Читать книгу The High Atlas. Treks and climbs on Morocco's biggest and best mountains онлайн

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That this is a peopled landscape is astonishing. Centuries of terracing and a web of communicating mule tracks testify to the dedication of generations who have made a life in such a challenging environment. Not that this world is without sin; in the same way that much of the Scottish Highlands is wet desert and sterile from overgrazing and forest destruction, so the High Atlas has seen the same misuse with the same results. Make sure any party treats the landscape gently. Leave no litter, and burn and bury human waste well away from water – and see that muleteers are also clearly instructed.

Planning your trip

It is difficult to select the ‘best peaks’ or the ‘highlights’ to recommend for a trip to the High Atlas. At some stage I made a list of the highest summits of the Atlas, taking ‘over 3500m’ as the mark. There proved to be nearly 40 of these, and I was astonished to find that I’d been on all of them at some time or other. Why not describe them? But just as Scotland’s Stac Polly falls way below Munro level, yet is every bit a superior hill, so there are endless good summits in Morocco below the 3500m or 3000m level.