Peaks and Valleys of Jebel Sirwa
- A winter sunshine walking holiday off the beaten track in Morocco
- Experience Berber villages and culture at its best
- Views of Jebel Sirwa from Guiliz Peak
- Trek across the Tizi-n-Test and the Tizi-n-Tichka
- Outside Magazine 2010 Trip of the Year - Killer Value category
Lying between the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas, the extinct volcano of Jebel Sirwa is the high point of a rarely visited mountainous area that boasts some of Morocco's finest trekking. Home to the Ait Ouaouzguit Berbers, famed for their hand-woven rugs, this region has a distinctive landscape of high ridges and deep valleys, with flower-filled pastures, superb dry-stone villages and terraced fields of barley and saffron. Starting out on the south side of the range, this winter sunshine trekking holiday walks via Tislit and Aghbalou Tizgui to the summit of Guilliz (2900m), then down to a camp close to the summer shepherd's encampment at Azib Tagrara. Continuing amongst splendid rock formations, the holiday culminates in an ascent of Jebel Sirwa (3305m), where the views include many of the High Atlas peaks. A get-away-from-it-all holiday with six days of varied walking in a spectacular corner of Morocco where the Berber way of life has changed little for centuries.
Is this holiday for you?
The maximum altitude attained on this short walking holiday is relatively modest (at 3305 metres) and we will not be camping above 2500 metres. This means that no-one should have any difficulty with acclimatisation to the altitude. However, the trek does involve a reasonable amount of ascent and descent and there are a couple of days that will involve up to 7 hours of walking. We visit the Jebel Sirwa early and late in the year, when the weather should be ideal for trekking, not too hot. For most of the trek, we are following well-established routes between valleys and villages which are suitable for mules and very straightforward for trekkers. On the ascent of the peaks, we will encounter rough trackless conditions and zig-zag trails on scree. The final 25 metres of Jebel Sirwa involves scrambling, with a short exposed section. It should only be attempted by those who are experienced and confident on such terrain. Because this is a short trip, and at low altitude, we have only given it the MODERATE grade. However, you will need to ensure that you are fit enough to trek for between 5 and 7 hours per days for several consecutive days.
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