Introduction Morocco - 'le pays lointain le plus proche' Morocco is a fascinating world of extremes. There are few places on earth where you can journey with such ease from the comfort of exotic cities, only ever imagined in an Arabian Nights fantasy, into a remote wilderness with extraordinary contrasts of stark mountains, green valleys and harsh deserts, of colourful, hospitable peoples and isolated, picturesque settlements. The Moroccan Atlas is a mountain range of exceptional beauty and cultural interest but it is still relatively little visited, a fact which makes the Atlas, to my mind, a far more exciting proposition than the European ranges. Add to that the wonderful hospitality of the local Berber people, the rich texture of North African life and the dazzling allure of Marrakech and other Moroccan centres, and you will begin to see why a growing number of trekkers are choosing to explore this great range which the ancient Greeks thought to be the home of Atlas. Why Morocco? On the one hand, it can be quickly and easily reached by most Western travellers; yet, on the other, Morocco calls us to step into a fantastic, often surreal world that, in so many aspects, is so very, very far from our own. As was once explained to me long ago, Morocco surpasses all other destinations because it is quite simply 'le pays lointain le plus proche' (the nearest far away country). About this book This guidebook has been written with both the experienced and novice trekker in mind. The routes described are challenging but accessible.

Regular hikers might find they cover ground more quickly than the route notes suggest but the book has been designed to allow readers to tackle as much or as little as they please at any one time. It also contains detailed information on Marrakech, an exploration of which is a fascinating part of the Atlas experience, and on all other relevant towns and trailheads. There's practical information on every aspect of planning, arranging and enjoying an Atlas trek - from what to pack to what to say in French, Arabic and Berber. There are also sections on the fauna of the Atlas, a guide to bird life and a section on minimum impact trekking. The routes This book can include only a fraction of the treks available in the Atlas mountains, a range which spans some 1200 miles across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. But the routes reported here form a representative selection and each offers some distinct or unique draw which qualifies it for inclusion in the guide: the Toubkal area is the highest in the Atlas; Mgoun is arguably the most classically beautiful; Sirwa is remote and challenging; and Sahro is the Atlas at its weird and striking best.