging, is designed for people with
an adventurous outlook, who can cope with a much different environment
to their normal walking haunts. Hence it should appeal to the more
experienced walker, who can cope with the general “differences” of
travelling in a "developing country," however one may define
it.
Fitness:
We graded the tour as Easy - Moderate; i.e. it is harder than 'Easy'
with some strenuous sections. Most of the walking is of a more moderate
nature. A lot of the paths are gravel or dusty. There are various
options on some days and the walk should present no difficulties for
anyone in reasonable condition and accustomed to walking in hilly areas.
As previously mentioned, winter departures involving snow are
potentially more difficult. We do not anticipate that in normal
conditions, however, this will interfere with the route too much as
there has been less snow year after year due no doubt to “Global
Warming”.
Day
Stages: In the region of 10 - 15 km
per day, with ascents and descents. Max altitude is 3100m. 2 - 6
hours walking per day (various options on some days).
Waymarks:
There is no traditional waymarking on this route; it is a walk that we
have created ourselves, not part of an organised trail although
"The Way" has existed for years connecting up various villages
and fields. Armed with your walking notes and Berber you should not have
any major difficulties!
Please
note that although this is a self guided tour, you will be accompanied
by a Berber "minder" or accompagnateur / Muleteer. He is there
in case of difficulties and to move the mule that will actually be
carrying your baggage over the walking sections of the holiday ie- there
is no vehicle support once out on the trek. He probably will know only a
little English; a bit more French and of course Berber will be his first
language. However you will find the Berber indispensable and will be a
great help with regards to your navigation.
General information
Hotels: The
hotels/gites described are our usual choice of accommodation, however if
these are not available then alternatives are used and if these are of a
different standard you will be informed at the time of booking.
Baths/showers: On this tour,
don’t expect hot water outside Marrakech, although in Aremd and
Oukaimedene you can normally have hot showers. Other places have very
simple bathing arrangements, maybe little more than a cold tap. In Aremd
and Marrakech you will find Hammans: Turkish steam Baths, the massage is
optional and not recommended for people who have any joint problems
etc…
Breakfast: in countries such
as Morocco usually consists of tea / coffee, bread & jam, if you
want more for breakfast then we would suggest you purchase some extra
food in advance.
Special Dietary Requirements: It
is important for you to tell us if you have any dietary requirements
when you book your holiday so that we can inform everyone that you are
staying with.
Single Supplements: are payable on most of our tours. The single supplement guarantees the privacy of your own
room, however, rooms can at times be small and in some places may not
enjoy the same facilities as double/twin rooms. In Morocco, you may not
get your own room for a couple of nights because they are basic gite
pensions.
Solo Traveller Supplements:
are payable when the cost per bag of moving luggage increases.
Language: When travelling in
less frequented areas you will not necessarily come across people
speaking English. Remember you are experiencing a different culture, buy
a phrase book and try to learn a little of the local language, French or
Arabic!!
Luggage: When staying in
hotels, sometimes your luggage will have been taken to your room
awaiting your arrival. However don’t be surprised if your luggage is
waiting for you to take it up to your room please politely ask someone
if you need assistance
Route Notes: Please note
that 1 set of route notes per room booked is included in the cost of the
holiday. If you require more sets of notes then there is a charge of £25
per set ordered.
Insurance: All clients must
have appropriate cover for the activities included for the duration of
our trip.
How the tour runs
Our
“self guided tour” has been running for 10 years now and people who
have gone have enthused about it! From being transported from Marrakech
by car to the Haut Atlas villages you soon meet your “crew”: The
mule carries your kit to the next accommodation while the Berber will
make sure that you do not go too far astray. However you communicate
with him, we are sure that you will get on well together and that you
will learn quite a lot about the Berber way of life – Just talking
about the wedding ceremony can fill an evening! He will also prepare
your lunches on the trek at a cost of approx. £5 per lunch (please pay
Monsieur Lahcen in advance). The Berber will also help you get into your
accommodations. You should bring a lightweight 1-2 season sleeping bag
in Summer, and a 3-4 season in winter. This
is for: 1) staying at refuges and 2) on occasion you may wish to sleep
out on rooftops or verandahs. This is particularly popular at our Aremd
hotel during the summer, where there are several roof terraces and the
stars on most nights are phenomenal!
Accommodation
The
range of accommodation varies between a well appointed Riad in Marrakech
and a very basic Gite in Tacheddirt. The rooms in Marrakech have
en-suite facilities. There is no
other opportunity for ensuite rooms on this tour. Basic Gite
accommodation in Morocco is more basic than what you would associate in
countries such as France. Warm water is usually not available and a
sleeping bag (1-2 season for summer and 3-4 season for winter) should be
brought.
