Is Morocco good for mountain lovers and hikers?

Mountain lovers and hikers are often the most pleasantly surprised of all my clients — Morocco is a genuinely serious trekking country, not just a desert one. The High Atlas runs for hundreds of kilometres and culminates in Jebel Toubkal at 4,167 metres, the highest peak in North Africa. It is a non-technical but demanding two- or three-day climb from the trailhead village of Imlil, with a mountain refuge en route, and standing on that summit at dawn above a sea of peaks is something hikers remember for life.

You do not need to bag a 4,000-metre peak to have a wonderful walking trip, though. The Ourika Valley and the Imlil area offer day hikes through walnut groves and Berber hamlets within easy reach of Marrakech, while the Aït Bougmez — the "Valley of Happiness" — is the classic multi-day traverse, with terraced fields, mud-brick villages and the kind of warm hospitality that defines mountain Morocco. Many treks here run with a local guide, a cook and mules carrying the kit, so you walk light and eat well.

Beyond the High Atlas there is real variety. The Middle Atlas around Azrou and Ifrane has cedar forests, lakes and gentler walking with macaques in the trees; the M'Goun massif offers tougher high-altitude treks and gorge walks; and up north the Rif mountains around Chefchaouen give green, accessible day hikes straight from the blue-painted town. In summer, when the lowlands bake, the mountains are exactly where you want to be.

My practical honesty: respect the seasons and the altitude. Toubkal in winter is a snow climb needing crampons and ice axe; the prime trekking windows are April to June and September to October, when the passes are clear and the temperatures kind. Acclimatise, break in your boots, and let me match the route to your fitness — there is a tier here for everyone, from gentle valley strolls to a genuine high-mountain expedition, and the village-to-village format is what makes it special.