Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
crowding, damp and a lack of facilities. The newer
Refuge Mouflon
( 0661 21 33 45;
www.refugetoubkal.com
;
dm Dh140, half board per person Dh319)
provides more facilities, a better-
stocked shop and good meals (Dh90) in the chilly lounge. You can also camp downstream
from the
refuge
or 20 minutes south of the
refuge
on flat pasture (Dh20).
Assuming you reach the
refuge
before lunch, there are trekking options to occupy the
afternoon - including the three- or four-hour descent directly north back to the starting
point,
Imlil
, if you don't want to climb Jebel Toubkal. You could ascend the second-
highest mountain in the region,
Jebel Ouanoukrim
(4088m, five to six hours return). The
best option is to rest all afternoon to prepare for the climb up Jebel Toubkal the following
morning.
DAY 6: TOUBKAL REFUGE TO AZIB TAMSOULT
DURATION FIVE HOURS / DISTANCE 8KM / ASCENT 493M / DESCENT 1300M
From the Toubkal Refuge pick up the mule track that heads northwest then gently climbs
north across the slope for about 15 minutes. You will come to a fork near a small rounded
wall, used as a sheepfold. Turn left, westwards, up the zigzagging mule path, which will
bring you to
Tizi n'Aguelzim
(3560m) after two hours. It's a slower trail but less treacherous
than the southern route at Tizi n'Taddert, which is often abruptly closed due to dangerous
conditions.
Panoramic views await at Tizi n'Aguelzim pass: east to the Toubkal summit, northeast
to the Imlil valley, northwest to Azzadene and west to the Tazaghart plateau. From here,
the track twists in some 92 hairpin bends downhill for almost an hour. At the bottom, it
crosses a stream. Twenty minutes further on, at a fork, take the left-hand track, and take
another left 15 minutes later. Here the track leads uphill for 10 minutes to cosy
CAF
Tazaghart Refuge
( 0667 85 27 54, Oukaïmeden 0524 31 90 36; dm CAF/HI members/nonmembers
Dh60/80/130)
, which sits beside a stunning waterfall. There are mattresses for 22 people,
gaslights and a basic kitchen.
You'll probably find the place closed unless you've made a reservation, and the
gardien
(attendant) is based in Tizi Oussem. Phone ahead, or else try passing a message to him via
muleteers or shepherds, who may run all the way to Tizi Oussem to fetch him. Campers
can pitch tents beside the
refuge,
or on flat ground above the falls.
Tizi n'Melloul
(3875m), southeast of Tazaghart
refuge,
offers a harder route to and from
the Toubkal Refuge, but provides access to
Afella
(4045m) southeast of the pass and to the
jagged ridge leading north to Biginoussen.
