Alan Palmer

Alan first began travelling in earnest in the early 1980s when he set off around the shores of the Mediterranean with little money in his pocket but with an archaeological trowel in hand. He spent much of the next three years drifting between excavations and picking up casual work as he found it along the way. By the end of the '80s his horizons had extended to Central Asia where his passion for trekking first germinated. These early experiences, of archaeology and trekking, would later combine to shape his contributions to two Insight Guides, "Pakistan" (first edition 1990, current edition 2007) and "The Silk Road" (first edition 2008, current edition 2012).

Alan first visited Morocco during the death-throes of the Hippie era, while on his Eurorail year, towards the end of the 1970s. He began trekking in the Atlas Mountains in 1986. Since then he has returned to Morocco many times and has trekked extensively in both the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains. On this basis, he successfully approached Trailblazer Publications with a proposal to write "Moroccan Atlas - The Trekking Guide" (first edition 2010, current edition 2014). Alan continues to return to Morocco often where he keeps himself busy by exploring new routes.

In 2012 he founded "Trek in Morocco", a limited company which specialises in organising fully personalised, tailor-made treks throughout Morocco, for individuals and groups. For more information, including details of possible itineraries, please visit www.trekinmorocco.co.uk.

In 2015, Alan renamed his company "Yak Travel" to reflect his expansion into the little known and rarely visited corner of north-east India (notably Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam). For more information about the treks and tours he offers in India, please visit www.yaktravel.co.uk.