Atlas Mountains

Thursday, January 22, 2026 — Day trip to Imlil

​We met Tionne, a Canadian woman from Vancouver, briefly yesterday at the Mayorelle Garden (Jardin Mayorelle). She mentioned a tour to the Atlas Mountains that she would be taking today. Having nothing planned for the day, we logged into the site she gave us and signed up. 

Our guide, Mustapha, was fantastic, soft spoken, but with excellent English and a great sense of humor. 

Our wonderful guide, Mustapha

The day started out drizzly as we loaded up the van with an interesting mix of tourists: four Americans, one Canadian, two Brits, two Latvians, two Portuguese, and one Tunisian. The day consisted of traditional mint tea, a camel ride, a light snack, a steep hike to Mustapha’s home for lunch, and then the ride back to town.

The original people of Morocco are often referred to as Berber, though the correct and less pejorative term is Amazign of which Mustapha is one.

Sweet, hot mint tea is the drink of choice for most Moroccans. Tradition dictates that the tea is poured into the cup from as high as possible. This aerates the tea and also produces bubbles. In the desert, if sand is blown into the cup, it settles on the bubbles so you avoid drinking it!

Demonstrating the "proper" pour of mint tea

If your guest has overstayed their welcome, filling the glass to the rim will deliver the message!

Our “camel” ride was relatively short, but a fun experience nonetheless.  It seems to be a bit of work for a camel to stand up, first hoisting itself up on its rear legs, then its front. The thick, doubled layer eyelashes help protect from sand.

No spitting, please

Arabian camels, which we rode, have one hump, and like the two-humped Bactrian camels, can travel hundreds of miles in the desert without water. Apparently, camels have a great sense of smell, which may help them make their way across the miles and miles of desert.

The Amazign people of the Atlas mountains are very traditional Muslims. As such, women typically marry at 18 and men at 20. However, it’s not proper for a man to speak directly to a woman he’s interested in. Instead, he speaks to his parents who then inquire as to whether the woman is actually available or not.  If so, they bring a gift of milk, sugar  and eggs to the parents of the woman and will present a picture of the suitor to their daughter. She may give either a thumbs up or thumbs down based on the picture, and one week later, the other parents will be notified. If the man is rejected, the gifts are returned but this is considered a major embarrassment. If not, both families meet, including the couple, for the first time.  

We totally lucked out with the weather. Despite a drizzly, cloudy morning, the sun eventually broke through for glorious views and a fantastic group lunch at Mustapha’s house on the steep hillside.

The steep climb to Mustafa's home

Laundry day

The view from Mustapha's patio

Traditional Moroccan meal, couscous with veg and meat

Couscous and tagine (a type of stew, with meat and winter veggies) seem to be a staple. Although the flavors are subtle, we found the food to be extremely good. Often, figs and other sweet fruits are mixed into meat dishes with nuts and couscous.

Tasty fruit salad back in Marrakech