Private Trekking
& Mountaineering trips
in the Moroccan High Atlas Mountains
Some
general photos
of trekking in the
High Atlas with NomadicMorocco.Com
Background /
Introduction
We offer a wide range of
customised and personal trips to suit most budgets, ambitions and ability levels
- ranging from walking at village level to multi-week long
technical traverses
of the main
spine of the Atlas ridge.
The High Atlas Mountains of Morocco are still very much in the "exploratory" state the Alps were a hundred years ago and indeed even to-day there are still valleys which wouldn't see (m)any non-nationals from one end of the year to the next!. Whilst all the main summits in the High Atlas have been climbed, many connecting ridges have either never been fully completed or have only a handful of recorded traverses. Exploratory (for us as well!) trips in the Moroccan High Atlas mountains are therefore still possible!
We want to help design the best programme and itinerary to suit your ambitions! Therefore please do contact us with your ideas - that's what we're here for!
Accommodation
Accommodation is an integral part of the trip - depending on your trip, we stay in
traditional Berber village houses in an attempt to provide you with an insight
into the Berber people and culture. If you're aiming to go above village
level to the summits and ridges themselves, then depending on the
summits you want to climb we either stay in mountain refuges (e.g. for
Toubkal & Mgoun) or if you are looking for remote summits then camp using our high quality
expedition tents.
If you like we can arrange or suggest hotel or riad accommodation for you in the starting town / city you will be leaving from for your trip to the mountains. Alternatively you can arrange this yourself to suit your own budget and comfort requirements!
Food on the trip
Morocco is said to have one of the finest cuisines in the world - our
cooks pride themselves in their cooking, and ensure that all the food on
the trek is freshly prepared using local ingredients and that there is
plenty for everyone. A typical menu on these trips would be:
Breakfast: Fresh bread with cheese, apricot jam, margarine, fried eggs,
tea, coffee and hot milk.
Lunch: A light lunch consisting of mixed salad, tinned cold fish or
meat, bread and cheese, followed by fresh local fruit.
Dinner: The evening meal is always a hot meal and is different every
night - traditional Moroccan cuisine of Tajine or couscous with meat and
vegetables or the occasional pasta meal. This is followed by fresh fruit
and the famous mint tea.!
Environmental / Health
All our guides are
qualified in remote and wilderness first aid and always carry a fully equipped first
aid kit for serious medical emergencies. However this is not a general
dispensary (!) - walkers should bring their own supplies of plaster,
blister prevention pads, paracetamol etc. and any medication they are on.
There are no compulsory vaccinations for Morocco but, as always, you
should keep Hep A, Tetanus, Polio, Typhoid and possibly rabies up to
date. Consult your GP or a vaccine specialist for professional advice. The most common complaint
can be
diarrhea
which can be caused simply by a change of diet or more likely your poor
hygiene standards. Non spring bottled water should never be drunk
without first sterilising with iodine tablets or by boiling.
Kit List / Clothes / Weather
etc
As per list supplied - normal mountain walking and camping equipment. (We supply
all the tents, stoves / cooking implements etc). Items are specified in
the kit list which is sent to you on receipt of booking fee.
Walkers should realise that weather in
these high mountains is often unpredictable and should be prepared for this.
Currency /
Visas / Language
Visas for entry into Morocco are not required by nationals of Ireland,
the U.K, U.S.A, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most E.U countries.
The currency in Morocco is the dirham (dh). There are about 10.5 dh to
the €. Impossible to get dirham outside of Morocco - therefore take
€ Euros (preferably) or US$ and exchange over there.
Language is Arabic / Berber but French is also understood / spoken
widely. Little or no English spoken / understood.
Time difference = GMT all year.
Insurance
We ask you to effect individual holiday insurance against travel delays,
loss of baggage and money, mountain rescue & medical expenses,
personal accident and any cancellation costs. You should note that there
are no official mountain rescue services in Morocco and that any
evacuation in the event of a serious medical emergency to the nearest
hospital will be by land as opposed to helicopter.
We will require documentary evidence of your insurance prior to
departure.
What we provide
- Private transport - private minibus / 4X4 depending on exactly where you are going
- Mule / muleteer - includes us providing food for both the mule(!) and muleteer throughout your trip and also their accommodation costs. Please also note that if you are requiring mule hire, your baggage should not weigh more than 20KG per person which will mean one mule can serve 2 persons plus their food etc. If you bring more baggage than this, then you may have to hire an extra mule!
- Guide - be it a trekking trip in the villages or a multi-day long winter traverse of a technical ridge, our guides are in the top-league! To get the best out of your trip, we suggest you don't leave for the hills without one! Their trip food & accommodation costs are also included in the price.
- Accommodation in the mountains (depending on the type of trip you have designed with us) will be typically a mixture of Berber village houses; gites; small local pensions; mountain refuges ("huts" like the Alps) and if you are staying high then use of our expedition Terra Nova & North Face tents.
- Food price includes one of our great cooks to cook for you throughout. Also all their accommodation costs etc are included.
plus:
- A highly personalised service in arranging your trip
- Sat phone back-up if you are outside GSM coverage
- Expert local knowledge
Additional costs for you once you join us would be just personal spending on soft drinks / personal snacks / showers if charged separately by the accommodation provider etc.
| So
- what's it all cost?!
Well that depends on how many there are
of you (minimum 2), what exactly you want to do and
for how long and what sort of accommodation you will be staying
in.
As a very rough
guide, expect anywhere from € 95 - € 125 pp / 24 hrs depending on all
the variables. If you are prepared to open your trip up to other people and for us to advertise it on the website, then this will attract a discounted price for you - generally a discount of around € 25 pp/day. It may well be that no-one else will join you but that is our problem not yours! You can rest assured that the maximum in the entire group will be 8 persons (and often less depending on the technical nature of the trip) so if you do want to open the trip up to others, you'll know you won't be swamped by a crowd! |
Travel
There are charter flights
from Dublin & Cork to Agadir direct every Saturday through Sunway
Travel. Generally seat only tickets are available without
much trouble. (Late availability deals
seldom apply to peak holiday breaks such as Christmas / New Year and
Easter)
Scheduled flights are best had with Easyjet.Com; Atlas-Blue.Com;
RoyalAirMaroc.Com or British Airways (BA.Com) who between them offer a
good service from Gatwick, Heathrow and most major cities in Europe to
Agadir and Marrakech daily.
For those with time on their hands, another very attractive way of
seeing the country is to get a cheap flight to Malaga in southern Spain,
get the ferry across the Straits of Gibraltar and overland it (train
mainly) to Marrakech or further afield depending on your final
destination.
Questions? Just contact us and we'll get back to you as soon as possible!