Our third day trekking in the Atlas Mountains in Morocco was one of the longest days, hiking from the remote village of Imgdal to the even more remote community, Tizi Oussem.

We rose early to the sound of the call to prayer echoing melodically through the valley and the sun was beginning to rise above the village. By day three, I was finally accustomed to sleeping in an unheated gite on a somewhat uncomfortable futon on the floor in a room with six others. It had been quite some time since I traveled this basic and while I would have preferred a warm, cozy bed and a hot shower, the camaraderie of it all made the trip the more memorable.

Setting off into the mountains

We set off early, hiking in near darkness while the village awakened for the day. As we climbed up the side of the valley, we hiked through groves of walnut trees, fields of corn and barley alongside stunning views of the Atlas mountains. Once again, I was mesmerized by the beauty of the clouds. In the morning, they always tended to blanket the mountains until suddenly they would lift revealing the naked beauty of the snow-capped mountains.

Finally after a few hours of steadily climbing up, we reached the highest point of the our trek and it was so cold that the shrubs and trees were coated in ice. It was a magnificent sight!

After a quick break for photos and a snack, we descending down passing by gnarled juniper trees that looked like they were the inspiration for a Dr. Seuss book, until we reached a small spring tucked within the trees where we stopped for another famous Berber picnic lunch. We were sure getting spoiled! Never have I had a hot, freshly prepared picnic lunch on a hike!

After lunch, we were off again for another three hours hike zigzagging the down winding tracks of the valley. I didn’t take many photos because we were all getting rather tired by this point. However, we did enjoy hiking to the Berber songs of our guides Mohammed and Mustafa.

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Towards mid-afternoon, we came upon a small river at the beginning of the valley of Assif n’ait oussaden. Our shelter for the night would not be far. From there, we descended into the village of Tizi Oussem (1850m) where we spent the night at our gite.

Finally we see the sign for our gite and are not far.

We are welcomed by the owner, a friendly man who was so excited to have us stay at his gite for the night. 

My lovely Irish friend, Sara, who I met on the trip

This was the coldest gite of all (as they do not have heat) so we all skipped the shower and bundled up in all the clothes we had and ate another scrumptious Moroccan Tagine wrapped in our blankets. Despite the basic accommodations, I would never change a thing! This is how I love to travel and experience the world. Tucked away in the middle of nowhere with a cup of hot Berber tea. Perfect.

Missed the earlier stories? Check out Day 2 hiking the Atlas Mountains here and Day 1 here.