Hiking Morocco: The High Atlas Mountains — Self-Launched

Land at Menara Airport and take bus line 19 or a petit taxi (~£6) to a riad or hostel in the medina or Gueliz. Settle in, then wander Jemaa el-Fna at dusk for orange juice and street food. Ask your riad to help arrange a shared grand taxi or bus ticket for tomorrow, and buy a Moroccan SIM (Maroc Telecom/Orange, ~£5 for data) — you'll need it for booking guides and buses. Note: cash is king outside Marrakech; withdraw dirhams here.

🚌Airport bus line 19 or petit taxi ~£5-7

🛏Riad/guesthouse dorm or budget double in Marrakech medina (~£18)

• →Jemaa el-Fna square at sunset
• →Medina wander and souk orientation

Take an early CTM or SUPRATOUR coach from Marrakech to Agadir (~3hrs, ~£10), then continue south to Tiznit (~2.5hrs, ~£6). In Agadir, hop out for Souk El Had — one of Morocco's biggest markets — for lunch and a browse. Arrive Tiznit late afternoon and explore the silver market and the walled medina; Tiznit is famous for its Amazigh silverwork and mint-tea shops. Stay in a small local hotel near the medina.

🚌CTM/SUPRATOUR coach Marrakech–Agadir–Tiznit ~£16 total

🛏Small local hotel in Tiznit (~£16)

• →Souk El Had, Agadir (free entry)
• →Tiznit silver market and medina walk

Hire a local driver for the day (~£40-50 split between 2-4 people, arranged via your hotel) to reach the remote spots public transport can't. Stop at the Granaries of Tigida, then continue to Amtoudi oasis where the twin agadirs (hilltop granaries) sit above palm groves — a short, steep walk up. Arrange lunch with a village family via your driver or a local guide (~£6-8). Continue to Icht on the edge of the Sahara and stay in a simple auberge; dinner is usually home-cooked tagine at the guesthouse.

🚌Private/local driver day hire shared ~£15-20pp

🛏Auberge in Icht (~£14)

• →Granaries of Tigida
• →Amtoudi oasis and agadir hike
• →Village family lunch

Morning: a local guide in Icht takes you on the underground village and khettara (irrigation tunnel) walk, finishing with tea at his home (~£8). Free lunch in Tata on the way. Continue to Zagora by shared grand taxi or local bus (~£8) — or keep the driver. Late afternoon, walk or ride out to a desert camp in the dunes outside Zagora; budget camps start around £20-25pp half-board, or book via a local agency in Zagora. Welcome tea, sunset over the dunes, dinner at camp and exceptional stargazing.

🚌Shared grand taxi/local bus ~£8pp + walk to camp

🛏Desert camp near Zagora, half-board (~£24)

• →Icht underground village tour with local guide
• →Zagora desert camp sunset
• →Night sky gazing

Up for sunrise, breakfast, then a camel ride out of the dunes back to Zagora (~£10-12 for a short ride). If your camp offers it, do a madfouna/tagine cooking session with a local family (~£10 including lunch) — ask your camp owner to arrange. In the afternoon visit the 1,000-year-old Zaouia Sidi El Hassan library with its ancient manuscripts (~£2) and a village pottery workshop (~£3). Head back to the dunes for sunset, then a cheap dinner in town.

🚌Camel ride + local taxis ~£14

🛏Guesthouse in Zagora (~£14)

• →Camel ride at sunrise
• →Madfouna and tagine cooking workshop
• →Ancient manuscript library visit
• →Pottery workshop

Take the CTM/SUPRATOUR coach or shared grand taxi Zagora–Ouarzazate (~3hrs, ~£8), stopping in Ouarzazate for lunch and an optional look at Atlas Film Studios (~£5). Continue to Aït Ben Haddou (~1hr, ~£4). Late afternoon, walk up to the ksar — a UNESCO earthen village on the old caravan route — and stay for sunset. Note there's a small entry fee for the ksar (~£2). Dinner at a guesthouse on the river side of the road with a view of the kasbah.

🚌Coach/shared taxi Zagora–Ouarzazate–Aït Ben Haddou ~£12

🛏Guesthouse opposite Aït Ben Haddou (~£18)

• →Atlas Film Studios (optional)
• →Aït Ben Haddou ksar sunset walk

A long travel day: bus or shared taxi north via Ouarzazate to Demnat (~£10-12). Hire a local guide in Demnat (~£12-15 shared) for the hike to Imi n'Ifri — a dramatic natural rock bridge and waterfall — a 2-3hr round trip on stony paths. Continue by grand taxi up to Aït Bouguemez in the High Atlas (~£6), the 'Happy Valley' of Berber villages. Check into a village gîte; heating is limited in winter, so bring layers. Dinner at the gîte.

🚌Bus/shared taxi + grand taxi ~£18pp

🛏Village gîte in Aït Bouguemez (~£16)

• →Imi n'Ifri natural bridge and waterfall hike
• →Valley transfer into the High Atlas

Full day on foot with a village guide (~£15-20 shared between 2-3). Hike through terraced barley fields to the Granary of Tabat, a fortified agadir with spectacular valley views, and on through surrounding villages. Arrange a lunch with a local family through your gîte (~£7). Free afternoon to sit in the valley with mint tea; dinner back at the gîte.

🚌Walking; no transport needed

🛏Village gîte in Aït Bouguemez (~£16)

• →Guided valley hike to Tabat granary
• →Family lunch in a Berber village

Grand taxi down to Azilal or Demnat (~£6), then a bus to Marrakech (~£6-8, allow 4-5hrs total). If you want a community-project stop, ask in Aït Bouguemez about local women's cooperatives (e.g. carpet or argan co-ops) — visiting directly is free and money goes straight to the makers. Arrive Marrakech early evening; leave a buffer and don't book a flight before 18:00. Optional last-night hammam (~£8-12) or rooftop dinner.

🚌Grand taxi + coach to Marrakech ~£13

🛏Not included — riad/hostel in Marrakech if staying on (~£18)

• →Women's cooperative visit (optional)
• →Hammam or rooftop dinner in Marrakech