- A School Adventure trekking in remote parts of the High Atlas
- Ascent of North Africa`s highest peak
- Cultural exchange day at local village school
- Exploring magical Marrakech
With their rugged trails, varied and picturesque scenery, lofty passes, non-technical peaks and the guarantee of a cheerful welcome from the Berber people, Morocco’s Atlas Mountains are the perfect choice for a School Adventure. The Atlas range of mountains is the largest in all Africa, extending through Morocco for some 500 kilometres north-east to south-west. Characterised by steep-sided valleys and rocky peaks, the highest part of the range, the High Atlas, is criss-crossed by an excellent network of trekking trails that link together the picturesque terracotta-coloured villages of the Berber people. Aiming to provide the best of the Atlas in just a week and a half, this excellent itinerary includes an exciting trek to the highest peak of the range, Mount Toubkal (4167m.), followed by the opportunity to trek to the mountain's summit. Our trek starts at the village of Taghbart to the South West of Mount Toubkal, and treks across high passes, through forested valleys and traditional berber villages to reach the valley of Imlil, where we will start our ascent reach the Neltner Refuge below Toubkal. From here, a rugged but straightforward trail leads up to the highest point in North Africa, where we have far-reaching views across the Atlas peaks and southwards to Jebel Sahro and the Sahara. We start our journey into this romantic land with a flight to the 1000 year-old, ochre-coloured city of Marrakech, which boasts the snow-capped summits of the High Atlas as a most dramatic backdrop. Before and after the trek, we have time to explore the old Arab quarter of this fabulous city. The colourful souks (markets) of Marrakech are world-famous and an exploration on foot is a magical experience.
Educational Perspective
The French language is widely understood in Morocco and generally provides the best means of communicating with people whose mother tongue might be Arabic or Tamazight (the Berber language).
Amend or Extend
Add an additional night in Morocco, a trip to Essaourira on the Atlantic Coast or head south across the Atlas to Ouarzazate and Zagora on the edge of the Sahara.
Trip Guide
We recommend a minimum age of 14yrs
The maximum altitude attained on this trek is not extreme and we spend only one night at just above 3000 metres. This means that altitude acclimatisation is not usually a problem. However this trek does involve some days with a good deal of ascent and descent and one or two of the days (although broken with leisurely lunches in the shade) are quite long. Additionally, the summer months in the High Atlas can be hot and July and August particularly so. This does have an effect on trekking performance. For most of the trek we follow well established trails between valleys and villages which are suitable for mules and very straightforward for trekkers. On the ascent of Toubkal and whilst trekking up to the passes on our route, we will encounter zig-zag trails on scree. Each KE School Adventure is given a grade, taking into account the amount of walking involved, the difficulty of the terrain, the remoteness, the altitude and the overall length of the trip. The trips are graded on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most challenging. This trip is graded 3.
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