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Life TimesTravel

The Journal

Trekking, desert, mountains and the roads between — written from Morocco, at the pace the country actually moves.

14 pieces matching “atlas”

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Two ski tourers skinning across a snow bowl below a rocky cirque in the High Atlas, one raising both poles
Trekking
High Atlas

What Everything Costs, Part 1: The Mountains

Trekking, Toubkal, ski touring, mountain biking and the Atlas day trips — real prices in dirham and euro, how long each takes, and what is genuinely included.

6 min read
Terraced fields above an Atlas valley at sunrise in spring, young green barley on the upper terraces and bare tilled soil below
Journeys
Morocco

The Best Time to Visit Morocco, Month by Month

There is no single best month — there is a best month for what you actually want to do. Marrakech in August and the High Atlas in August are two different countries. A working calendar from people who guide in all twelve.

5 min read
Four people sitting cross-legged on the sand around a small fire at night in the Sahara, one clapping a rhythm
Journeys
Sahara & High Atlas

Meditation Travel in Morocco: Where the Silence Actually Is

Retreats sell stillness; the Sahara gives it away. Where in Morocco you can genuinely hear nothing, what the hammam and Sufi traditions offer, and how to build a contemplative trip without booking a package.

6 min read
The earthen kasbah of Aït Ben Haddou in late afternoon light, tiered mudbrick houses rising above the dry riverbed
Journeys
Marrakech to the Sahara

A 7-Day Morocco Itinerary That Isn't Exhausting

One week, honestly assessed. The classic Marrakech–Sahara–Atlas loop, what it costs you in driving hours, and the three ways people ruin a seven-day trip by adding one city too many.

4 min read
A fortified cliff granary built into an overhanging rock face high above a gorge, its stone storeys following the ledge
Trekking
High Atlas & Anti-Atlas

Trekking in Morocco: Which Route Is Right for You?

Toubkal, the M'Goun traverse, the Anti-Atlas, the Sahara and Jebel Saghro compared honestly — by days, altitude, difficulty and what each one is actually like underfoot.

5 min read
A line of ski tourers skinning up a broad snow slope in the High Atlas, bare brown ridges and a valley visible far below
Mountains
High Atlas

Ski Touring and Splitboarding in the High Atlas

Skinning up 4,000-metre peaks with the Sahara on the horizon. The season, the routes off Toubkal and Oukaimeden, avalanche reality, what to bring, and why Morocco is the most underrated touring country in reach of Europe.

7 min read
Trekkers in insulated jackets on the rocky summit ridge of Toubkal at first light, jagged pinnacles and the final plateau behind them
Trekking
High Atlas

Climbing Toubkal: What the Mountain Actually Asks

North Africa's highest peak is a walk, not a climb — but at 4,167 metres it is a walk that punishes anyone who treats it casually. Seasons, the refuge, the guide rule, and the altitude.

4 min read
A long bare ridgeline of grey limestone above a deep cirque, summit cairns in the foreground and no vegetation at this altitude
Trekking
Central High Atlas

The M'Goun Traverse: Morocco's Better Long Walk

A hundred metres shorter than Toubkal and a fraction as busy. Six days from the Happy Valley over a 4,068-metre summit, through gorges you wade rather than walk.

3 min read
Sheer rock walls rising above a narrow gorge floor and a shallow stream
Mountains
Anti-Atlas

The Anti-Atlas: Morocco's Quiet Mountains

Older than the High Atlas, lower, drier and almost empty of visitors. Painted rock, almond terraces, and granite the colour of rust.

3 min read
Aerial view over the packed rooftops and minarets of the Fez medina
Journeys
Marrakech · High Atlas · Essaouira

A Week in Morocco With Friends

Group trips fail on decisions, not distance. A route that suits six people with different budgets, different fitness and one person who wants to shop.

3 min read
A winding mountain pass road cutting through bare upland slopes under heavy cloud
Mountains
High Atlas

The Road Over Tizi n'Tichka

Two thousand two hundred and sixty metres, a hundred and eighty kilometres of switchbacks, and the moment the country changes completely.

2 min read
Amazigh flatweaves and pile carpets hung floor to ceiling in a Fez carpet fondouk, zellij and carved plaster behind
Craft
Middle Atlas

What the Carpets Say

Amazigh women encoded a written language into wool for centuries — zigzag for water, diamond for protection, and a vocabulary most buyers never notice.

2 min read