Gîte, Refuge or Bivouac: Where You Actually Sleep on a High Atlas Trek

The village gîte

A gîte is a family-run guesthouse in a mountain village. Expect simple rooms or shared sleeping space, blankets, a communal meal and — this is the part travellers remember — being a guest in someone's working household rather than a customer in a hotel.

The valley nights on our Aït Bougmez trek are gîte nights. It is the most sociable and the least stark of the three options.

• Aït Bougmez Happy Valley Trek

The mountain refuge

A refuge is a purpose-built mountain hut: dormitory sleeping, a shared dining room, basic facilities, and other trekking parties in the same building. It exists to put you within striking distance of a summit, not to be comfortable.

Refuge nights appear on our Toubkal itineraries and on the Toubkal half of the combination journey.

• Toubkal & M'Goun — refuge, gîte and bivouac nights

The bivouac

A bivouac is a tent camp put up by the mountain team where the itinerary needs one, usually beyond the last village. The cook travels with the group, so the meal is cooked on site rather than carried cold.

It is the coldest and the most exposed of the three, and also the reason the high sections of a trek are possible at all. Nights are genuinely cold at altitude even in summer — the warm layer in the kit list is not decoration.

• M'Goun Summit Trek — gîte and bivouac nights
• What we carry, and what the mules carry

Which night you get, and when you know

Every itinerary states the type of night for each stage, and the exact overnight stops are confirmed in writing with your quote. We do not publish specific village or camp names in advance on these routes, because the plan is confirmed with the local team for your dates.

If a particular kind of night is a deal-breaker for you — some people will not do a dormitory, some will not do a tent — tell us before you book and we will say honestly whether the route can be arranged around it.

Preguntas frecuentes

Do I need to bring a sleeping bag?

A sleeping bag is not included in the trek price, and rental is available. On bivouac nights it is essential; on gîte nights blankets are provided.

Are there showers?

In gîtes, usually something; at a bivouac, no. Plan for a trek rather than a hotel stay, and the whole thing is much more enjoyable.

Can I have a private room?

Sometimes in a gîte, never in a refuge dormitory or a shared bivouac tent. Ask us with your dates and we will tell you what is realistic on your route.