Tizouit - Ait Oumghar - Boughrart - Bouhlou - Tizouit
Starting at 9am depart the kasbah with your guide, descending through cultivated fields and olive groves to the marabout shrine of Sidi Boulbakht which according to locals contains a water source which has medicinal properties bringing good luck to visitors who bathe in the fresh water. Continue to the old stone built bridge of Ait-Oumghar which, in addition to its function of linking two riverbanks, also serves as a medium for the distribution of fresh water used to irrigate the land and splendid gardens of the villagers. In the shade of olive and pomegranate follow small streams to the potters’ village of Boutghart, where they produce a distinctive yellow-hued pottery, to meet the locals and gain an insight into Berber life in the Demnate region.
Afterwards head on to the small village of Bouhlou with its Koranic school where it is possible to visit the mosque and meet the ‘Fkih’. Following this encounter it is time to climb the col Ighil n’Ait Addi, rising to 1400m, to enjoy a picnic lunch with panoramic views of the town of Demnate and its verdant surroundings.
Refreshed for the descent, stop a freshwater source, where women can be found drawing water and transporting it by donkey or mule, and follow the course of the stream through Berber villages to arrive in a neighborhood known among the local officials as Imlil (not to be confused with the High Atlas trailhead). The name was inherited from the French colonial period when it was the local headquarters and houses the remains of a former military barracks - nine high towers - situated on a strategic point overlooking both the plain and the mountains. After a visit of the barracks, evidence of the period of the French protectorate, it is time to return to the kasbah by taxi.
- Distance - 9 kms
- Duration - 5/6 hours.
