Imlil Village, Atlas Mountains

Town in High Atlas Mountains (Western)

Imlil Atlas Mountains, Morocco
CC BY-SA 3.0 / Luc Viatour

Many trekkers visit Imlil with the goal of climbing Jebel Toubkal, while other travelers simply stop by the village for a day or overnight trip from Marrakech. Located at an altitude of 1,740 meters (5,708 feet) in the Aït Mizane Valley, Imlil is a peaceful and quiet village surrounded by beautiful landscapes with almond, apple, cherry, and walnut trees. However, the village is situated near the Mizane River and can experience flooding during the winter and early spring, which can damage the road from Asni. In 1996, the village was used as the backdrop for Martin Scorsese’s film Kundun, set in Tibet, and in return, the village received a waste disposal system and a hammam for its residents. The hammam, built in 2004 through a fundraising initiative, has become an important gathering place for the people of Imlil and the surrounding villages. The film ‘Seven years in Tibet’ was also partly filmed in the village.

Imlil, which was originally just a collection of small communities in the valleys surrounding the village, was developed in recent years to accommodate the influx of tourists visiting Toubkal. These original communities, including Tamatert, Ait Souka, Tagadirt, Tacheddirt, Acheim, Taourirt n’Ait Mizane, Mzikene, and Arhrene.

The lower, forested slopes of the limestone Kik Plateau, located above the village, are a wonderful place to go for a walk, especially in the spring when the ground is covered in colourful alpine flowers.


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Visiting Imlil Village, Atlas Mountains

Duration: 20 minutes

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Tours and Activities from High Atlas Mountains (Western)