Climbing the roof of North Africa attracts a large number of trekking enthusiasts. This ascent attracts the crowd all the more because it does not present great technical difficulties and because the assistance of mule drivers and their mules reduces physical effort. The distance and the elevation are still relatively high since between Imlil and Mount Toubkal hikers travel nearly 35 kilometers round trip with an elevation of nearly 5,000 meters. The altitude being relatively high (3,200 meters at the refuge and 4,167 meters at the summit), the risk of acute mountain sickness (headaches, nosebleeds, vomiting) is not zero although its effects remain very moderate at this height.
Summer is the best season because snow and snow are absent but brief and violent storms can occur. The normal Ikhibi South route is the busiest. From the summit, a wide panorama is offered to the eye, rewarding the efforts made. We dominate the vast expanses of the Atlas and the Great South with 50 km to the south-east of Jebel Sirwa and 150 km to the northeast of the vast ridge of Jebel M’Goun. You can also see the top of the Oukaïmden station. The wave of tourism has changed the lives of Berber mountaineers living in the vicinity. Many inhabitants now work in tourism: muleteers, guides, lodgers, cooks, transporters. The village of Imlil, the last village accessible by road from Asni, and located just two days’ walk north of Toubkal, is a real “Moroccan Chamonix”. Two refuges are located at an altitude of 3,200 m, 2 or 3 hours’ walk from the summit. Not far from the summit of Toubkal is another attraction, Lake Ifni, accessible via the Tizi n’Ouanoums pass (3,664m).
