Ihmadi Trilobites Centre
Ihmadi Trilobites Centre
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- Rebecca VRome, Italy3 contributionsTruly wonderful and unique experience with local geologistTruly wonderful and unique experience with local geologist. Mohand was very kind and welcoming when we reached out regarding a possible visit and excursion, and we were able to organise a custom tour in English of local geological sites, finishing the day by cleaning and cutting the fossils and minerals we collected. Mohand had a fantastic knowledge on the geological history of the area and was an extremely educational experience. We cannot recommend him enough, we hope to come back and visit one day. Jack and RebeccaVisited April 2024Traveled as a coupleWritten July 2, 2024
- Midlands girlWarwick, United Kingdom22 contributionsSecond visit did not disappointThis was our second visit to Mohand who organised more fossil hunts for us. His assistant took us to places we hadn’t visited before. The highlight was actually cleaning up our fossils in the workshop and enjoying the 2 best tagines made by Mohands wife.👌Visited July 2024Traveled with familyWritten July 6, 2024
- Navigate25729311372San Diego, California1 contributionUnforgettable adventureI am not particularly interested in fossils, but my kids are, so I revised our trip agenda to include a stop in Alnif. It turned out to be the highlight of our 7-day Morocco trip. Mohand was traveling but arranged for his friend Aziz and his son Youssef to be our guide. In addition, Mohand offered us a delicious home cooked meal at his lovely garden for a nominal cost. It was the best meal we had during our trip. Aziz and Youssef did everything to make us feel welcome. They were easy to communicate with, and we learned a lot about fossils and Morocco's history and culture. They took us to the Tiskaouine mountain where my kids found plenty of 450 M year old trilobites (Colpocoryphe grandis). It was a very good day. We are grateful for Mohand’s thoughtfulness, kindness, and hospitality. We will remember this day for many years to come.Visited June 2024Traveled with familyWritten July 22, 2024
- Thomas B5 contributionsAmazingAs an avid dinosaur lover, I am so glad I committed to this trip with Mohand. We went on a day trip to the Kem Kem Beds and found plenty of interesting fossils including some of my favourite dinosaur, spinosaurus! Mohand was informative, passionate and very generous hosting me with his family. One of the coolest days and adventures of my life so far, will be back.Visited September 2024Traveled soloWritten September 17, 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
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5.0
22 reviews
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Thomas B
5 contributions
Sep 2024 • Solo
As an avid dinosaur lover, I am so glad I committed to this trip with Mohand. We went on a day trip to the Kem Kem Beds and found plenty of interesting fossils including some of my favourite dinosaur, spinosaurus! Mohand was informative, passionate and very generous hosting me with his family. One of the coolest days and adventures of my life so far, will be back.
Written September 17, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Midlands girl
Warwick, UK22 contributions
Jul 2024 • Family
This was our second visit to Mohand who organised more fossil hunts for us. His assistant took us to places we hadn’t visited before. The highlight was actually cleaning up our fossils in the workshop and enjoying the 2 best tagines made by Mohands wife.👌
Written July 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Rebecca V
Rome, Italy3 contributions
Apr 2024 • Couples
Truly wonderful and unique experience with local geologist. Mohand was very kind and welcoming when we reached out regarding a possible visit and excursion, and we were able to organise a custom tour in English of local geological sites, finishing the day by cleaning and cutting the fossils and minerals we collected. Mohand had a fantastic knowledge on the geological history of the area and was an extremely educational experience. We cannot recommend him enough, we hope to come back and visit one day. Jack and Rebecca
Written July 2, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Robert-Jan P
Zoetermeer, The Netherlands6 contributions
Sep 2015 • Friends
I'm a mining engineer from TU Delft, I have basic geological training and during&after my studies I developed an interest in paleontology, I'm especially interested in trilobites and the Cambrian explosion. After seeing the Moroccan trilobites in 'First Life' by David Attenbourough Morocco was high on my bucket list.
When I booked a trip to Morocco with two friends I found two reviews of Mohand Ihmadi's excursion, one in Dutch and one in German, it looked promising so I contacted Mohand and I convinced my friends, who work in totally different fields, to visit the shop and take a tour. I expected a lot from this trip and it had to be entertaing for my friends as well. Before I left I spent three days on informing myself on fake trilobites, as an estimated 80% of the trilobites from Morocco are fakes.
