3 Day Trek in the Atlas Mountains and Berber Villages from Marrakech

Loved our 3 day trip to Atlas Mountains with Omar and Hassan. Omar collected us from our hotel and drove us to the mountains, stopping off at a local market and Argan oil experience along the way. We arrived at Riad Afla, our accommodation for the night, had lovely meal of lentil soup, and chicken tagine. Then headed for 1.5 hour walk to a local waterfall. Returned to our accommodation by foot and served a tasty tagine dinner. The only criticism I would have is that we were not given any advise prior to the trip. Some information such as what to pack (very cold at night), how high we would be hiking & where we would be staying each night would have been helpful. Overall a great experience and would definitely recommend

I just spent 2 weeks in Morroco and this trek was clearly the highlight of my trip, better than the 3 day trek in the desert with the camel ride. Hicking in the Atlas mountain with only 2 others tourists, our guide Abdhul and our cook and mule leader Mohammed was just fantastic. Views were spectacular and everything was so peaceful and quiet. Mohammed was a great cook and he prepared good healthy meals with vegetarian options right in the middle of the mountains for lunch, and at night at the 'gite' where we stayed for one night. We were having nice long picnics sitting on a berber rug looking at the beautiful sceneries. The people we met crossing the small villages were all friendly, especially the kids waving at us. On the last day, we even stopped at Mohammed's house and had tee with his family. The trek is not too difficult, we had a city girl with us who had not exercised in a will who managed to do it smiling the whole way. Accommodation was fine to me (nothing luxurious), first day in a Riad with my own private room and bathroom, second day in a gite with a dorm for girls and one for guys. Both were really clean. Bring a down jacket as it can get cold at night (was there at the end of october). One thing I will tell you on the other hand, is that the first day may seem chaotic to you. Indeed, I am not sure I did what I had signed for on that day and ended up with a group of tourists doing the 1 day excursion. I think this happened because some tourists are canceling and booking at the last minute and the guides are left juggling with that trying to accommodate everyone. If this happens to you, just relax and be sure your days 2 and 3 will be just fantastic :) Many thanks again to Abdul, Mohammed and Jacqueline the mule :) Louise

We had an amazing time with our guides Hicham and Mohamed. They made sure we were always OK and had everything we needed. Thank you! Amazing scenery, welcoming people and great food provided by our cook who accompanied us in the 3 day trek through the villages.

We had an excellent time with Mohammad and Abdul as our guides for the 3 day trek. It was a fairly leisurely stroll through several (10+?) villages and over several mountain passes ... not anything too intense, but fun nonetheless! Highly recommended

Our guide Abdoul was brilliant, couldn't do enough to ensure we had a great experience. The accommodation was all good, definitely not the horror story in a previous review. The walks were stunning, moderately challenging but nothing too intense in the September heat. We also had a chef, Hassan, for the whole trip who was excellent. Although the 3 x lunches were extra which wasn't clearly stated, so do be aware of this!

Definitely worth your time, and great value for the money as well! My partner and I had our trek cut short by my partner's illness, unfortunately, but not before experiencing enough to be extremely grateful that we came! We are also extremely grateful to our guide, Mohammed Ali, and to the program owner for doing everything they could to accommodate my partner. We started with a camel ride, before driving up into the Atlas to meet Mohammed Ali. He took us on a morning trek, after which we had lunch. Had my partner not been sick, we would have then explored the area that afternoon, stayed at an inn in town, and then hiked to a new town on the next two days. The accommodations were remarkably comfortable – we stayed in a huge, beautifully decorated room with a large bathroom (with shower), wifi, and 3 luxurious beds. We were waited on at every meal, and the staff were incredibly kind and generous. I read negative reviews before I went which led me to expect a dirty, dingy room – nothing could be further from the case! The hotel is still under construction, and likely to get nicer each year. It's not the Hilton, but it's the most luxurious trekking I've ever experienced! Since some other travelers seem to have had negative experiences, here's my recommendations for getting the most out of your Atlas Mountains trek: 1. Be flexible. We got almost no details of our itinerary before the trip, and the host isn't the fastest at answering email. If you're ready to trust them (and they are trustworthy) and go with the flow, it will all work out. 2. Be assertive about what you want! The flip side of #1 is that tour can also be incredibly flexible with you! Don't be afraid to ask direct questions, to propose changes to the itinerary, or even to ask for a change of guides. We found that everyone working on the tour was very willing to accommodate. 3. Make sure that you're ready. They are flexible enough to accommodate a wide variety of fitness levels, but no matter what, you will be walking on unpaved roads at high altitude. You don't need to be a hardcore hiker or even a hiker at all, necessarily, but you do need to be able to walk for several hours straight. (On the other hand, if you want a hardcore trek, just ask for Mohammed Ali; he may be the fittest human I have ever met!) The company has ~60 staff and many don't speak much English. You can get by with just English with your guide, but it helps to know some French or Spanish or, better yet, Arabic.

