Tigmi Tacchedirt Lodge

Tacchedirt, Atlas Mountains, Morocco

Buzz Trips View
Our first impression of the lodge spreading across the lower parts of North Africa’s highest village, Tacchedirt, was one of  relief as we’d just climbed to it from the valley floor after a five hour walk through the Atlas Mountains. The second was that it occupied a hypnotic location at the head of the valley. The third, when shown to our most basic of rooms, was one of disappointment. It was a room with no furniture and with four mattresses taking up ground space.

Tigmi Tacchedirt is a no-frills hikers’ retreat owned by a canny Berber. It is a place to pass time in between walks and as such it performs the role well. Our sleeping arrangements might have been basic but, wrapped in a cosy camel blanket (provided), I was warm, snug and slept deeply and soundly – even through the noise of bleating goats and baying cattle as Tacchedirt village came to life in the morning.

Rooms at Tigmi Tacchedirt
There are a number of options, ours was the most basic (not by deliberate choice). Best are one of the apartments with three rooms each, en suite bathrooms and a terrace. These are good for small walking groups. The room we had slept four (only because it had four mattresses – luckily we didn’t have to share) and had a shared bathroom and shower area with no separation for males and females. It’s the sort of place where you’re going to get to know your fellow hikers well (the downstairs showers’ windows – no frosting – open onto the stairwell so that at night they, and the person using them, are illuminated). Rooms are comfortable enough, although the pillows are a bit on the firm side. It gets very cold in winter but if you slip Hassan, the Berber caretaker, a few dirhams he’ll sort you out with double blankets.

Facilities at Tigmi Tacchedirt
The lodge’s communal eating areas are rather attractively decked out and a relaxing place to spend time chatting over dinner and breakfast (served by your own guide). There’s a little shop of sorts which sells water, soft drinks and snacks. But keep an eye out for the Berber owner who opens and closes it at hours that are privy only to him and who appears and disappears like a cloud on the horizon. Make sure your first purchase is a toilet roll as you can’t always rely on the toilets having any.

The lodge has a few huge terraces which are excellent viewing platforms for simply enjoying the Atlas Mountains or for watching life in a small Berber village without the distraction of a small, mucky faced kid following you around repeating ‘drim’ over and over again.

It’s basic and we were never exactly too sure what was going on, but it is in a Berber village when all’s said and done and we wouldn’t want it any other way

Prices start from €20 for a basic room with shared facilities & €25 for a room with en suite bathroom. Both rates include breakfast and dinner.

Arranging guided treks with accommodation via Tigmi Tacchedirt Lodge probably represents the best option as far as value is concerned.

Jack is co-owner, writer and photographer for BuzzTrips and the Real Tenerife series of travel websites as well as a contributor to lots of other places. Follow Jack on Google+