M'Goun
Traverse
The wild heart of the High Atlas, on foot.
M'Goun 4,071 m · Morocco
The trek
The Happy Valley.
The 4,071 m ridge above it.
Two hours of piste beyond the last tarmac, the Ait Bouguemez valley opens: barley terraces, walnut groves, and a chain of earthen villages most maps still ignore. This is the trailhead. From Tabant the route climbs over the Tizi n'Ait Imi pass at 2,905 m to the Tarkeddit plateau, camps beneath the wall of the massif, and puts you on the summit of Ighil M'Goun, 4,071 m, the highest point in Morocco outside the Toubkal group, by mid-morning of day four.
8 to 14 participants. Certified High Atlas guides, a full mule caravan carrying camp, a mountain cook. Two nights under canvas at altitude, two nights in village gites, three nights in a Marrakech riad to open and close the week. June to September only: the season when the snow has left the ridge and the shepherds are up on the plateau.
Apply for the M'Goun Traverse“Toubkal has the altitude record. M'Goun has the silence, the shepherds, and the longest ridge in North Africa.”
The M'Goun high route
Ait Bouguemez, the Happy Valley
Mule caravan on the traverse
The experience
What awaits you
The traverse
A genuine crossing, not an out-and-back: from the Ait Bouguemez valley over the Tizi n'Ait Imi to the Tarkeddit plateau and out through the Tessaout headwaters. Each camp is a day further from the road.
Summit day: 4,071 m
Ighil M'Goun by its normal route: a pre-dawn start, a long scree ridge, and the second-highest massif in North Africa without ropes or crampons. Views run from Toubkal to the Sahara haze.
Berber valley life
The Ait Bouguemez is farmed as it has been for a thousand years. Walk between granaries and walnut groves, share mint tea in family homes, sleep in village gites on the first and last mountain nights.
Mule caravan camps
Muleteers carry tents, kitchen and duffels; you carry a day pack. Evening camps on the Tarkeddit plateau at 2,900 m, with the wall of the massif turning red at sunset.
Mountain rivers
Cold plunge as the mountains intended it: snowmelt pools in the Tessaout headwaters after the summit day. Brief, bracing, unforgettable.
Riad recovery
The week closes where it began, in a Marrakech riad: full hammam ceremony, deep tissue massage, one slow evening in the medina before departure.
Day by day
Eight days across the massif.
Arrival Marrakech
Private transfer from Marrakech Menara to the riad. Welcome dinner, kit check and route briefing with the mountain guide.
To the Happy Valley
4x4 transfer to the Ait Bouguemez valley (4 hours). Acclimatisation walk between villages and granaries. Night in a Berber gite in Tabant.
Tizi n'Ait Imi, 2,905 m
First full trekking day: shepherd trails to the pass, then across to the Tarkeddit plateau. First high camp at 2,900 m.
Summit day, 4,071 m
Pre-dawn start for Ighil M'Goun by the normal route. Long scree ridge, summit by mid-morning, descent back to camp.
Tessaout headwaters
Descend the wild southern side of the massif into the Tessaout valley. Snowmelt river pools, shepherd azibs. Night in camp or village gite.
Out of the mountains
Final valley stage to the roadhead. 4x4 back to Marrakech, arrival by early evening. First recovery: hammam.
Marrakech recovery
Slow morning. Deep tissue massage, medina walk, farewell dinner on the riad roof.
Departure
Breakfast and transfer to Marrakech Menara. Or extend: ask about additional nights in Marrakech.
Included
Everything.
- 7 nights accommodation (Marrakech riad 3, village gites 2, high camps 2)
- Certified High Atlas mountain guide throughout
- Full mule caravan: muleteers, camp crew and mountain cook
- All meals on trek and in Marrakech
- Private 4x4 transfers Marrakech to Ait Bouguemez and Tessaout to Marrakech
- Full camp equipment (tents, mattresses, mess tent)
- Hammam ceremony and one deep tissue massage
- Trek permits and guide fees
- Single supplement on request
Getting there
How to arrive.
Fly into Marrakech Menara (RAK). Casablanca Mohammed V (CMN) works for connecting flights. Day 2 is a private 4x4 transfer to the Ait Bouguemez valley, around 4 hours through the Azilal foothills, included.
The trek is a genuine point-to-point crossing: vehicles meet the group at the Tessaout roadhead on day 6 for the return to Marrakech. No technical climbing, but sure feet and solid fitness are required: two consecutive days above 3,000 m with 900 to 1,100 m of daily ascent.
Nearest airports
2027 Season
Receive the full programme
8 days · 8 to 14 guests · Morocco. We send the itinerary, dates and availability by return.
No newsletters. One email with the programme, nothing more.
Trekking in Morocco
One country, five massifs, a trek for every season.
From the 4,000 m summits of the High Atlas to the volcanic towers of the Anti-Atlas and the dunes of Erg Chigaga, the Umnya trekking collection covers Morocco year-round. Start with the guide, then pick your season.
Atlas Mountains Retreat
Imlil & Toubkal · Sep to May
Trekking & Recovery
Marrakech & High Atlas · September
Sirwa Saffron Trek
Anti-Atlas · Saffron harvest, Oct to Nov
Saghro Winter Trek
Jebel Saghro · Winter sun, Oct to Apr
Trekking with the Nomads
Erg Chigaga, Sahara · Oct to Apr
Rif Mountain Trail
Chefchaouen · October & May
The ridge is long. The season is short.
Submit your application. We respond within 48 hours.
Apply for the M'Goun Traverse