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Morocco holiday, High Atlas peaks and valleys

country:Morocco
location:Atlas Mountains, Mount Toubkal 
trip type:Moderate / strenuous trekking holidays
departures:2010: 2 May, 23 May, 30 May, 6 Jun, 20 Jun, 4 Jul, 18 Jul, 25 Jul, 1 Aug, 15 Aug, 22 Aug, 5 Sep, 12 Sep, 19 Sep, 26 Sep, 3 Oct
price:From £839 - £949 (15 days) including flights from the UK, from £559 - £599 excluding flights. Single supplement £80.
vouchers:Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday
read 4 travellers reviews
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the amazing things you'll be doing
During our trek, we plan to summit Jebel Toubkal, North Africa's highest peak (4167m), Jebel Ouanakrim (4088m) and the lesser-known Jebel Adrar n'Dern (4001m). However, this trek offers far more than peak-bagging as we discover seldom-visited gorges, passes and valleys and, as we cross the High Atlas Range, we are rewarded by spectacular views as far as the Sahara to the south. Some of our campsites are in high valleys, often cut off by snow in the winter but used as pastures during the summer months. One night we camp near Lake Ifni with the chance of an afternoon swim. When our trek is over we return to Marrakech to cool off in its pleasant gardens or to visit the souks for some last minute bargaining.
day-by-day itinerary
Day 1:Fly to Marrakech.
Day 2:Morning transfer and gentle trek towards Ait Stimane.
Days 3-6:Trek past Neolithic rock carvings into the beautiful Ourika Valley and towards the Agadir n'Ait Boulmane Gorge.
Day 7:Ascent of Jebel Adrar n'Dern (4001m).
Days 8-10:Trek though volcanic landscape of Aourai Pass, to Lac d’Ifni and up Ouanoums Gorge.
Day 11:Ascent of Jebel Ouanakrim (4088m).
Day 12:Ascent of Mt Toubkal (4167m); to village of Aremd.
Day 13:Short walk to Imlil, transfer to Marrakech. Afternoon at leisure.
Day 14:Morning guided tour on foot. Afternoon free.
Day 15:Fly to London.
travellers' tales
The most memorable part of our holiday was walking through the villages and the contact with Barber people. The scenery was also fantastic.  (more)
small group adventure holiday
Typically you will be sharing your experiences with between 4-20 like minded travellers (depending on the trip, operator and how many others are booked on the trip) and you'll have a group leader with you. Whether you are travelling alone or with friends its good value, and a great way to meet new people! While itineraries are pre-planned there is some flexibility and you'll have plenty of privacy. This trip will appeal to travellers of all ages who enjoy meeting new people as well as seeing new places.
award winner
This tourism business won an award in our 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical, Magazine of the Royal Geographical Society

how this holiday makes a difference
As a part of our continued commitment to responsible tourism, we operate this trip in a way that aims to reduce impacts and to give as much back as possible to the local communities

You can visit the Terre des Jeunes project in Marrakech on this trip. We support the project which is based just outside Marrakech and was set up to help young, underprivileged children, to be integrated back into society. The school gives these children a support network, offers them education along with the skills necessary to gain a gardening apprenticeship. They are then supported in the task of finding employment at local hotels. The projects aims are both to help these children and to promote environmental awareness.

We use a locally run operator, who employs local leaders. We have worked with them for many years and over this time have built up an excellent working relationship. We have regular training sessions with the local leaders to help them in all aspects of their jobs, to encourage them to think about the responsible tourism issues and to implement these ideas on the trips. We are working with our operator on issues like reducing our impact by not buying plastic drinking bottles but developing a refill system on our centre based trips.

Although this trip is predominantly camping, we do use locally owned and run accommodation on the hotel nights. This contributes directly to the local communities as local staff are employed and locally produced and sourced goods are bought for the accommodation benefiting the wider community. The group is limited to 16 and this small group sizes means we can stay in small locally run accommodation so helping to benefit the local communities who employ local staff and source supplies locally. This also means that the groups do not have a dramatic affect on the local communities in terms of litter and resources.

We have at our offices worked to reduce our carbon footprint through a reduction of energy use and energy conservation measures. We also actively reduce the waste produced by having active reduction and recycling policies in place. We run annual staff workshops on Responsible Tourism. Global warming is a reality and to help you make a difference by reducing the carbon dioxide that is produced when you travel we offer a chance to carbon balance your flights. We encourage all our clients to do this and do so for all our staff travel. Go on do your bit!

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