Mount Toubkal – Essential Info
At Mount Toubkal the World we believe
in providing our clients with the best service and key to the enjoyment of any
adventure holiday in our opinion is the balanced and up-to-date information
offered by the tour operator. We are confident that the items detailed below
when taken in conjunction with a reputable and reliable guidebook will enhance
your Trekking experience as well as ensuring you receive the very best service
from Mount Toubkal the World in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.
M-T : STAFF
It is important that our staff in our
Mount Toubkal office have experienced the wonder of High Atlas Mountains
Trekking and are able to answer many of your important questions.
Mohamed, for example, has trekked in
the Toubkal and Berber regions and visited many of the places included on our
hiking itineraries; he has also made it to the top of Jebel Toubkal – many of
the photos on our website were taken by him and his traveling companions on his
various trips to the region.
M-T : GUIDES
All Mount Toubkal guides are fully
licensed and are experienced from an early age in the Atlas Mountains
areas, and guiding continues to be the heart and soul of who we are. We
require that all of our guides undergo extensive safety training before
officially joining us a mountain guide /or winter guide, local knowledge and
guiding abilities. We believe that a local, licensed guide will offer more
insight into the High Atlas region and Berber people as well as enhancing the
local economy.
As well as a tip (see below) if you
have had a great experience with your guide you may wish to offer him something
of yours that will assist his duties.
Please be guided by your guide’s
expert advice on difficult or exposed paths and please respect the prayers of
your guide and muleteers – they will usually do this outside of walking times
so as not to interrupt your hiking.
M-T : PORTERS
Most of our porters are from the
Atlas Mountain region who are able to perform carrying tasks in the high atlas
and around all types of trails in Toubkal. They will carry your luggage, food
and other necessary items in a safe and secure way. They are very conscious of
maintaining your belongings in good condition. We would like to request all our
clients to go with an open up and be ready to experience all the fun and
excitement of your trek, and also rest assured that our Porters and Guides are
comfortable and happy people to be accompanied by. You can ask any quarries you
may have about the culture, people and country. You feel very safe, comfort and
pleasure after hiring a Guide and Porter.
Credentials of our Porters
– They are of mid-age and able
to carry 25-30 kg stuff without any hesitation.
– They are mostly from the
Atlas mountain regions and have been working in the Trekking field as a Porter
for many years.
– They are strong, powerful,
capable and caring.
– They have more knowledge
about the trails so they may alert you about the ways and other potential
hazards.
– They are very honest and
humble of their personal integrity.
M-T : MULETEERS & MULES
& LUGGAGE
Your team of muleteers, along with
mules, will vary in number depending upon the size of your group and whether
you are camping or staying in gites/refuge but they will all perform the same
function which is to provide a full back up service for your hike, cook and
prepare meals and set up the evening camp.
The mule team will load up your
luggage, food and, if relevant, the camping equipment at the start of each day
but will not always walk either at the same time, pace or route as your hiking
party so it is important that you consider which items you may require to carry
yourself in the morning and then again in the afternoon as on some days you may
only meet up at lunch-time.
The mules are completely used to
carrying the loads and it is not unusual for them to carry in excess of 80 kgs
each which is equally balanced in two baskets. The muleteers take great care in
both hygiene and presentation of your food and perform wonders with such
limited conditions.
We recommend you take your
trekking luggage in a large holdall or rucksack which can perhaps be folded up
inside your main luggage if you are also traveling around the Atlas Mountains
and wish to have the security of your usual suitcase(s). You should also take a
suitable daypack which will carry drinking water, camera, hat, raincoat, etc.
as you may not be in direct contact with your support team at all times during
the day.
WEATHER
In winter much of the region above
2500m can be snow-covered and hiking in these areas could require the use of
crampons and ice axes. High winds and precipitation in whatever form may
preclude some routes and this will be discussed before you set out or can be
modified at any time with the advice of your guide.
RAMADAN
We will maintain our programme of
trekking during the holy month of Ramadan but we would ask you to respect your
team by allowing them the courtesy of eating an early breakfast (before
sunrise) and to avoid, where possible, drinking, smoking and snacking
immediately in front of them during the day – they will, of course, prepare the
usual lunch though as part of their duties.
WATER
It is important to drink lots of
water during your hike; water can be purchased in Marrakech before you set off
or in Imlil. It is also possible to obtain water from small kiosks in many
villages and from the trailhead of Imlil and at the Toubkal refuge. You will
need to carry some of this yourself but your mules will carry some more; please
discuss with your guide the water requirements on a regular basis.
MEALS
Breakfast – tea, coffee, juice, fruit, milk, bread,
butter, jam, cheese, porridge
Picnic lunch – fresh Moroccan salad, cheese, sliced sausage,
tinned tuna fish and sardines, bread, fruit, mint tea (pasta, beans, potatoes,
and rice can also be included).
Dinner – Soup, Tajine (chicken or mutton with vegetables),
spaghetti, couscous (main courses rotate depending on the duration of the trek,
although you are more likely to get couscous on a Friday), bread, coffee, tea,
cake, fruit.
* Vegetarians, vegans and those with
special dietary requirements of any kind need to advise at time of
reservation.
TIPS
Naturally, tipping is an entirely
personal matter and a little goes a long way in Morocco; however, we are always
asked for a little guidance so here is what we would consider as fair, amounts
refer to your guide, a smaller amount can be given to your muleteer team:
1-3 days hiking –220 DHS per person
total
4-7 days hiking – 300 DHS per person
total
8 days + hiking – 350 DHS per person
total
Of course, you can offer more if you
wish; tips are usually held and then passed over during a handshake to avoid
any embarrassment or undue attention to the matter.
GRADING OF HIKES
Whilst we try to ensure that our
descriptions are accurate for most people wishing to undertake hiking in the
Atlas Mountains, clearly, there are many different factors that contribute to
the difficulty of a particular hike.
These include the length of day,
terrain, altitude and weather conditions. Since these factors are necessarily
variable, any system of grades can only provide a general indication.
We have tried to make our system as
clear as possible but it cannot account for personal abilities or
experience.
CLIMBING MOUNT TOUBKAL
The hike to the top of this peak which
is almost 960m up from the refuge will usually take at least 3 hrs and start at
5 am followed by a fairly hard 2-3 hrs walk down amongst the loose rocks by
another route where possible. It is essential that you are fully prepared for
what is for many people a demanding walk. Try to get a good sleep the night
before and a good breakfast (plus a Mars bar!) before setting off.
You are likely to need warm clothes
all year round and strong boots are essential, even in summer a warm hat would
be useful as well as some protection from the wind. If you climb down the
northern route then look out for the wreckage of a plane which hit Toubkal in
bad weather in the early 1960s, purported to be carrying guns from Portugal.
ENVIRONMENT
It is vitally important that you
respect the mountain environment; litter, in particular, is damaging the
landscape and can injure animals. Please, please take all your litter home or
drop it off at suitable points.
Mount Toubkal guiding teams are proud
guardians of their natural heritage and will ensure that rubbish is collected
and either taken out or burned where possible. In fact, our guiding teams have
been known to take a few extra minutes to collect and burn the rubbish of
groups that were not so environmentally sensitive. Some organic matter can be
left as much of it will be eaten by the local goats.
