
The Ait Bou Oulli Valley in Morocco
The tour operators are familiar with the territory you will be visiting, which is most important since many of the villages and points of interest are not mapped. Ait Bougmez is located in the High Atlas Mountains; however, the Ait Bougmez region is mostly for walking Morocco tours or shorter explorations. In the High Atlas Mountains you have two very tall peaks: There is the Jbel Toubkal at 4,167 meters and the M’Goun. The M’Goun Massif is in the Ait Bougmez Valley. It is the longest trek you can take in that region. The other treks can be day trips or two day+ trips.
The Ait Bou Oulli Valley trek will first take you to Agouti. Agouti is a local village at over 2,000 meters. Heading west from Agouti you can take a day trip to the valley. This trekking tour can be walked, driven, or mules can be used. If you take the walking trek mules will be available to help you pack your gear.
The trek starts with a steep downhill on a sheer mountain side into the valley. The valley is narrow with thick walnut trees throughout the entire wadi. The wadi is used to irrigate small areas of land for farming, which is the sustenance villages will live on year round.
Rising up from the valley a slight distance away is the Jbel Ghat. The Jbel Ghat is a mountain peak with mythical associations and histories. Many Berber’s will travel to the Jbel Ghat once a year to pay homage to the legend. Also on the trekking Morocco tour throughout the Ait Bou Oulli Valley is the village of Abackhou. This village is set a little higher than the valley itself, and is most well known for the white capes the villagers make.
By journeying to this remote region of Morocco, you see the culture that lives through their hands–from making beautiful garments, creating paintings in their homes, and living off the land, they use their hands to create, live and work as though time has stood still for ages.
by Sam Mitchell
Hi Sam,
This summer Sheffield University Speleological Society is running a caving expedition to Morocco, to discover, explore and map the caves of Morocco. We hope to camp on the Jbel Ghat, and I was wondering whether you have any maps of this area or know of a good source for maps.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Rosie
SUSS Morocco 2012 Exped Secretary
Hi Suss,
Maps are quite good in Morocco and most of these areas are covered except those military ” zones in the South which you need to get from a legal source. this allows you to contact the office de la cartographie in rabat to provide you with a full set of maps of areas you want to cover.
Best of luck,
Mustapha,
Moroccan Skies manager.