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ROUTE ONE

Jbel Tazekka (Tazzeka) 1980m

Commitment	A day-walk from the nearest motorable road, which could even be completed in a day from Fes. Camping nearby or using local accommodation as described is a better option – enjoy the magnificiently different area. About 7km and 500m of ascent from the road.
Maps	100: Taza (but really a road map and the description given would suffice).
Texts	Fully described in HB.
Travel to start	Using public transport one would have to find a shared taxi up from Taza – with an opportunist return. An easy but scenic drive in hired transport or self-drive care hire from Fes.
Local assistance	Not needed. A park visitor centre at Bab bou Idir is worth a visit, situated by the maison forestière.

A fine, easy walk to the high point of the glorious cedar forests of north-east Morocco.

The Middle Atlas sees far fewer mountain visitors than elsewhere, a reflection I’m sure of the lure of the big, whereas much of the area offers indescribably beautiful hills covered in cedar forest, the Cedrus atlanticum. Jbel Tazekka is isolated enough for cedars to have evolved here that are regarded as a subspecies. The area is a national park.

The Tazekka cedar forest

Meknes and Fes, two of Morocco’s imperial cities (the others are Rabat and Marrakech) lie not far away from the Tazekka rump of the Middle Atlas, and to the north, with a narrow gap between, lie the Rif Mountains. The Arab invasion came through the ‘Taza Gap’ in the seventh century, a unique chink in the mountains that form a battlement around Morocco. It was from Taza we began our end-to-end Atlas trek, which finished on the Atlantic coast at Tamri, and Jbel Tazekka was the first hill climbed on the trip. I’ve been back since. The end of March visit gave the best display of flowers – including gagea, romulea, miniature daffodils, pansies and ranunculus. Ground churned up is a sign of wild boar in the area.

Camp on the Dyat Chicker

The N6 major road (motorway to be built) – and railway – from Fes to Oujda (on the Algerian border) goes through the Taza Gap, and from it a loop road climbs southwards to the Tazekka heights, a fine 75km day’s motoring circuit if nothing else. There are worked cork oak forests lower down, pleasant falls and a vast cave complex which can be descended (all described in HB), but the pull for me was always Jbel Tazekka. On the last visit we were staying in rooms and tents at a farm near the Friouato cave and simply drove along the road circuit until below Tazekka. This road goes past the holiday camp of Bab bou Idir, descends to a dip (Bab Taka, 1450m, where the road to Rbat-el-Khayr heads south), then climbs again. The piste up Tazekka breaks off just 1km on from this junction.

An Atlas olive press

The piste is a forestry/mast-servicing track that wends up the hill, through mixed woodland with an unusual oak (where they are reintroducing red deer), and then leads across a grassy neck and up a final thrust of conical hill covered in magnificent cedars. Just picking footpaths up through these trees is a joy – a scented coolness. The trees go right to the top of Jbel Tazekka, but there are glimpses dizzily down to the Taza Gap, hazy mountains away to the north, and the snowy Iblane/Naceur heights to the south. The track to the summit is about 8km. The actual piste and what’s shown on 100 disagree; just keep to the piste as far as the cedars.

ROUTE TWO

Jbel bou Naceur 3326m, Moussa ou Salah 3172m and Jbel bou Iblane 3081m

Commitment	As described this is a 5-day challenging mountain crossing needing real commitment. I’m sure Ali would be happy to organise a repeat. Iblane lies above a road from the N so is the easier peak – could be done in a day from Fes.
Maps	100: Missour (only for El Hajj–Tirnest access), Berkine, Ribat al Khayr.
Texts	HB touches on Iblane; MP2 the main source.
Travel to start	Easy now for Iblane and the N side with tarmac roads up from Birtam Tam (N6) to Taffert or from Taza and Merhraoua to below the mountain. Hiring from Fes. Hiring from Midelt possible for Tirnest and Bou Naceur. Moussa ou Salah tackled from the Bled Tiserouine (c1990m) gives the easiest ascent (c1185m), either direct or by the Tizi n’ Tzirouch, to SW. Allow 3hrs. Bou Naceur, with 2000m of ascent from Tirnest, is best done in two days, ascending as described.
Local assistance	If making a trek, then mules and organising with a guide would be advisable. Simply ‘bagging’ the hills could be done using shared public transport, but timings would be open-ended.

The dominant mountains of north-east Morocco are seldom visited, so offer greater rewards for relatively easy access.