We drove to Alnif early in the morning and after a short introduction in Mohand's shop we drove out to a riverbed where Ordovician trilobite nodules could be found. We didn't know what to expect so we were amazed when within five meters of the car Mohand picked up a rock, hit it with his geological hammer and out came a nice rusty trilobite. After the nodules we went to Devonian corals and trilobites in hard limestone outcrops of the same formation that makes up the famous Issoumour mountain. All along the way Mohand entertained us with not only geological and paleontological information but he also taught us a lot about Alnif and the Moroccan society. He told us that before he started his shop he worked in the area mapping the geology for the British Geological Survey, afterwards I found he holds a BSc in geology, in my opinion he is a very competent geologist.
At the second stop Mohand invited us to have lunch with him, his wife cooked a tasty Berber tajine for us and we had Moroccan tea, this is maybe not a standard part of the tour but I was very honored to have lunch with him and the conversations about the natural sciences and the regional economy were great. Mohand is very scientific and very positive, he's expanding his bussiness and he sees this as an opportunity to enhance the lives of people in Alnif.
We planned to go to the Cambrian shales in the area as well but the strong summer sun had already worn us out so after lunch (at around 15 o'clock) we decided to call it a day. Apparently in the Cambrian formations (north?)west of Alnif Paradoxides species can be found as brown imprints in the grey shales.
We went back to the shop and here I bought a load of trilobites for myself and my family, I didn't see a sign of any fakery and because I'm amazed by the schizochroal eyes of trilobites I had the feeling I didn't have to worry about it because these eyes are presumably almost impossible to economically fake. My friends didn't buy any trilobites as they were not as interested as me to start with and they found some specimen in the desert with which they were content. After the transaction we said goodbye to Mohand and I promised him to write this review.
All in all we were in and around Alnif for seven hours, it was an excellent trip and time&money was well spent, expectations were high and they were met, our precious time in Morocco was not wasted on this trip and I can recommend it to everyone interested in natural sciences.
When I booked a trip to Morocco with two friends I found two reviews of Mohand Ihmadi's excursion, one in Dutch and one in German, it looked promising so I contacted Mohand and I convinced my friends, who work in totally different fields, to visit the shop and take a tour. I expected a lot from this trip and it had to be entertaing for my friends as well. Before I left I spent three days on informing myself on fake trilobites, as an estimated 80% of the trilobites from Morocco are fakes.
We drove to Alnif early in the morning and after a short introduction in Mohand's shop we drove out to a riverbed where Ordovician trilobite nodules could be found. We didn't know what to expect so we were amazed when within five meters of the car Mohand picked up a rock, hit it with his geological hammer and out came a nice rusty trilobite. After the nodules we went to Devonian corals and trilobites in hard limestone outcrops of the same formation that makes up the famous Issoumour mountain. All along the way Mohand entertained us with not only geological and paleontological information but he also taught us a lot about Alnif and the Moroccan society. He told us that before he started his shop he worked in the area mapping the geology for the British Geological Survey, afterwards I found he holds a BSc in geology, in my opinion he is a very competent geologist.
At the second stop Mohand invited us to have lunch with him, his wife cooked a tasty Berber tajine for us and we had Moroccan tea, this is maybe not a standard part of the tour but I was very honored to have lunch with him and the conversations about the natural sciences and the regional economy were great. Mohand is very scientific and very positive, he's expanding his bussiness and he sees this as an opportunity to enhance the lives of people in Alnif.
We planned to go to the Cambrian shales in the area as well but the strong summer sun had already worn us out so after lunch (at around 15 o'clock) we decided to call it a day. Apparently in the Cambrian formations (north?)west of Alnif Paradoxides species can be found as brown imprints in the grey shales.
We went back to the shop and here I bought a load of trilobites for myself and my family, I didn't see a sign of any fakery and because I'm amazed by the schizochroal eyes of trilobites I had the feeling I didn't have to worry about it because these eyes are presumably almost impossible to economically fake. My friends didn't buy any trilobites as they were not as interested as me to start with and they found some specimen in the desert with which they were content. After the transaction we said goodbye to Mohand and I promised him to write this review.
All in all we were in and around Alnif for seven hours, it was an excellent trip and time&money was well spent, expectations were high and they were met, our precious time in Morocco was not wasted on this trip and I can recommend it to everyone interested in natural sciences.
Written September 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
GoPlaces21726564644
1 contribution
Nov 2018 • Friends
When I was reading the reviews of others, I said to myself, that people are clearly overreacting about the quality of the experience they had, despite me believing, it was good ... how wrong I was.
Honestly, this was without a doubt one of the best experiences in our whole Morocco trip (12 days, 3000 km) and the best fossil hunting experience of my life, and I am a fossil collector and hobby paleontologist for more than 13 years. Mohand is one of the nicest persons we met in Morocco and the most progressive one. He is a true professional, his fossils are more than amazing (worthy of the best museums around the world) and his knowledge of them is superb. He has the surrounding area in his pocket. He organized us a 4 hours long trip, on which we found some amazing trilobites, corals and orthocerases, which we could keep for ourselves. After, he even offered us, that we could cleaned them in his workshop.
