Imlil and the Atlas Mountains day trip from Marrakech: tours, walks, Toubkal and what the earthquake changed

💡 The Short Version: Imlil is a trekking village 64 km south of Marrakech, about an hour and a half by road. A day tour walks through Berber villages and has lunch in a family house. GetYourGuide’s Atlas Mountains hiking trip with lunchad (4.8 stars from 8,094 reviews, 9 hours, groups of up to 15) is from £16.66 (list £23.80) with lunch included. The Atlas day trip with camel ridead is from £8.71 for 7 hours, with lunch as an add-on. Toubkal, at 4,167 m, is not a day trip: it is a two-day guided climb with a night in a refuge, from £85.47ad. Prices vary by option and date; the checkout shows the total (GetYourGuide).

Which trip

Blossom in the orchards of the Imlil valley, with snow on the peaks above. Photo: Toni Wöhrl, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The day tours

Atlas Mountains hiking trip with lunch

4.8 stars from 8,094 reviews · 9 hours · from £16.66 (list £23.80) · small group of up to 15

A moderate hike of 2 to 3 hours through the villages of Aït Mizane, Targa and Imoula and the orchards at Tamatert, with a Berber lunch in a family house at Aït Souka. The walk can be shortened or replaced by a car ride for the views. A camel ride of 20 to 25 minutes is optional, with Berber clothes provided. Pick-up is between 08:20 and 09:00 and drop-off between 17:00 and 18:00. The tourad is not suitable for people with heart problems. Reviewers praise the guides and the lunch; some say the marketing photos promise more than the day delivers.

Atlas day trip with camel ride

4.8 stars from 4,750 reviews · 7 hours · from £8.71

The shorter tourad stops at a women’s argan oil cooperative in Tahnaout, takes a guided walk of about 3 hours in Imlil through Aït Mizane, Targa and Imoula, and ends with a camel ride. Lunch in a Berber guesthouse costs extra and is added when you book. The operator says the camel ride may be adjusted for weather or animal welfare conditions. The tour is not for pregnant women.

Imlil with lunch in a family house

4.8 stars from 483 reviews · from £18.99 (list £23.74)

The Imlil tourad drives through the Rheraya valley, with a market stop at Asni on Saturdays, then walks 1 to 2 hours that the operator calls not hard, through Arghen and Mzik, with tea and nuts in a local home, a waterfall, and lunch prepared by a family at Aït Souka. The walk can be shortened or lengthened to your fitness.

What to see

• The road. Through Tahnaout and Asni to Imlil, 64 km, climbing into the High Atlas. The last stretch is narrow and curved.
• Imlil. 1,740 m. A trekking base at the foot of Toubkal, with guides’ offices, cafés and the start of the paths into the valleys. A visitor’s account from March 2026 describes rubble and building materials still lying around the village (Our Crossings).
• The walk. Terraced fields and walnut, apple and cherry orchards, with Toubkal visible on a clear day. The villages named on the tours are Aït Mizane, Targa, Imoula, Tamatert and Aït Souka.
• Lunch. In a family house or a guesthouse in a village, the thing most reviewers single out.
• Skip. The camel ride, if you would rather not ride one: on the tours it is a short loop at the end of the day.

Terraced fields and a stone-built village above Imlil. Photo: Erokhin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

After the 2023 earthquake

The earthquake of 8 September 2023 killed almost 3,000 people (Foreign Office), and the High Atlas valleys took much of the damage. Tours to Imlil run daily. Rebuilding is not finished: on 17 March 2026 the government’s committee reported 54,425 homes rebuilt or repaired and more than 3,000 under way, with works still running on 288 km of roads and 49 bridges (SNRT). Roadworks are still running in the region.

Toubkal is a two-day climb

Imlil 1,740 m, refuge 3,207 m, summit 4,167 m · from £85.47 (list £94.96)

Jbel Toubkal is the highest peak in North Africa. The route most people take is two days: a drive to Imlil, 5 to 6 hours’ walking on day 1 past the shrine of Sidi Chamarouch to the Toubkal refuge, a night there, then the summit and the descent, which the operator puts at 10 to 12 hours of walking, before the drive back. GetYourGuide’s 2-day Toubkal summit trekad (4.7 stars from 1,555 reviews) includes the refuge night, meals, a local guide and transport from Marrakech. Sleeping bags, crampons, ice axes and warm clothes are rented in Imlil at extra cost, and so are soft drinks, porters and a mule (the tour page prices a mule at 20 euros). The operator calls it a challenging walk rather than a climb, with crampons or an ice axe likely from November to April. Reviewers praise the guides and mention that refuge food could be better. The Foreign Office advises hiring a professional guide for hiking in the Atlas and checking that your insurance covers the activity. The 2-day Toubkal trek with one night’s stay and mealsad (from £78.35, 1,157 reviews) and the 3-day trekad (from £141.74, 786 reviews) are the other options.

The summit of Jbel Toubkal, seen from the north-west. Photo: Kaur Virunurm, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The Atlas Mountains summit day trek to 2,700 mad (4.8 stars from 334 reviews, 8 hours, groups of up to 10, from £23.74) is the hardest day walk on the list. It is not Toubkal, and it is not for low fitness.

Practical information

• Bring walking shoes with a grip, layers, sunscreen, a hat and cash.
• Weather. The Foreign Office warns that heavy rain can cause flash flooding in the mountains and near rivers, particularly in winter.
• The one thing that ruins the day. Booking the 7-hour tour expecting lunch: it is an add-on.

The Ourika Valley day trip is the shorter run into the mountains, with a waterfall, and the Ouzoud Falls day trip is the longer one. For the full set of trips, see day trips from Marrakech. Marrakech after the earthquake covers what has reopened in the city, 3 days in Marrakech shows where a mountain day fits, the best time to visit Marrakech covers the season, and what to book before you go to Marrakech has the rest.