In February 1990 two of us set off to ‘beat the bounds’ of Morocco, so to speak, travelling south by bus from Agadir to Bouizakarne, then east to Tata, Foum Zguid, Ouarzazate, Ar-Rachidia and Figuig, then north to Oujda and west to Taza and Fes. (Advice: take a cushion.) Particularly on the Oujda–Fes stretch, when we’d gone by train, we were aware of snowy sweeps of mountain many miles off to port. They were even visible from Fes rooftops. What could they be? Eventually we realised they were the long crests of Jbel bou Iblane and Jbel bou Naceur. Two years later (May 1992) we set off to find and climb them – ‘we’ were the GTAM trio of Charles, Ali and myself, plus another friend.

Jbel bou Iblane under deep snow

We travelled by Land Rover hired from Marrakech via Kasba Tadla to reach Midelt. We passed a forgotten hotel night, but had a memorable meal in a small restaurant, Fes, the sort of eatery one bends routes to take in (grilled quinces once). Next day it was down the bleak Oued Melwiya (Moulouya) road – the only big river heading for the Mediterranean – and, at Outat Oulad el Hajj, onto a piste towards the mountains. The piste ran out, and some cross-country sport was needed to reach the village of Tirnest. Peyron was our guide for this trip and indispensable. (Tirnest will certainly have a good piste by now.)

The north flank of Jbel bou Nacceur

Outsiders had rarely come to the village, and the headman was far too scared to help us without authorisation. To stop us he said there were no mules, so we simply packed our rucksacks and set off to backpack at 14.00. That horrified them. On our heads be it. We put in 5 hours of sweaty labour to round into the Taouchguelt (Tawchgelt) glen, whose head was Bou Naceur, leaving a mere Ben Nevis equivalent to climb next day. Water was scarce, but we followed a donkey for an hour to a source. A shepherd made tea for us, and we gave him surplus vegetables (from now on we fought every ounce of the way) before a night that produced a saturating dew.

The first brew went on at 05.00. On our second hour the slope reared up. We followed a gully next to the main one, which entailed some scrambling on rock rough as the Cuillin of Rum. There were bumps galore in the snowy waste once up, so there was something of a tour to be sure of the highest, given 3326m. There were great views over to Iblane, and Tinesmet village, our next objective, lay in a green spot among the greys and browns. We felt the altitude a bit and Ali had a touch of snow blindness. We then, perforce, had a high bivvy, melting snow for water.

Jbel bou Iblane beyond the village of Beni Smint

The school inspector met below the Tizi ou Mial

We had thought of adding 3128m Adrar n’ Siouane (Gaberal), another distinctive neighbour, but baled off and headed for the oasis of Tinesmet, where we were given marvellous hospitality in a house and the promise of a mule for the donkey work ahead. Westing led us over minor tizis to reach a piste which dropped from the final Tizi ou Mial to the village of Beni Smint. In the middle of nowhere we were caught up by a man in a city suit, carrying a brief case – a school inspector on tour. In his city shoes he happily ran down screes. We had a delectable bivvy (three-quarters moon) above the village. The headman came for coffee and to get our details. A good piste led on, and flanks Iblane, and we eventually made a high bivvy in weather doubtful enough that the two muleteers built parallel walls, wove grass ropes and supported the panniers across the gap to make a shelter. There were storms all round, but we were just gently rained on.

Moussa ou Salah from Beni Smint

We had a second breakfast on reaching the tizi between Moussa and the western Iblane crest (Tizi n’ Tzirouch), left our rucksacks and drifted up to Moussa ou Salah, at 3172m the highest summit of the region. There’s an odd crater, and snow still lingered. We hurried down to our sacks as people had suddenly appeared. Shaly slopes led up to a first 3103m bump – according to Peyron – which would make it the highest top of this north-east end of long, undulating Jbel bou Iblane. We went on to 3081m to make sure, but by this time we were surrounded by black clouds trailing rain and grumbling thunder. Lightning is a great booster of pace. We skeltered off fast, fine scree runs and snow runnels helping.

We hit the piste on this flank by the Tizi Ouaouesra (Wawesra) and headed for our rendezvous with the mule at the cedar forest Taffert ‘refuge’. They, off the Tizi Bouzabel at the south-west end of Iblane, arrived just as we did. Our end was in our beginning. The guardian needed authorisation to accommodate us and the caïd’s office was an hour’s motoring away. He relented in the end. The place was as spooky as the hotel in ‘The Shining’. But dry. Next day a camionette took us down to Birtam Tam and a taxi into Fes. QED. A typical ‘raid’.