The tour is on a half board basis
throughout: Except on the
first and the last nights where you can eat out where you like in
Marrakech.
Picnic Lunches:
Whilst on trek there are few stores to buy items for lunch. For this
reason packed lunches are prepared by your Berber minder whilst
you are on trek
(i.e. not in Marrakech). You will be charged approx the equivalent of
£5
per packed lunch per person. Bear in mind that local stores do not carry
the range of snack produce you would expect from those within France and
Britain etc.
Please
Note: The itinerary suggested below may be modified depending upon
progress and local conditions e.g. snow. Although this is part of our
“self guided “ program -
with all the usual features, (e.g.: baggage transfers, going at your own
pace; having a map and a route note package etc.)
In effect however a Berber guide will escort you, oh and by his
trusty mule as well! You can have extra nights in Marrakech – a flamboyant African city with magnificent
craft souks. The cost of the tour will just be adjusted accordingly in
this case.
q
Nights 1
& 7: You will commence with our beautiful, small “non
backpacker set” Riad set in a quiet ancient quarter of the Medina in
Marrakech. It is approached through narrow streets and the hotel is
refined with typical Moorish architecture, giving you the chance to
sample by day and night the delights of the Djemaa E'Fna just a few
minutes walk away in this fabled city. Each of the six rooms has their
own bathrooms. There is a central courtyard with fountains shaded by
orange trees and from the roof terrace there is a wonderful view over
the city and to the Haut Atlas, especially on a clear winter’s day.
English is spoken. This is our preferred hotel; on occasion we have had
to substitute another hotel for one of these nights if it is booked out,
but we aim to book one of a similar standard nearby.
q
Nights
2 & 3: In Aroumd (Aremd)
village at the foot of the Jebel Toubkal massif, the hotel is the
peaceful residence of Monsieur Lahcen, where a Berber welcome awaits
you. Here, on the threshold of the Atlas, we are in his well-appointed small hotel below the brown and emerald terraces of this
town, for two nights. There is a nice terrace restaurant and roof
terraces from where you can look up the valley to Mt. Toubkal towering
above you. Some prefer to sleep out on the terrace looking at the stars
on a summer’s night. The rooms are simple, non en-suite, but
furnishings and bathrooms are clean. If you want more than just a
shower, why not inquire about the Hamman –Moroccan steam bath in the
village? Someone from the staff will take you there.
q
Night
4: At Tacheddirt we stay in a
basic Berber run refuge. Conditions are very simple and basic
(especially in the washing department). You will need sleeping bags for
the night, as you normally will not be provided with blankets.
Lightweight 1-2 season bags should be fine for most of the year and 2-3
season bags for the winter months.
q
Night
5: At Oukaimedene you will stay at a Club Alpin Francais Mountain
Gite; which is run by a French couple who escaped here from Paris many years
ago. This places has a license and thus serves alcohol, a nice restaurants
and warm showers.
q
Night
6: Trek over to a more basic
Gite d’Etape at Timichi.
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Outline
Itinerary
q
Day:
1 Flights to Marrakech from
London. Arrival late afternoon, taxi transfer from the airport to the
hotel in the center of the city 15 - 20 mins. If arrival is early enough
you will have time to have a look round the Djemaa E'Fna, the central
square which comes alive at night with jugglers, water-sellers,
snake-charmers, musicians and story tellers, like no where else on
Earth. All this is only a few minutes walk from the hotel.
q
Day:
2 From Marrakech you will be
driven to Aroumd (Aremd) 1.5 hours. This short spectacular drive takes
you over the dusty Hoaz plains, through the scenic gorges at Moulay
Brahim, past the Hotel Toubkal at Asni, where Winston Churchill used to
paint and onto Imelil. From here you can walk 45mins up the track
through walnut terraces and just past the terraced village of Aroumd (Aremd)
to your hotel. The panoramic view of Jebel Toubkal is great. Later one
can visit the cascades of the Mizane valley before relaxing on the
terrace of the small hotel of Chez Lahcen at Aroumd.
q
Day:
3 From Aroumd there is a 6-7
hr circular walk in Sidi Chamarouch in order to soak up the unique
flavour of the Atlas Mountains. Depending on the time of your visit, you
may encounter picturesque apple and peach trees in full blossom or the
Berbers harvesting the wheat and maize and the necessary threshing
routines. Or in September they might be precariously hanging from
branches wipping walnuts off the branches with long sticks. You will see
women and children burdened with loads of brushwood for fuel and
kindling moving over the hillsides... some of the traditional ways of
life have not changed in centuries, but tourism is now very important to
this area.
