Gite Tamsoulte

I spent one week in May '23 at Gite Tamsoulte and hiked up Jbel Toubkal with Abdou - the gite owner. This here was my favorite part of my Morocco vacation, made unforgettable by the kindness of Abdou and his family. I contacted Abdou via WhatsApp (the number is on the Facebook page and the website) months earlier to avoid the horrendous booking fees that some booking sites charge local accommodations. Abdou answered immediately and addressed all my questions throughout the months leading up to the actual stay. Please note that replies might take a day or two as he's often in the mountains with limited mobile service. Voice messages are preferred over text (unless you write in Tamazigh). Abdou speaks excellent English and French, so don't worry about any communication issues. THE LOCATION Gite Tamsoulte is located in the village of Mizik, next to the popular trailhead of Imlil. You reach the gite after a 10min walk from the Imlil taxi station if you come by public transport. If you have a rental car, you can drive to the accommodation, but - having had a rental car - my recommendation is to come by taxi or private transport (Abdou can help with that too) as the road to Imlil is currently under construction, and there's nowhere else to drive from here anyway. If you are looking for a quiet place away from the tourists in Imlil, this is the right place for you. Here you won't find any carpet sellers, but rather you'll have the chance to experience life in an actual Berber village. Imlil itself is nice but loud, at times full of tourists, and very much geared to selling you things - by staying in Mizik, you can avoid all that and relax. THE GITE The gite consists of 7 rooms with double or twin beds. There is also a family room with four beds. Most rooms have an ensuite bathroom; some are shared. As the gite is not super busy, I'm sure you can discuss with Abdou what room you prefer. There are various common spaces to relax after a long day hiking - two inside living rooms full of cushions and three separate outdoor areas with fantastic views over the valley and the mountains. The gite is located in a fruit orchard, so you can plug some fresh cherries right from your bedroom window or the terrace. The rooftop is fantastic! We had most of our meals here and enjoyed the afternoons drinking fresh mint tea while planning our next hikes. Sometimes you'll be invited for dinner at Abdou's house across the village - again, with a beautiful space on the rooftop or in the comfy family living room, depending on the weather. The rooms are small-ish, but there's enough space to store your gear and luggage. The beds were super comfortable, and more than enough blankets were available. Bathrooms have a western toilet and hot water. Absolutely no complaints there. Washing lines are available on the rooftop, and Abdou even let us use the washing machine at his house to wash our dirty hiking gear. THE FOOD All food is prepared in-house, either by Abdou, his wife, or his son, who is starting to help out at the gite alongside his mountain guide course. We ate fantastic food here - from tajines to couscous and the huge breakfast spreads we had every morning. Ask for the Berber omelet - you won't be disappointed! Everyone was really accommodating - so if you have any restrictions, just let them know, and they'll work around it. Tea also magically appeared (including sweets) whenever we returned from a hike. If, like me, you struggle to sleep after too much tea, ask for some verbena instead - the fresh hot herbal drink is perfect for cold evenings on the rooftop. THE MOUNTAIN TREK We went on a two-day trek to Jbel Toubkal with Abdou, who organized everything from accommodation at the Refugio to food. At all stages of the hike, I felt well taken care of - Abdou adjusted the speed to ensure I was comfortable, chose trails with few tourists, and helped me on some more challenging passages of the climb. Without him, I would have never made it up the mountain. Before flying to Morocco, he advised us what gear to bring (mountain boots, sturdy poles, gloves...) so we felt prepared. Abdou has a wealth of experience in these mountains and can tweak the standard treks to adjust them to your needs. In fact, we will certainly be back to go on a more extended trip with him next year. There's so much more to the Atlas mountains than Toubkal. EVERYTHING ELSE I'm so grateful to have stayed here. The absolute kindness of Abdou and his family in the gite, his tremendous help in the mountains, and the space to relax made this the highlight of my stay in Morocco. This is the right gite if you are looking for a quiet, authentic place to experience life away from the Arabic splendor of big-city Morocco. You get a glimpse into Berber life and culture and will be treated with absolute kindness. Are there visually more beautiful accommodations to be had? Maybe, but you certainly won't find the same kind of experience there. As for a mountain guide, again, I cannot praise Abdou highly enough. I struggled during the Toubkal trek, and Abdou ensured I was safe. Undoubtedly, he would have turned me around if I needed it. On our way down, we encountered a tourist from a different group that had gotten into trouble. His guide had left him there with a muleteer (who was wonderful but did not speak any English) to go back to the Refugio with the rest of his group. Abdou diffused something that could have turned into a very dangerous situation by basically carrying (alongside the muleteer) the exhausted client down the mountain - all the while taking care that we were OK. Watching how caring, responsible, and simply good Abdou was as a mountain guide was impressive. Please consider going with him - either because you are not very experienced (so he can make sure you are going along safe paths) or because you are a pro (and he can show you some more exciting off-the-beaten-trek trails). 20 years of experience as a registered CAF mountain guide definitely showed!