Jbel Saghro — Trekking Between the Mountains and the Desert

Jbel Saghro solves a problem that catches out many winter visitors: from roughly November to March the High Atlas summits are snowbound and cold, ruling out the classic peaks. Saghro sits lower and further south, a volcanic range straddling the ground between the Atlas and the Sahara, where winter days are warm and bright and the walking stays snow-free. It is precisely the season when Mount Toubkal becomes a mountaineering objective that Saghro comes into its own.

This is desert-edge trekking rather than alpine walking. There are no glaciers or refuges — instead you cross wind-carved plateaux of black rock, drop into palm-filled gorges, and camp under enormous skies near the tents of Aït Atta herders. The highest point, Jbel Amalou n'Mansour, tops out at about 2,712 metres, so altitude is far less of an issue than on the High Atlas giants; the challenge here is remoteness, heat by day and cold by night.

Saghro's scenery is unlike anywhere else in Morocco's trekking country. Millions of years of erosion have left a moonscape of flat-topped mesas, isolated volcanic necks and jagged pinnacles. The undisputed star is Bab n'Ali, a cluster of towering rock spires that rise like a ruined cathedral from the plain — the image most people carry away from the range and a favourite spot to time an overnight camp.

Between the rock, life clings to the water. Hidden gorges shelter date palms, fig trees and tiny cultivated terraces, and in late winter the almond trees around the villages burst into pink-and-white blossom. The colour palette is all ochre, charcoal and rust, glowing especially at sunrise and sunset, which is why photographers love this trek as much as walkers do.

The best-known route crosses the range between the Dades area in the north and the Draa-facing village of N'Kob in the south, usually taking three to six days depending on how much you want to explore. Many groups start near Tagdilt above Boumalne Dades, cross the high plateaux and passes past Bab n'Ali, then descend through gorges and oasis villages toward N'Kob, one of Morocco's most kasbah-rich towns.

Daily distances are moderate and the gradients gentler than the High Atlas, but water sources are scarce and the terrain is rocky underfoot, so sturdy boots matter. As with other Moroccan treks, mules carry the camping gear and food while you walk with a light day pack. Routes can be shortened into two-to-three-day samplers or extended with side-trips to viewpoints and remote hamlets.

Saghro is the historic winter grazing ground of the Aït Atta, a famously independent Amazigh confederation of semi-nomadic herders. In the colder months you will pass their black goat-hair tents, flocks of sheep and goats, and the caves and low stone shelters they use, still practising a transhumant life that shifts with the seasons and the pasture.

The range also carries a heavier history: it was the scene of the fierce 1933 Battle of Bougafer, one of the last stands of Amazigh resistance to colonial control. A knowledgeable guide brings that past to life as you walk. As always, engage respectfully — greet people, ask before taking photographs, and accept the mint tea that is so often offered on the trail.

The paradox of a winter desert trek is a wide daily temperature swing. Midday sun can feel hot enough for a T-shirt, while nights drop close to or below freezing, so layering and a warm sleeping bag are non-negotiable. Rain is uncommon but not impossible, and the odd cold snap can dust the high plateau with snow. Spring and autumn shoulders also work; high summer is punishingly hot and best avoided.

Because the altitude stays modest and the days are not brutally long, Saghro is a good introduction to multi-day Moroccan trekking for reasonably fit walkers, including those not ready for the High Atlas. What it demands instead is comfort with remoteness, rough camping and self-sufficiency. Serious summer trekkers often flip the calendar and save the higher M'Goun massif for the warm months.

Saghro's defining challenge is its temperature range, so pack as though for two seasons at once. Under the winter sun the middle of the day can feel warm enough for shirt-sleeves, yet the moment it dips behind the plateau the temperature plunges, frequently below freezing overnight. The answer is layering: a base layer, a warm mid-layer and an insulated jacket, topped with a windproof shell for the exposed high ground, plus a hat, gloves and a genuinely warm sleeping bag for camp. Skimp on the cold-weather kit and the nights, rather than the walking, will be what defeats you.

Beyond warmth, think sun and self-reliance. The desert light is intense and almost shadeless, so high-factor sunscreen, lip balm and a brimmed hat are essential, along with sunglasses against the glare thrown off the pale rock. Sturdy boots cope best with the sharp volcanic ground underfoot, and because water sources are scarce and widely spaced, carry enough capacity and a treatment method to bridge the gaps between resupplies. A small first-aid kit and a power bank are worth their weight too, since there is little to no phone signal or electricity once you leave the road.

Saghro is reached from the kasbah country south of the High Atlas. Many trekkers arrive along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs via Ouarzazate and the Dades, spending a night in a kasbah hotel in the Skoura or Dades valley before starting, or approaching from the south at N'Kob. A licensed guide and muleteers are the standard set-up, and local operators in Boumalne Dades and N'Kob run the range well.

The trek slots neatly into a wider southern loop. From the trailheads it is an easy continuation east toward the Todra and Dades gorges, or on to the dunes for a Merzouga Sahara desert tour. Confirm your itinerary length, inclusions and the water plan with your operator, and bring enough warm kit for genuinely cold desert nights.