q
Day:
4 The third day on the trail
takes you to 2245 m with plenty of time to experience the Berber
villages like Tamatert, before descending to Tacheddirt and a night in a
local Gite where you may choose to sleep under the African stars.
q
Day:
5 We continue from Tacheddirt
and up to a high point at the Tizi nou Addi/Tizi-n-Addi (2960m) pass,
before continuing down to the ski village of Oukaimedene (2500m) where
you may decide that you qualify for the only beer normally available on
the tour!
q
Day
6: Quite a tough day, around
11 km with 650m of ascent and about 1300m descents. The route crosses
over - the high point of
the tour - a pass at 3100m before dropping down into the natural beauty
of the Ourika Valley and to the Gite d’etape at Timichi for a very
late lunch. This is “a magical valley full of interesting villages,
aromatic smells, lovely people and beautiful well cared for animals.”
q
Day
7: Continue on to Setti Fadma
(1450m, 11 km) for a well-earned lunchtime Tagine or Couscous. The
Ourika Valley is full of cascades, flowing water and imaginative
boutiques selling local wares, carpets and ceramics.
After
lunch you will be collected for the return journey to Marrakech by
vehicle leaving the High Atlas and your Berber friend and his donkey (no
doubt with a tear in its eye). The journey takes you through the
remainder of the Ourika Valley, until eventually you spill out once more
onto the Hoaz Plain. It is then a drive back to the throbbing Metropolis
of Marrakech and the ensuing calm at your hotel.
q
Day:
8: Departure from hotel after
breakfast, perhaps time for a last minute shopping bid in the souks,
before your taxi transfer back to the airport and flight.
We emphasize that this is NOT
a trek for beginners, or for people who are expecting accommodation
conditions as you would find on our European hikes; you should have some
experience of walking, and preferably having traveled in similar less
developed countries with an adventurous spirit. You will have to cope
with the enthusiastic attentions of local people and children, usually
very friendly, but often trying to sell something. You should be
respectful of the local traditions, especially in terms of dress conduct
near religious sites and careful with photography. Homosexuality
is considered a criminal offence in Morocco. Sexual relations
outside marriage are also punishable by law and there have been a number
of arrests (in 2007). Although we aim for
the tour to run logistically as smoothly as possible, we cannot
guarantee that things will be quite as smooth as our operations say in
France or Italy. In spring for example, snowmelt can wash away sections
of road on the way up from Azni to Imeli, which will mean that this
section will take longer to negotiate.
Escorted Departures
Not
available for this particular tour
Please look up our escorted
holidays and departure dates for 2012 on our website: www.sherpa-walking-holidays.co.uk
There
are escorted holidays in Morocco to Mount Toubkal and
Jebel Sahro.
What's Included?
7
nights accommodation, transfers between airport and first hotel at the
beginning and back to the airport at the end assuming that you have
given us your flight details: Numbers and timings. Road transfers between
Marrakech - Aroumd and Setti Fadma - Marrakech, baggage transfers
between the hotels by car and mule. B&B accommodation only in
Marrakech (2 nights), half board elsewhere. Route notes and basic maps
also provided. You will also have a Berber with you. He is merely for
your convenience, security and for ‘driving’ the mule carrying your
baggage and fixing your lunch!
Not Included
Meals
in Marrakech, other than breakfasts. Picnic or packed lunches are not
included in the tour price, but will normally be provided on the trekking days by your
Berber companion at a cost of approx. £5 per lunch per person (Please
pay Monsieur Lahcen in advance). You do need to take with you a light weight
sleeping bag: (1-2 season generally and 2-3 season for winter months)
for the Gites enroute and if you like on occasion, to sleep out under
the stars on hotel verandahs etc. it can be warm at night! Once you are
out on trek then a well-trained mule carries your baggage, including
sleeping bags for you. – Please supply a robust holdall for your gear
that can be carried by the mule; a suitcase is not really appropriate!
You do need to carry your own daypack etc. including things that
you need for the day out on the trail and any valuables.
Tipping
We
do recommend that you tip your
muleteer guide: and we don’t mean off a cliff either! This is totally
discretionary but would recommend something like £2 or 32 Dirhams
per person ,per day. Oh and if If you have any old Tee shirts…
Singles
This
self-guided tour is not suitable for single female travellers.
We recommend our Moroccan escorted tours (Jbel Toubkal and Jbel
Sahro).
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