This has forever remained one of my happiest memories of Atlas trekking. Just going, with minimal pre-knowledge, the fun of discovery, decisions to make, and taking the consequences. By the time we came this way again on GTAM95 there was a caïd’s office under Bou Iblane and roads were being upgraded for surfacing. Today you could just drive up from the north, even Fes, and do Moussa ou Salah as a day-walk, and something similar from the south-east for Bou Naceur. But take Ali, find a mule, and make something of it. You’re not likely to meet any other trekkers.

ROUTE THREE

Jbel Ayyachi (Ayachi) 3747m and Jbel Masker 3265m

Commitment	Seriously big mountains. Masker can be done as a good 1325m day-ascent from Tounfite, but access to Ayyachi is more difficult and would take 2–3 days if traversing as described, or a very long day by its easiest option – straight up from the N.
Maps	100: Tounfite, Rich, Midelt. Route sketches in MP2 and BD.
Texts	MP2 describes several routes (sketches) on both mountains, as does BD, who also has some illustrations.
Travel to start	Midelt, Zeïda and Boumia are staging posts to Tounfite. Midelt is an option for Ayyachi (as described), but the easiest ascent is from the Cirque de Jaffer road. With the start at 2150m, and the highest point 3747m, a long day would be needed for up and down.
Local assistance	Not really needed for Masker or Ayyachi from the N, but for Ayyachi’s traverse contacting a guide and mule in Midelt would be helpful.

These extensive giants dip beyond horizons, east and west, and offer good sport at the eastern extremity of the Atlas Mountains.

Looking across the wide Melwiya (Moulouya) plain, the long crests of Ayyachi–Masker visibly curve to dip beyond horizons. The scale is vast. In earlier centuries travellers heading along the Trek es Sultan, the road from Fes to the Tafilet and the Sahara, were so impressed with the snowy majesty of Ayyachi that they assumed it was the highest summit in the country.

Nearing the summit of Saïd ou Ali, Jbel Ayyachi

Ayyachi was first ascended by an outsider, the renowned French explorer de Segonzac, in 1901. With the penetration from the north-east the French had the mountain as an enviable playground. Peyron tells a tale of the period when Tounfit was captured, in 1932, and a group of important military staff toiled up Ayyachi (much of it on mules) only to find a soldier pedalling round the summit on a bicycle. They were not amused.

We headed for the mountain in May 1992 following our traverse of Bou Naceur and Bou Iblane (Route 2), although we had had a couple of relaxing days in Fes in between. From such descriptions as we had, we started from Midelt and had a camionette the 12km into Tattiouine (Tattiwiyn), intending to hire a mule there. Tourists had queered the pitch by paying more for an hour’s ride than the standard rate for a full day, and we stood for over an hour while Ali argued prices. We were not even invited to tea somewhere, very unusual. And all too soon the shy children of remote areas became brazen scroungers, their greeting a ‘Bonjour, un dirham!’

Looking east along the north slopes of Saïd ou Ali

We trailed up the unexciting Oued Ikkis valley (friendly old shepherds) and camped short of the tizi to be sure of water. Our muleteer was feckless and Ali did everything for him. There was a lot of rain overnight. Next morning we had to wait an hour on the Tizi n’ Ikkis (2830m) before man and beast caught up. We headed up a ridge from there only to have the muleteer refuse to go any further. We damned him, sent him off, ate all the heavy food items and shouldered our packs. The long 700m climb to the snowy crest gave us a display of every type of scree; hard grafting. A dip and on led to the first major top, Ali ou Aïssa (3686m), which had a Toubkal-style trig. Continuing, the highest point of all, Ichichi n’ Boukhlib (3747m), proved nothing but a shale tip. The weather was looking bad. We left our rucksacks at the next dip to go on to what is considered the finest summit, Saïd ou Ali (3727m), to which northern approaches aim and from which Domenech shows a variety of ski descents. The ridge rolled away westwards for ever it seemed, but, having traversed the highest trio, we felt excused further effort. In fact, with thunder around, all we wanted to do, was run – down. The down was on 2000m. Poor old knees.

We straggled into the village of Taarart soaked to the skin, the eye of the storm crashing round, which the villagers found hilarious. The cheik took in the tired gang. Even Ali was somewhat weary. We sat steaming round a wood-burning stove made out of an old paint tin, which was as efficient as a four-figure priced equivalent at home. Despite the village’s limited means we were given a huge tagine at supper and bedding appeared after the mint tea. The electric light was supplied by wind power. Some of the old men who came to say hello only spoke Tamazight, not even Arabic. Yet next day we were able to use a thrice-a-week camion out to Tounfite. Ayyachi was plastered in snow.

