Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Mountains
Three mountain ranges ripple diagonally across a topographical map of Morocco: the Rif in
the north, the Middle Atlas (south of Fez) and the High Atlas (south and northeast of Mar-
rakesh), with the southern sub-chain of the Anti Atlas slumping into the desert. The monu-
mental force of plate tectonics brought these ranges into existence. Around 60 million years
ago, a dramatic collision of African and Eurasian plates lifted up the High Atlas, while
closing the Strait of Gibraltar and raising the Alps and Pyrenees. More recently, the moun-
tains have provided shelter for self-sufficient Berbers, a safe haven for those fleeing in-
vaders and a strategic retreat for organising resistance against would-be colonisers.
In the north, the low Rif Mountains form a green, fertile arc that serves as a natural
coastal barrier. Even the Vandals and Visigoths were no match for independent-minded Rif-
fian Berbers, who for millennia successfully used their marginal position to resist incur-
sions from Europe and Africa alike.
The Middle Atlas is the Moroccan heartland, a patchwork of farmland that runs from
Volubilis to Fez and gradually rises to mountain peaks covered with fragrant forests of juni-
per, thuya and cedar. This sublime trekking country is also home to the Barbary ape, Mo-
rocco's only (nonhuman) primate. Running northeast to southwest from the Rif, the range
soars to 3340m at its highest point.
But the real drama begins east of Agadir, where foothills suddenly rise from their
crouched position to form the gloriously precipitous High Atlas Mountains. South of Mar-
rakesh, the High Atlas reach dizzy heights at Jebel Toubkal, North Africa's highest summit
(4167m). On the lower flanks, the mountains are ingeniously terraced with orchards of wal-
nuts, cherries, almonds and apples, which erupt into bloom in spring. The High Atlas
hunkers down on the southeast into the Anti Atlas range, which protects the Souss Valley
from the hot winds of the rising Sahara Desert.
When hiking in the Rif, try not to step on the kif. Morocco is the one of the world's largest pro-
ducers of cannabis, most of it destined for markets in western Europe.
