The Aït Bouguemez Valley

The Aït Bouguemez is a rarity in the High Atlas: a wide, flat valley floor at around 1800 metres, patchworked with terraced fields and walnut trees, with earth-built villages set against the slopes on either side and bare peaks above. Because the floor is level, walking between villages is easy, and the valley has become the standard base for longer treks towards Jebel M'Goun, one of the highest massifs in the country. Life here still runs on irrigation channels, mules and communal granaries, and a number of villages have small guesthouses run by families. The drive in is long, over a high pass, which is what keeps day trippers out.

What you actually see

• The valley floor - flat terraced fields and walnut groves between the villages.
• The earth villages - flat-roofed houses and old collective granaries on the slopes.
• The M'Goun approaches - trekking routes climbing out towards the high massif.
• Sidi Moussa hill - the restored granary on a knoll with a view down the valley.

When to go

Late spring and early autumn are the trekking seasons, with green fields in May and stable weather in September. Winter brings snow, closes the pass at times and shuts most guesthouses. Summer is warm but pleasant at this altitude. Arrange guides and mules in advance through a village guesthouse rather than on arrival.

Honest expectations

Getting here is the price of admission: a long, winding mountain road that takes most of a day from Marrakech and makes anyone prone to car sickness miserable. Accommodation is simple, heating is limited and hot water is not guaranteed. There is nothing to do here except walk, which is the point but disappoints some. Mobile signal and cash machines are unreliable.

Nearby

The road passes Azilal and the Ouzoud falls on the way in, and long treks lead over the mountains towards the Dades.