Morocco – Aroumd 24/10/16 – 25/10/16

Day 10
Today we travelled for around 5 hours on our bus to a remote village called Aroumd high in the High Atlas mountains in the Toubkal National Park . En route we travelled through Tizi n’Tichka pass, a mountainous region some 2260 meters above sea level. This journey just like all the other road journeys in Morocco was unbelievably spectacular with views of snow capped mountains and valleys lush and green. We had a stop off in a village called Imlil to store our main luggage as we were about to start our trek up the High Atlas Mountains. The day itself was wet and the whole 2 days remained drizzly, however this did not stop our fun nor impair our views of the mountains towering above us. The track although slippery in parts, took us along a river through the most lush forest with views of the snow topped mountains. We spent the night in a traditional Berber family Gite and were treated like kings and queens. The family consisted of husband and wife with 3 adorable girls ranging in age from 3 to maybe 8. They all wore traditional garments all made from hand woven sheep and camel wool, very highly decorated and with every colour of the rainbow imaginable. Such a lovely family. The man of the home spoke very good English so we were all able to have a great natter with him. There was food galore, all home cooked, with a roaring fire in the Gite. The dining table was set next to a very large, (floor to ceiling) window, overlooking the mountains and neighbouring village. Once it turned dark, the village lit up with lights from almost every building, and with the snow it looked like a perfect winter wonderland. Each building had a trail of smoke coming from its chimney, absolutely stunning. As our tour notes stated, “ far from the reach of modern worlds” and crickey it certainly was.
The following morning, after a hearty breakfast which included the best porridge ever, we were supposed to trek further up the Atlas. However the drizzly rain from yesterday had turned into a flash flood overnight, so our guide opted to take us back down to the village at the base of the mountain. We took the same journey in reverse, and this was as amazing as the upwards route. Every corner led all of us into a photo frenzy, the views, the smells of burning wood, the sound of the river – heavy now with rapids – all competing with each other, truly wonderful. Once at the base we collected our bags and set off for our next destination.