On our last evening in Morocco, we ate well and drank crisp sauvignon blanc. The restaurant had white tablecloths, fish knives and elegant waiters. Our sandals still had traces of Atlas Mountain dust. We felt as if we'd traversed a thousand years of human development in one long day.
We took one look at the disastrously translated menu — “vinaigrette of tomatoes believed” was my favorite, “cru” meaning both cooked and believed in French — and began to laugh uncontrollably.
We were exhausted, and oddly despondent. The restaurant was fine — excellent, really — only nothing was right. We didn't want whitefish carpaccio and frisee salad with toasted chevre. We wanted the bread baked by Omar's mother in a house with one faucet — 80km and several centuries away.
GETTING THERE
Royal Air Maroc, British Airways and Air France are among a number of airlines that fly to Marrakesh, often via Casablanca, but sometimes through European cities.
Imlil, where the Kasbah du Toubkal is situated, is about 64km south of Marrakesh, or about an hour-and-a-half by car on a winding and sometimes dirt road; it is a five-hour drive from Casablanca. The lodge can arrange a car to Imlil from downtown Marrakesh or the airport; the cost is 800 dirhams a car, about US$88. Taxis from Marrakesh are generally cheaper, but be prepared to bargain. Rental cars are available at Moroccan airports and major cities.
ACCOMMODATIONS
The Kasbah -- altitude 1,799m -- has eight hotel-style rooms, three private houses, a luxury suite and several dormitory-style rooms with a shared bath. Starting in November, prices range from US$45 for a spot in a dormitory-style room, to US$935 for a separate house with three bedrooms.
The remote lodge in Id Issa has three double rooms with baths, each US$250 a night, with breakfast and dinner. Next year, the Kasbah plans to open a second lodge in another valley. See www.kasbahdutoubkal.com for more information.
WHEN TO GO
High season for trekking is April to October, when the snow has mostly melted from the mountains. Nights are cool, even in summer, but the air is dry and the sun warm. Temperatures can reach 32 degrees Celsius in August and drop to -3 degrees Celsius at night in December, with the most moderate weather in late spring and early fall
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