Imlil

Imlil Village - High Atlas mountains

Imlil Village is located at about 70 km from the city of Marrakech in the heart of the High Atlas Mountains in Morocco. It is about 1,800 metres (5,900 feet) above sea level. It is also very close to the mountain called "Jebel Toubkal", which is the highest peak in Northern Africa and the second highest in all Africa.

Watch this Youtube short video showing a day excursion trip to Imlil

Imlil village is a good base for people attempting to get all the way to the summit of Toubkal mountain. 
Because of its unique position, Imlil village is the most important part of mountain tourism in Morocco, because most visitors heading up to Toubkal mountain start their trikking Journey from Imlil. 
Imlil is the end of the road that a vehicle can reach, and is a natural place to hire mountain guides and mules for the onward mountain trekking and hiking. The area was expanded with time to cater for the number of tourists pouring through en route to Toubkal, it is relatively a new village. The original berber communities still exist in the valleys around Tamatert, Ait Souka, Tagadirt, Tacheddirt, Acheim, Taourirt n'Ait Mizane, Mzikene and Arhrene. 
Before the revolution of mountain tourism in Morocco, the Imlil region was pretty much known for the production of amazing walnuts, apples and delicious cherry. nowadays these are still important to the local and national economy, but they have been eclipsed by mountain tourism. Currently both mountain tourists and Moroccans come to Imlil seeking a cool relief from the heat of the region of Marrakech El-Haouz. 
The Film 'Seven years in Tibet' was partly filmed in the village.

Hyper Morocco Tours offers you the possibility to do a day trip to Imlil in a private vehicle, for more informations and booking feel free to contact us.

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Ourika Valley

Ourika Valley

Ourika is the name of a river and a valley that is located in the High Atlas mountains about 30 km from Marrakech. The river rises in the High Atlas and flows through the Ourika Valley. The valley that is accessible by vehicles is about 60 km by road from Marrakech. And is located in the foothills of the High Atlas mountains, it contains a number of Berber villages, a set of waterfalls, and also some female co-operatives manufacturing Argan oil.

How to get there
From Marrakech you have several choices:
* Rent a car if you don't have one and go there by yourself, the road is mostly well maintained.
* Organized day trip, many agencies and also hotels and riads organize one day excursion to the Ourika valley for groups of tourists. You can also go there in a private day trip if you wish.
*The last option is go there in "Grand Taxi" it's the cheapest way and would be cheaper if you share it with other people going there The Grand Taxis take 6 people max (35MAD for each person), but make sure to think about the way back ahead of time as it is sometimes not easy to find a Grand Taxi to take you back to Marrakech.
What to do there
First of all the view is magneficient, the natural landscape all along the road is something really pleasant to see. You could also visit a local traditional house in one of the berber villages there if you have the chance, the simplicity of life there is not to be missed, also try their local food if you want to get the whole experience.
You can also visit one of the Argan Oil Co-operatives there, run for and by women especially divorced or unemployed, it's their way to help themselves and their families, you will get the chance to see them working on producing cooking and cosmetic oil, soaps, creams and a dip for bread known as amlou.
Another thing you will notice is the rope bridges crossing the fast flowing river, they call them berber bridges there, they look kind of dangerous to cross, so it could be an opportunity t take some memorable pictures (Indiana Jones style).
Finally there are some local products and jeweleries that you can also purchase from local merchant. Remember to bargain.

In Hyper Morocco Tours we organize one day trip to Ourika Valley, if you are interested in booking please email us or reach us through our Contact Form

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Ait Ben Haddou - Ksar - Kasbah

Ait Ben Haddou - Ksar - Kasbah

Aït Benhaddou (in Berber: ⴰⵢⵜ ⵃⴰⴷⴷⵓ; in Arabic: آيت بن حدّو‎‎) is an ighrem (in Englissh it means a fortified village) (called ksar in Arabic), along the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech in Morocco. 
There are different versions about the history of Ait Ben Haddou, but they all agree that this place exists since the 13th centuary. It has been expanded and rebuilt throughout history several times, especially in the 17th centuary.. At first it was a stop of Caravanes coming from "Timbuktu" in the south of the great Sahara. Then it became a place where merchants used to meet and exchange their products. 

The name "Ait Ben Haddou" comes from the first family that had a Kasbah in the place (a Kasbah is a fortified big house that belongs to one big family), usually wealthy powerful families live in Kasbahs surrounded by a wall with a surveilliance tower at each corner, to prevent attacks from the enemies.. and Ait Ben Haddou (or the family of the sons of Haddou) was the first family to live on the hill before other families and tribes that are allies started building their houses and kasbahs there.
There used to be about a hundred families in the village but once life became safer they all moved to the other side of the river because it is close to the main road (the village used to be totally isolated when it rains and the level of water in the river is high. and also to get access to running water and electricity.. 
Currently there are only about four or five families that are still living in Ait ben Haddou, the rest of buildings  is just ruins or shops and cafes for the tourists, even if there are bridges now and the village have access to water and elecricity.

Ait Ben Haddou now is an important tourist attraction in the south east of Morocco, it is a major stop in all the desert tours starting from Marrakech to Merzouga in the Sahara Desert, or starting from Fes or any other place and ending in Marrakech.
There re also few camels there for people that are into Camel Trekking.
Most citizens attracted by the tourist trade live in more modern dwellings in a village on the other side of the river, although there are four families still living in the ancient village. Inside the walls of the ksar are half a dozen (Kasbahs) or merchants houses and other individual dwellings, and is a great example of Moroccan earthen clay architecture.

Aït Benhaddou has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987, link: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/444

Several films have been shot there, including:

Sodom And Gomorrah (1963)
Oedipus Rex (1967)
The Man Who Would Be King (film) (1975)
The Message (1976)
Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
Time Bandits (1981)
Marco Polo (1982)
The Jewel of the Nile (1985)
The Living Daylights (1987)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
The Sheltering Sky (1990)
Kundun (1997)
The Mummy (1999)
Gladiator (2000)
Alexander (2004)
Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
Babel (2006)
One Night with the King (2006)
Prince of Persia (2010)
Son of God (film) (2014)
Also used in parts of the TV series Game of Thrones.

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