Asni & Imlil

South of Marrakech we begin our climb at Tahanoute ascending through the gorge of Moulay Brahim until it arrives in Asni, a one street town that is the administrative centre of the northern High Atlas. Imlil is a further 17kms south along a tarmac and then dirt road. The change in scenery is dramatic climbing 600 m along the banks of the Oued Reraia. Here the valley floor is surprisingly fertile and above it loom the rocky crags of North Africa’s highest mountains. Imlil is the base for trekking in Toubkal National Park, a pretty village backed by chestnut woods and set beneath a circle of mountains.