The Middle Atlas Forests of Cedar

The Middle Atlas Forests of Cedar

Trek Grade: Easy to Moderate

This trek takes you from the Berber village of Azrou up a steep hill through a variety of woods to the famed cedar forests inhabited by endangered Barbary Apes (which is, in fact a macaque, or monkey, rather than an ape), with occasional panoramic views of the valleys of the Middle Atlas Mountains.

Fez (or Meknes) to Immouzèr Du Kandar and Ifrane

Departure from Fez (or Meknes) at around 8.30am in the morning for an exciting 2 hours’ drive towards the south and the foothills of the Middle Atlas Ranges to the small 1920s French-built hill station of Immouzèr Du Kandar (1,220m),perched on the limestone edge of the Saïss Plateau.  Here we’ll pass by the ruined kasbah of the Aït Seghrouchen, its little medina and troglodyte cave homes, to continue on to Ifrane (1,650m). Ifrane, singular “Ifri”, is the Tamazight Berber word for grottos. We shall stop for a short visit of this squeaky-clean Moroccan pseudo-Swiss town, hidden amidst a forest of short cedar, which cannot grow below 1,600m.  

Ifrane to Azrou

Our trip takes us alongside the trailing edge of the Cedar Forest to the first real town in the Middle Atlas - Azrou - which in the local Tamazight Berber dialect means “rock,” for, next to the mosque, is the massive outcrop from which this town takes its name. On Tuesdays there is a Souq to where the Beni M’Guild tribes of the Sanhaya Berber, renowned for their intricately-designed carpet of some 80 knots per square meter, come to trade. This tribe was the first in Morocco to carve figurines from cedar and nut woods, which woods are stores for years prior to carving.

The Azrou Hike

The start our walk by crossing the medina in Azrou to follow the Oued Sebah at the feet of the Adrar Bou Drâa (1500m) up through small stands of silver juniper and evergreen oak growing beside small waterfalls. As we hike higher straight up the slopes - and this is a tough climb for the lesser-fit - the trees become taller and thicker. We leave these upper valley slopes and cross the Tizi Tioumliline (1600m), where we look down on Azrou and catch sight of the magnificent Forêt de Cèdres and the distant peaks of the Middle Atlas. An easy walk awaits us as we hike up through a forest  of  maple, holly, evergreen oak, hawthorn, strawberry and young cedar amidst the shrills of seasonal migratory  rock dove, blue tits, short-toed tree creepers, Atlas flycatcher, firecrest, finches, warblers and choughs and that hammering of woodpeckers. The shelter provided by these trees gives rise to a seasonal carpet of pink peonies, blue germander, scarlet dianthus and a vibrant variety of orchids, all of which play host, in spring and summer, to a myriad of tortoiseshell and cardinal butterflies. As we move into this area we are greeted by the regional Barbary Apes, no real friends of this forest, as they strip off the bark and chew on the rejuvenating budding cones. before we stop for our picnic* and build our campfire for a cup of tea amidst these massive red trunks and the delicious odour of their resin.

Once refreshed, we’ll set out for reputedly the oldest tree in Morocco’s Middle Atlas - Gouraud’s Cedar. Surrounded by other trees of the same calibre, this cedar is said to be some 800 years old, and stands at 40 metres, the highest tree in Morocco with a girth of some 8 metres, but which is now,completely dead. Immediately prior to World War I Colonel Gouraud was the second in command to the French regional commander General Lyautey, but why this cedar was named after him is still unclear. We carry on through the cedars to the Tizi Ougmass, where we’ll enjoy a panoramic view of the pisé homes of the Berber village of Igherm Ouadâa and surrounding wooded slopes and valleys, farms and orchards of cherry trees. We go down through fields of wheat, corn and barley to rejoin our vehicle at Azrou around 5pm to take us back to Fez (or Meknes).

*PICNIC LUNCH:  fresh Moroccan salad, cheese, tuna fish and/or sardines *, fruit, bread, mint tea. * If vegetarian or vegan please pre-advise.