The countryside is beautiful. I enjoyed walking through the villages & up and down valleys. I was expecting the transport to go directly to the Atlas and have most of a day hiking either with a small group or alone. The first day I was with 14 other people and transportation stopped for a camel ride, Argon oil extraction, etc all of which was fun & great but I'd already had those experiences. The short hike past two waterfalls, sheltering together while it rained is a roadside shed & going into an ancient house to have tea with the guides grandfather was delightful, just not what I thought I had signed up for. The second day started great. A new guide & I hiked up the hill to Tizi. We stopped to wait (1 hour) for another person who rode up in a car. The guide gave me directions & I hiked alone to that night's destination while the guide stayed with the new person. I arrived about 12:30 & had to wait several hours for the owner to appear. While waiting I did explore the little village and ate lunch next to a beautiful little stream. Guide & other person finally arrived around 4:00. The accommodation were in a very basic gite which was fine. Food was excellent. The third day was great but too short. We hiked through lush valleys, old villages, up dry switchback trails. I loved it. After a lunch in a village I thought we would be hiking further but no. So I was stuck for 3 hours waiting for transportation. I enjoyed the hiking we did. With the abundance of trails in the area, I expected to do longer hikes/further distances each day.

We went on this trek in the end of april and it was the best part of our time in Morocco. Bring warm clothes since it gets really cold at nights. As others have mentioned in their comments we had a hard time contacting them before our trip to confirm pickup, but other then that everything was really well organized. Some have mentioned that the walking was short the first day but we walked a lot. In the afternoon the first day we were asked if we wanted to relax or walk some more - so if you want to walk more I think you can just ask. The nature is beautiful, the food is amazing and our guide Mohammed was great!

The trip was sold as a three day trek, including accommodation, a trip to waterfall and a hamman among other things. Despite multiple messages and calls, it was not until the night before when we were told we would be given a pick up time 'some point that evening'. Eventually after I called again they said they would pick us up at 9am the next morning. We got picked up by a guide who spoke no English, it was just myself and a friend in his car, he dropped us first at an Argan oil place with no explanation and we spent some time there before he drove us further. We then arrived at the beginning of the walk and met our guide. Our guide Idris was a nice man and the walking the first day was pleasant. We then got dropped at a hostel type place which was dirty and cold .The guide said he'd meet us the next morning. It was 4pm, it was freezing cold and we had nothing to do and there were no other people staying with us. We were left to amuse ourselves and fed some pasta at around 830pm before we went back to bed because it was so cold. No one greeted us or spoke to us or made us feel welcome at all. The next morning we did a long walk, the views were stunning but there was no real communication form our guide and again no other people to talk to or meet. We then finished at around 5pm at got dropped at an appalling 'gate'. It was simply two dirty mattresses on the floor, with dirty laundry, a squat toilet, no hamman and nothing to do. We sat together whilst Idris and the cook chatted in the kitchen and we ate some couscous before going back to bed. It was cold and unpleasant and nothing like what we had been sold. The next day was another nice walk, although there was no waterfall as described because we had a nice lunch and were dropped back into Marrakesh. It was a thoroughly disappointing trip and nothing at all like the website described and we will be seeking compensation. The reviews on viator were nothing like what we experienced given the state of the accommodation, guide and food provided.

Everything was great. Our guides were outstanding, food was good, scenery wonderful. We all enjoyed it very much.