All that aside, he was even so nice, that he helped us to get a cheap hotel room in Alnif, to spend the night, he shoved us his old house (soon to be his private museum), he invited us for tee in the evening and his wife cooked us a meal after the fossil hunting. His prices are fair and cheep and because of all that, he deserved some extra bonus for his amazing attitude and professionalism (and for the good tee and lunch).
I would recommend that amazing experience for everyone, that is at lest a little keen in nature or science. 110% amazing!
Honestly, this was without a doubt one of the best experiences in our whole Morocco trip (12 days, 3000 km) and the best fossil hunting experience of my life, and I am a fossil collector and hobby paleontologist for more than 13 years. Mohand is one of the nicest persons we met in Morocco and the most progressive one. He is a true professional, his fossils are more than amazing (worthy of the best museums around the world) and his knowledge of them is superb. He has the surrounding area in his pocket. He organized us a 4 hours long trip, on which we found some amazing trilobites, corals and orthocerases, which we could keep for ourselves. After, he even offered us, that we could cleaned them in his workshop.
All that aside, he was even so nice, that he helped us to get a cheap hotel room in Alnif, to spend the night, he shoved us his old house (soon to be his private museum), he invited us for tee in the evening and his wife cooked us a meal after the fossil hunting. His prices are fair and cheep and because of all that, he deserved some extra bonus for his amazing attitude and professionalism (and for the good tee and lunch).
I would recommend that amazing experience for everyone, that is at lest a little keen in nature or science. 110% amazing!
Written November 19, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Laura M
England, UK9 contributions
Jan 2016 • Couples
My boyfriend and I booked a 3 day excursion with Mohand to look for various fossils, including trilobites; we camped the first night in the desert and the last day was spent preparing the fossils we found. Mohand was the consummate professional every step of the way, he was born and raised in Alnif and knows the place, the people, the landscape and the geology like the back of his hand. Originally he completed a degree in Geology and has since gone on to complete a Masters in Eco Tourism, so he's certainly qualified for the job. In the past he has worked with the British Geological Survey, research scientists, television crews, and of course interested tourists like ourselves.
We rented a car to drive from Marrakesh to Alnif, a 7 hour drive. Be smart and rent a Duster (4x4, off road vehicle) as you will be driving off road and need the clearance. He can take you to other less hard to reach places, but you see a lot more cool stuff with some decent wheels! For the camping, Mohand provided everything, tents, sleeping bags, food etc. He cooked us an excellent tagine. We went in January and it gets COLD in the desert at night, so make sure you have warm stuff, although of course you don't have to camp, we just wanted to enjoy the stars and lack of light pollution. He's flexible, so you can do just a day of fossil hunting, but it was a long drive so we wanted to make the most of it, which is why we asked for 3.
We went to a few different sites, looking for trilobites, orthceras and crinoids, with the odd brachiopod turning up. If you have any preferences he will tailor it to meet your needs but we just wanted to see a bit of everything. On the last day he set up his preparation table and with some guidance and help we managed to expose some pretty cool fossils from our collecting.
Mohand has a shop and gallery where you can see examples of what you might find. There was absolutely no pressure to buy whatsoever, in fact it was us that had to nudge him into opening his shop up at the end. He is an expert preparator and we couldn't help but purchase some souvenirs to go with our own attempts. I had a look on line at prices before hand and could see were getting excellent value for money. His and my trilobites are now sitting on my book shelf at home and make me very happy! I didn't do too badly, even if I do say so myself.
We rented a car to drive from Marrakesh to Alnif, a 7 hour drive. Be smart and rent a Duster (4x4, off road vehicle) as you will be driving off road and need the clearance. He can take you to other less hard to reach places, but you see a lot more cool stuff with some decent wheels! For the camping, Mohand provided everything, tents, sleeping bags, food etc. He cooked us an excellent tagine. We went in January and it gets COLD in the desert at night, so make sure you have warm stuff, although of course you don't have to camp, we just wanted to enjoy the stars and lack of light pollution. He's flexible, so you can do just a day of fossil hunting, but it was a long drive so we wanted to make the most of it, which is why we asked for 3.
We went to a few different sites, looking for trilobites, orthceras and crinoids, with the odd brachiopod turning up. If you have any preferences he will tailor it to meet your needs but we just wanted to see a bit of everything. On the last day he set up his preparation table and with some guidance and help we managed to expose some pretty cool fossils from our collecting.
