Toubkal Circuit hiking guide: route map, stages & where to stay

The Toubkal Circuit is a six- to seven-day loop round Jbel Toubkal (4,167 m), the highest mountain in North Africa, in the High Atlas of Morocco. It starts and ends in Imlil, 1.5 hours by road from Marrakech, and links Amazigh (Berber) villages, shepherds' summer settlements, the high lake of Lac d'Ifni and the Toubkal refuges over four passes, three of them above 3,000 m. Most walkers climb Toubkal itself from the refuge on the last morning. The whole circuit is inside Toubkal National Park. There is no official waymarking: you follow old mule paths with a local guide, and nights are in village gîtes (simple guesthouses), in tents and in a mountain refuge.

The route

This guide walks the loop clockwise from Imlil (1,740 m), the way most trekking companies run it. Day one climbs through walnut terraces to Tamatert and over Tizi n'Tamatert (2,279 m) into the Imenane valley, past Ouaneskra to Tacheddirt (2,300 m). Day two is a long, steep climb on scree to Tizi Likemt (about 3,550 m), then down to the shepherd camp of Azib Likemt. Day three crosses Tizi n'Ououraine (3,120 m), with views of the Ifni dome, and drops to Amsouzert (1,740 m) in the Tifnout valley. Day four is short: up the valley through Imhilene and over a rocky crest to Lac d'Ifni (about 2,300 m). Day five is the hardest, a steep scree climb to Tizi n'Ouanoums (3,664 m) and a long zigzag descent to the Toubkal refuges (3,207 m). The last day goes down past the shrine of Sidi Chamharouch and the village of Aroumd to Imlil.

The line on this guide is about 70 km, split into 6 stages, about 11.7 km each, with about 5,000 m of climbing. The ascent of Toubkal is a side trip from the refuge and is not in the line: about 5 km and 960 m up each way, 3 to 4 hours up and 2 hours down.

Highlights

• Tizi n'Tamatert: the first view back over the Imlil valley and ahead to the Imenane villages
• Tizi Likemt: a hard scree climb to a high saddle looking south over the Atlas
• Amsouzert and the Tifnout valley: terraced Amazigh villages on the quieter, southern side of the massif
• Lac d'Ifni: a deep, green mountain lake at the head of a closed valley on Toubkal's south side
• Tizi n'Ouanoums: the highest pass, under the Toubkal ridge
• Jbel Toubkal: sunrise by the metal summit tripod, looking north over the Haouz plain towards Marrakech and south to the Anti-Atlas

When to walk the Toubkal Circuit

The summer season runs from about May to October. The best months are May, June, September and early October: clear days, cool nights and little snow on the passes. July and August are hot in the valleys and can bring afternoon thunderstorms, but the high days stay pleasant. From November to April the passes are under snow and the circuit becomes a winter mountaineering route that needs crampons, an ice axe and experience. Avalanches happen: on 18 January 2026 an avalanche on Toubkal killed a local guide and two Moroccan hikers.

How many days do you need?

The 6 stages here take six walking days, with the summit climbed before dawn on the last day and a 9- to 10-hour day back to Imlil. Most people add a night at the refuge and climb Toubkal on day six, which makes seven days and gives a second chance if the weather turns. Add a night in Imlil before you start: it helps with the altitude and lets you meet your guide.

Guides, permits and booking

Since 2019, after two hikers were murdered near Imlil in December 2018, foreign hikers in the Toubkal massif must walk with a licensed local guide. Gendarmerie checkpoints at Aroumd and past Sidi Chamharouch record passports and guide cards, so carry your passport every day. Enforcement elsewhere on the circuit varies, but plan for a guide for the whole loop. Most people book through an agency or hire a guide and muleteer through the Bureau des Guides in Imlil; mules carry the bags, tents and food. There is no park permit or fee to buy.

Book the refuge for the last night or two. The Club Alpin Français refuge charges 250 dirhams a night for non-members in summer (300 in winter), plus 50 for breakfast and 100 for dinner (2025/26 rates). Les Mouflons, next door, is private. Tacheddirt and Amsouzert have gîtes with dormitories and half board; Azib Likemt and Lac d'Ifni have no beds, so you camp there with tents carried by mules. Wild camping is not allowed on the Imlil to Toubkal path.

Getting there and away

Fly to Marrakech. Imlil is about 65 km south, 1.5 hours by road via Tahannaout and Asni. Most guesthouses and agencies arrange a transfer; shared taxis and minibuses also run from Marrakech via Asni. In bad weather the mountain road can be closed by snow or rockfall.

Money and phone signal

Morocco uses the dirham, a closed currency that you can only get in the country. Bring enough cash from Marrakech for the whole trek, including tips for the guide, cook and muleteer; do not count on cards or a cash machine in the mountains. Imlil has small shops and one pharmacy. Mobile signal is good in Imlil but patchy or absent in the valleys and on the passes.

What to pack

Good boots for scree, trekking poles, a warm sleeping bag (nights near freezing at the refuge even in summer), a down jacket, waterproofs, sun hat, sunglasses and high-factor sunscreen, a headlamp, water treatment and a first-aid kit. If you camp without a supported group, you need your own tent, stove and food for Azib Likemt and Lac d'Ifni. In winter add crampons, an ice axe and a helmet.

Difficulty and safety

This is a hard trek. Five of the six days have 1,000 to 1,500 m of climbing or descent, often on loose scree, and you spend two nights above 2,600 m before the 4,167 m summit. Altitude sickness is possible: if you have a headache, nausea or breathlessness at rest, stop and go down. In an emergency call the Gendarmerie on 177 or the ambulance on 150. There is no mountain rescue service like those in the Alps, so a rescue can take many hours. Swim in Lac d'Ifni only off the western shore; people have drowned at the eastern end.

After the 2023 earthquake

The Al Haouz earthquake of 8 September 2023 killed almost 3,000 people and damaged many villages around Imlil and in the Tifnout valley. Trails were cleared and the refuges reopened by the end of 2023, and in 2026 the circuit is walked as before. Rebuilding is still going on in places, some guesthouses changed or closed, and new tracks and a stone path to Lac d'Ifni have been built, so confirm each night with your guide or by phone. Spending money in the villages helps the recovery.