Morocco Destination Guide
Imlil
The Valley Below ToubkalWhere the Road
Runs Out
Imlil is the last village the road reaches. After it there are mules, footpaths and the highest mountain in North Africa. It sits at about 1,740 metres at the head of the Aït Mizane valley, ninety minutes from the Jemaa el-Fna by car and a long way from it in every other respect.
Walnut trees, terraced barley and cherry orchards fill the valley floor, and villages of stone and earth are stacked on the slopes above. The valley has been the gateway to Toubkal for a century and has built a living around guiding, muleteering and guesthouses without turning into a resort.
The 2023 earthquake was felt hard in this part of the High Atlas and several villages lost houses. The valley is open, rebuilding and working, and the guesthouses here need visitors more than they did before.
Imlil Quick Facts
Six Things
Within a Morning
Everything here is reached on foot. Nothing here needs a ticket.
Aroumd
The largest village in the valley, forty minutes up on foot, built on an old moraine above the river. The classic first walk from Imlil and the best view back down the valley.
The Mule Yard
The square in Imlil where loads are weighed and mules are hired. Everything that goes up the mountain starts here, and it is the most interesting half hour in the village.
Sidi Chamharouch
A white painted boulder and a shrine two and a half hours up the Toubkal path, a place of pilgrimage long before it was a waypoint for trekkers.
Tizi n’Tamatert
A pass on the old track east, about two hours up, with the whole Aït Mizane valley behind you and the high ridges ahead.
The Kasbah du Toubkal
A restored kasbah on the hill above the village, run with the community. Worth the climb for the terrace and the view whether or not you are staying.
The Walnut Terraces
The irrigated ground along the river below the village, at its best in late spring when the barley is green and the cherry trees are out.
How to Use
Your Days Here
Most people pass through Imlil on the way to a summit. The valley is worth more than that.
Walk to Aroumd Before Breakfast
Forty minutes up the river through walnut trees and across the moraine. The village wakes while you walk and the light on the ridge is at its best in the first hour.
Take Two Days on Toubkal, Not One
Up to the refuge at 3,207 metres on the first afternoon, summit at dawn and down the same day. Attempting it in a single push from the village is how people get into trouble.
Hire a Muleteer Even If You Carry Your Own Pack
The men in the mule yard know the weather, the paths and the villages. Hiring one is how this valley makes its living, and it is how you learn what you are looking at.
Sleep Above the Road
Aroumd, Tamatert or Mzik rather than Imlil itself. The valley is quieter a hundred metres higher, and the mornings there are a different thing altogether.
Green Valley
White Mountain
The valley walks work all year. The summit does not.
April to June. Snowmelt in the river, cherry blossom, green terraces and snow still on the tops. Crampons may still be needed above the refuge into May.
July and August. Hot in Marrakech and pleasant up here, the busiest weeks on the mountain, and guesthouses fill at weekends.
September to November. Clear, settled weather, the best summit window of the year, and the walnut harvest in the valley.
December to March. Beautiful, but Toubkal needs crampons, an ice axe and a guide who knows the conditions. The valley walks stay open.
Journeys That
Start at Imlil
Imlil is the trailhead for Toubkal and the first mountain night on several of our journeys.
8 DaysToubkal and High Valleys Trek
Eight days from Imlil through the Azaden and Aït Mizane valleys to the 4,167 metre summit of Jebel Toubkal, with proper acclimatisation.
View Journey
9 DaysMorocco Family Adventure
Three nights in Marrakech with family activities, then Imlil Valley, Agafay Desert and Essaouira.
View Journey
9 DaysSustainable Morocco
Family owned guesthouses, Amazigh guides and two days walking between High Atlas villages.
View JourneyThey Travelled With Us
We did a 6 day Trek to Toubkal with Mohamed. That was really great. Mohamed is an excellent guide and he bent over backwards so that everything went well for the whole group of 16 people. I highly recommend.
My 2nd trek with Authentic Travel Tour [now Afsou Travels Morocco] and with Mohamed, this time at Toubkal. Mohamed is a great guide, kind, very professional and attentive to all. Everything is perfectly organized and the scenery is beautiful. I recommend 100%.
Mohammed had the talent to make us approach beautiful sites, far from places a little too touristy. He tells us with passion, humor and knowledge about his beautiful country. A true storyteller.
Start Where
the Road Ends
We have worked with the same guides and muleteers in this valley for twenty five years, and we put our travellers in village houses rather than lodges. Tell us your dates and we will build the days around them.