Taken near Lake Ifni, on the south side of the High Atlas Mountains, not far from the southern face of the country's highest peak, Toubkal, this photo illustrates some very typical High Atlas Mountain scenery. Landscapes of this nature - broad fertile valleys framed by stark limestone mountains - can be found right across the range, which stretches some 450 miles from the Algerian border in the east to the Atlantic Ocean, just north of Agadir, in the west. Precipitation levels, although higher than those registered on the plains, are relatively low, but still high enough to support small communities which have settled throughout the range. This valley is home to a number of small Berber settlements that live off fertile land nourished by the run-off and spring meltwater from the Toubkal massif. Despite certain variations according to altitude and orientation, there are a few staples that rural Morocco lives off. Wheat is the most important of these as it is used to make flour (and subsequently bread), and barley is similarly important. Olives are very important to the economy (more than to the subsistence farmer) as they tend to be exported, and Morocco is the world's largest exporter of crude (untreated) olives. Olive and citrus fruit production (also very important economically) diminish with altitude, and the more lofty valleys grow almonds and, to a greater extent in the High Atlas, walnuts. Alfalfa provides an important function as animal feed and root vegetables are comonly-grown at higher altitudes to feed the local populations. Each villager/family will have their own plot of land to cultivate and any excesses in produce harvested go to market, either to be exchanged or sold. Higher revenue crops such as saffron are grown in the Sirwa Mountains in a very organised fashion and are almost exclusively grown for external markets.
Valley and high pass mountain treks are particularly interesting to undertake in Morocco as fertile valleys take on an almost 'garden of Eden' type quality after the bare rock of the Atlas' summits and passes. One such hike, our 'High Atlas Quick Escape' is a typical example of a trek that is rich in rural culture, on account of it passing through a number of timeless villages, dramatic, on account of it crossing one of the highest passes in the range, and beautiful, on account of the rich cultivation in the valleys through which it passes. In addition, and as we always stress, the High Atlas are made all the more special by the warmth, friendliness and hospitality of its inhabitants. |