The exit took all morning as people piled on with goods and goats, and we were 35 on board eventually – a cheerful, sociable run which we thoroughly enjoyed. Ali had chatted up a soldier who took us to his sister’s house for a lunch tagine. At dusk, with clouds building up again, we went to a hammam and came out cooked and clean. We had a room at the back of a shop, and Ali borrowed a tagine dish to cook a marvellous meal from the fresh vegetables we’d bought. There was another storm.

Local girls of the Atlas

We woke to wind and scudding cloud, even at the town’s 1940m, but still set off to bag Jbel Masker, Ayyachi’s imitative little brother, with tops, running west to east, of 3257m, 3265m and 3242m. We took bivvy gear in case, but hoped to be up and down in the day. We were off at 06.00. After a false start through the town’s rubbish dump we hit the trail through to a village, Ardouz, which we skirted, then worked up through fields and found a good break through the cedar band beyond. We zigzagged up scrub (juniper and the like), which was not at all scrabbly. A gully and onto snow led us to the crest just west of the highest point, 3265m – a more enjoyable ascent than Ayyachi’s. We only caught glimpses of white Ayyachi through the tearing clouds so were not lingering. Using snow rims and screes we descended quickly. Ali, ahead, had stopped in the forest and lit a fire so we had welcome brews. We made Tounfite before the storm. At supper we had the loudest crack of thunder I’ve ever heard. It rattled the café and set children howling.

A decorative Atlas door

ROUTE FOUR

Jbel Hayane 2410m

Commitment	The easiest walk in this book, a good summit to take in during a passing road journey.
Maps	100: Azrou. A road map that shows the hill and the road would suffice.
Texts	Mailly alone just mentions the hill – for skiing (so I suspect flocks do move out). My description above is ample.
Travel to start	8.5km piste off the R13 Azrou–Midelt road, and own transport essential. Could be done as a day-outing from Fes. Allow 3hrs for the traverse.
Local assistance	Not needed.

This small outrider of the cedar country rewards with a gentle day’s walk.

Hayane was climbed in September 2000, and although of modest height it is the highest summit in the wedge of cedar-forest country held by the Azrou–Khenifra–Zeïda roads. We had walked through the cedars on GTAM95, impressed by both the stately giants and the evidence of prolific regeneration, so were keen to return.

The lone tree on Jbel Hayane

Six of us were in a Land Rover, so I suggested trying to backtrack on GTAM95 from Kerrouchen to the north-east to see the best trees we’d noted. Heading east from Khenifra we took the minor road, not the R503, to El Kebab, a lively Monday souk (which has lured us back several times) then, still a goudron, up the Oued Serrou valley to the Kerrouchen turn-off. On subsequent visits (Land Rover or minibus) we’ve continued over the Tizi n’ Rechou to Zeïda – recommended rather than the R503. On this occasion we set off into the forest from Kerrouchen and simply became mislaid in a maze of pistes large and small, several leading to dead ends. We certainly saw cedar trees. Eventually we came out at Itzer, so went over the Col du Zad (N13) to camp by the known Aguelmame (lac) de Sidi Ali. Jbel Hayane was the highest in the area – and near.

Heading for the souk

I had a note of how to find the hill, and we set off north on the N13 for a turn-off after 4km. We found the Bekrite road was our turn-off, a goudron, although we still measured off 8.5km to the corner where we wanted to start walking – but this was hardly needed, as Jbel Hayane was in full view, forested on the left. A piste towards the hill helped, then we headed south to gain the south-east crest. There were still flowers to interest and wheatears heading south. We found lots of agates in the strata and a stone looking like Kendal Mint Cake (the original?). The first bump was skirted on the left, the second on the right, then there was a dip before the final pull to the summit. A stone tower on top was a surprise, but gave a wind break behind which to have a snack before we continued down the long north-east ridge on the other side of the valley. We dropped down into it at a nomad camp and were given tea in a wigwam of wooden boards. There seemed to be sources a-plenty even after the summer heat. Could they over-winter there?

Plains in the spring flush with colour

As it was too early to eat we ran over the Col du Zad to Zeïda, a thriving place of transport cafés, bought hot bread and spicy sardines, apples and pomegranates, which we demolished at Timnay, a camp-site complex we’ve used on many journeys, and at night ran into Midelt to dine at the Fes, enjoying ‘the best ever meal in Morocco’, to quote one old hand. I’ve topped and tailed Hayane really to show the multiplicities of enjoyment that can stitch together any day travelling in Morocco.