Departure at around 7:30 from your hotel in Marrakech towards the southeast across the Haouz Plain and an exhilarating drive up the twisting bends of the road over the Western High Atlas of the Glaoua Country, passing through the Berber villages of Aït Barqa and Taddert, up through the spectacular Tizi n’Tichka (2260m) - and hold on to your hats, for the winding road takes us through the highest mountain pass in Morocco - to alight at the top of the Tizi n’Tichka (2260m) so as to take in the vista dominated by peaks of some 2500+m, thence gently down alongside the Assif Imini to visit the asbah Tiffoultoute on the outskirts of the small, once-French Protectorate city of Ouarzazate.

Onwards, now, via the Assif Ounila Valley until we reach the magnificently exotic kasbah and ksour of Aït Ben Haddou, declared, and rightly so, a World Heritage Site. Here we alight from our vehicle to visit these various kasbahs, divided between Jewish and Berber decoration, so closely-knit that they appear to be but one complete building, backed up against the looming hills in a stretch of unforgiving hammada. The thick, high, sheer, elaborately decorated pisé walls, stepped-up housing, turreted, crenellated ramparts, balustrades and arched ‘babs’ are a sight not to be missed. Obviously, here Hollywood has shot many of its films, including, as everyone will tell you, “Laurence of Arabia”. One of the more spectacular sights in the Atlas ranges, set upon a rock above a rock-strewn Assif, commanding the area for miles around, this kasbah controlled the route to Marrakech until the French blasted a road through the Tizi n’Tichka in the late 1920s.

We continue south-eastwards towards the Drâa (meaning ‘black’) Valley and, after some zigzagging curves after the Jbel Tifernine, we arrive at the picturesque Berber village of Aït Saoun , on the Tizi n’Tinififft (1680m) with the Jbel Azougguich Akhatar frowning down on us. Onwards ever southwards, now for about three hours through small dunes, palmeraies, the occasional dromedaries and Berber hamlets to the village and simple yet solidly-designed kasbah of Agdz, (pronounced Ag-a-dèz) with the starkly-eroded tagine pot shaped Jbel Kissane, an final outcrop of the Jbel Sarhro range, in the immediate background to stop here for our light lunch. We continue south-east past palmeraies and occasional kasbahs to subsequently turn east between the Jbel Saghro and Jbel Beni ranges to arrive around 5pm at N’Koob and our eventual bivouac site (or hotel - not included in trek price).

From here we strike out further north for a further 3 hours until we reach the village of Tifdassine; on now through cairns and up to our bivouac site on the upper slopes of the “Mountain of the Moon” Tine Ouaiyour (2129m) a monolithic mesa dominating this dramatically wind-blasted area of naked rock.

Setting out after breakfast bright and early we follow a track through a dry gully towards Bab n’Ali, ignoring other sheep and mule tracks which dissect it to the hamlet of Amguis (1400m), passing marvellous, sculpted cliff faces.

We ascend a small ridge to follow whitened rock track until a splash of vegetation denotes a water source; we continue to climb steadily to reach a stone-strewn plateau and the rock pinnacles of Bab n’Ali (‘Gates of Ali’). Some 15 minutes after these eroded stands, giant stratified rocks appear; we follow a path which rises and falls gently to come across an impressive cobweb of valleys and peaks to carry on through a small ravine and down between two rock-faces. We pass some gargantuan, free standing rock towers to continue down to a dry river bed to the tiny hamlet of a few huts of Boilouz (1525m).

Our trek today starts after breakfast up through rocky promontories, each with their individual name:- Tamjgalt, Tissigdelte, Ouintirhane and Isk n’Eferdj - to continue across an almost flat stretch of pampas for further 90 minutes and traverse the Tizi n’Ouarg (2350m) to picnic near a spring of the Assif n’Ouarg on the Kouaoutch Plateau. From here we strike out on an easy hike through century junipers, acacia, rosemary and esparto grass to the what is now accepted as the summit of Jbel Sarhro (2592m) which rises starkly from the Plateau of several peaks.

The lunar landscape, eroded pinnacles, sheer cliffs, dramatic canyons and splintered limestone rock towers lead our eyes across the sun-blasted volcanic tableland and entire massif to the distant Western High Atlas peaks of Jbel Toubkal (4167m) and her closer and only slightly-smaller sister, Irhil M’Goun (4068m). Some of these rock towers have been given names, such as Isk n’ Ifsane, (the Tiara of the Pond) Isk n’Alla (My Sister’s Head-dress), Isk n’Eferdj (the Horns of Plenty).

Our trek today starts after breakfast up through the Tizi Bou Ichlif (1980m), then through the Tizi n’Emrharne (2004m), down through stands of juniper trees and a rocky Oued. We hike towards the north-east along this Oued, past the black felt tents of the nomadic herders and goatskin tents of the fodder-gatherers to picnic near a spring at Imi n’Terhsa (‘Imi’, in the local dialect meaning “Mouth”) to strike out towards the east along the dry river bed to eventually rejoin a faint piste which leads us to the village of Tagdilt (1660m).

Here, around 1pm, we may take our transfer to Marrakech, stopping for a light lunch at Taddert on the Tizi n’ Tichka of the Western High Atlas.