Mohand has a shop and gallery where you can see examples of what you might find. There was absolutely no pressure to buy whatsoever, in fact it was us that had to nudge him into opening his shop up at the end. He is an expert preparator and we couldn't help but purchase some souvenirs to go with our own attempts. I had a look on line at prices before hand and could see were getting excellent value for money. His and my trilobites are now sitting on my book shelf at home and make me very happy! I didn't do too badly, even if I do say so myself.
Written January 25, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Victoria H
Boston, MA95 contributions
Apr 2019 • Family
We booked directly with Mohand Ihmadi for a private full day trilobite hunting excursion. We confirmed the booking the week before our arrival. When we arrived at the shop, we were informed by Mohand's assistant that Mohand has taken another group into the mountains for fossil hunting and won't be available for us!!!!!!!!! No apologies, nothing.
We had organized our entire vacation around this activity and were deeply disappointed. We ended up going with the assistant and we found some trilobites. Unfortunately, since the assistant barely spoke any English, we got none of the educational aspects of fossil hunting which we were looking forward to.
This is no way to treat one's customers. I do not recommend this outfit.
We had organized our entire vacation around this activity and were deeply disappointed. We ended up going with the assistant and we found some trilobites. Unfortunately, since the assistant barely spoke any English, we got none of the educational aspects of fossil hunting which we were looking forward to.
This is no way to treat one's customers. I do not recommend this outfit.
Written June 28, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Arnold S
McLean, VA36 contributions
Aug 2018 • Family
We had a few extra hours and literally stumbled on the Ihmadi Trilobites Center. We wrote to Mohand and he graciously agreed to provide us with a last minute fossil hunting adventure for my wife, my 15 year old daughter, and me. He made the most of the short time we had (we easily could have spent the whole day with him) by zeroing in on an area filled with trilobite fossils. He handed my daughter a hammer and showed her what to look for and literally within minutes she had found a few. The best part of the visit was the knowledge that Mohand has about the area (he is a trained geologist) so we felt we all learned something as well. The icing on the cake was when he took us to see some rock carvings that were ~5000 years old (see the photos) made during a time when elephants and other large mammals roamed the area.
Written August 30, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Traveler0033
Atlanta, GA24 contributions
May 2016 • Couples
Mohand took us on excursions for two days to search out trilobites and other fossils. He is very knowledgeable and was able to really help us understand the geology of the areas we went digging. We found a variety of fossils, including some rarer Devonian trilobites. We also visited a paleolithic stone carving site, which added another dimension to the trip. Mohand's store itself is amazing for the quality and variety of fossils, with no worry about fakes. This was a real highlight of our holiday in Morocco. Anyone with an interest in fossils and trilobites in particular will get a real kick out of this.
Written May 30, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dick H
Fez, Morocco30 contributions
Mar 2024 • Couples
We went to Al Nig to look for Trilobites and we were lucky enough to find Mohand
He took us for a tajine in the shade of his beautiful shady garden and showed us around his museum that spanned the ages of the earth .. and then he took us fossil hunting
Mohand is a delightful inquisitve, curious, informative fossil hunter and we had an exceptional afternoon with him.
He took us for a tajine in the shade of his beautiful shady garden and showed us around his museum that spanned the ages of the earth .. and then he took us fossil hunting
Mohand is a delightful inquisitve, curious, informative fossil hunter and we had an exceptional afternoon with him.
Written March 6, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Does the Ihmadi Trilobites Centre accept credit cards, or does one have to travel with loads of cash to purchase a trilobite or two?
Written October 26, 2019
Bring cash. Even when they accept credit cards, the internet may not work so the charge can't go through...the internet is very spotty for most places we visited in Morocco.
Written October 27, 2019
Hello,
How did you contact Mr. Ihmadi? We tried the email address and phone number on his website and received no response. Any advise would be much appreciated!
Vicky
Written February 1, 2019
Hi Victoria . you can Contact Mr.Mohand he is available now +212666221593 or contact him in the adress Mail
Written April 1, 2019
Hi Arnold,
Do you have an email address for Ihmadi? I Sent an email to him using the address on his website but got no response and was wondering if I got the right contact info?
Thanks
Vh
Written October 13, 2018
Did you bring tools with you? Did you hire a digger? Are there any problems in bringing fossils out of Morocco? Would it be reasonable trip for people without significant knowledge on fossils and geology? My husband and I are not knowledgeable at all on fossils... but are very interested. We will read up on geology and trilobites before we leave. We think we will enjoy a day trip but good to ask... Thank you. JC
Written November 29, 2016
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