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Moroccan Experience
Morocco is a tapestry of colours. In Marrakesh, these range from the brilliant green, blue and white tiles of the mosques to the earthy ochre of the ramparts, and from the rich reds of the rugs to the deep pinks of the flowers in the gardens. In the High Atlas Mountains, brown slopes contrast with both the snow on the lofty peaks and the green valleys far below, while in the desert the amazing quality of the light makes the dunes change from orange, to gold, to yellow... Even the food is colourful, featuring courgettes, aubergines and red peppers. Like all our other holidays, this walk is for individuals, not groups, but we do provide you with a local guide (often a different one for each part of your holiday). Smiling and courteous, these guides know the trails intimately and can read the skies to predict the weather and tailor the excursions accordingly. Theirs is a discreet form of guiding, letting you appreciate the landscapes for yourselves as they lead the way.
Nights: 14 Starting point: Riad in Marrakesh. Riads are atmospheric hotels found in historic districts of the city. Taking their name from the shaded, fragrant courtyard that the bedrooms all open onto, riads are intimate, typically Moroccan hotels. All have a roof terrace and individually styled (and sized) bedrooms, giving you various upgrade options. Breakfast only is included, leaving you free to take your pick of the eateries in the city, which range from street vendors selling local specialities to top-class restaurants. Hotel staff will be happy to make recommendations. We offer several riads in Marrakesh, and which one you stay in will depend on availability.
Day 1: take your time to experience the unique atmosphere of Marrakesh, which is surrounded by ochre-coloured ramparts. To help you get your bearings, we include a half-day orientation tour which introduces you to the souks (markets) and finishes at Djemaa El Fna, the large open square that forms the heart of the city. It is here that dozens of acrobats, musicians, dancers and storytellers gather to amuse the crowds. Accommodation: Riad in Marrakesh, as above. Day 2: there is so much to take in in Marrakesh that you may well want to spend your second day exploring again. If you would prefer some walking, we can arrange a guided walk (£90pp until 30 Sep 2008; £105pp thereafter, including lunch and transfers). You will be collected from your hotel and transferred to the Ourika Valley, one of the longest and most beautiful in the country. With its lush vegetation, palm groves and Berber hamlets (in which you may well see Berber women weaving intricately patterned rugs), it will whet your appetite for the walks to come later in the week. You set off through olive groves to an ochre-coloured village, then continue along a winding hillside path via another hamlet, the peak of Adrar n'Bou Tazete (3,050 metres) providing a dramatic backdrop. Lunch is taken on the banks of a river, and then you walk between ancient walnut groves and through a narrow, green valley to the Setti Fadma Cascades, where you may be lucky enough to see a Barbary Ape. You return to Marrakesh by taxi (4 hours' walking, plus 1-hour transfer each way). Accommodation: Riad in Marrakesh, as above.
Day 3: to make the long but remarkable journey across the mountains to the sub-Saharan dunes in one day (the return journey takes a more leisurely two days), today starts very early. Your guide collects you for the journey by 4WD vehicle across the Glaoua Plain, over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass in the High Atlas Mountains, and along the dramatic Oued Draa Valley. After lunch at a hotel in the small oasis town of Zagora, you continue south-east with your desert guide, passing through dunes to reach the ancient village of Tamegroute with its several kasbahs. Here you pause to visit the museum and library, which houses illuminated Koran scrolls produced on gazelle hide, some of Pythagoras' works, early maths text books and, most fascinating of all, some of Alexander the Great's original maps. Another drive brings you to Oulad-Driss. Here you swap the jeep for a dromedary and begin your two-hour camel ride over the dunes and stony plateaux to the dunes of Erg Lihouïdi in time for a magnificent sunset. Strictly speaking, this is not the Sahara, but the scenery is the same. You may be able to enjoy a further hour-long circular ride through the dunes before dinner, if you so wish. Accommodation: nomad-style tents, Erg Lihouïdi. These spacious, carpeted tents make for a comfortable night in the desert, though you may well wish to sleep out in the open air beneath the starry sky. Day 4: again, you have an early start, but this is usually rewarded with a spectacular sunrise, a chance to see the colours of the desert in all their glory. After a two-hour camel ride back across the dunes you rejoin the 4WD vehicle and travel for around two hours to Zagora, where you have the rest of the day free to relax at your hotel and stroll around the town, which is surrounded by palm groves and is famous for its succulent dates. Accommodation: hotel in Zagora (which one depends on availability - more details will be given at the time of booking - but all have a swimming pool).
Day 5: the drive back to Marrakesh takes you through the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs. Your guide will be happy to make the occasional stop for photographs - the kasbah at Agdz is particularly photogenic - and it is usually possible to make a detour to the splendid Fint Oasis. The highlight, however, is Aït Ben Haddou, a Unesco World Heritage Site in recognition of the kasbahs' outstanding levels of preservation. So closely-knit are they, that they appear to be one huge building of elaborately patterned pisé walls, elegant arches and crenellated ramparts. It is no wonder that scenes from so many films, including Lawrence of Arabia, have been shot here. After a light lunch, you continue north over the Adrar n'Deren Mountains to return to Marrakesh at around 7pm. Accommodation: Riad in Marrakesh, as above. Day 6: today you are transferred to your second base, the Douar Samra. The huge contrast between Marrakesh and the High Atlas Mountains will become increasingly apparent during the transfer - the pace of life slows down wonderfully as you travel the last leg of your journey by mule. Accommodation: Douar Samra, Tamatert. Your enchanting base for your last four nights offers as authentic a taste of Berber life as you will ever get. Owned by Jacqueline Brandt, it was built by the villagers who have adopted this impassioned and pioneering Swiss émigré as one of their own. There is no electricity in the main house - the lounges, and small but comfortable en-suite bedrooms, are lit by candles and warmed by open fires - yet the cuisine, prepared by one of the village women, is some of the best you will sample in Morocco, and the individual charm of the rooms and flourishing garden is inimitable. A particular charm of staying in this remote hamlet is having the opportunity to meet and get to know some of the Berber people who are so willing to share their home with you and who take a warm interest in welcoming new guests. Do not be surprised to be called upon by curious children, delighted and intrigued by visitors to the area. For relaxation, you can use the hammam (steam bath - pay locally) and admire the sweeping views from the roof terrace. For your own small lounge, balcony and electric lighting, upgrade to a suite.
Days 7, 8 & 9: your guide will meet you at Douar Samra each morning armed with a picnic. Tamatert is so close to Djebel Toubkal (4,167 metres) that it seems like you could reach out and touch it, and the views as you explore are breathtaking. There are four possible walks from here, of which your guide will choose three depending on local conditions. The durations given for the walks are an indication of how many hours you will be away from your base for in total, and include time for lunch and plenty of stops to admire the views and to take photographs. Walk 1: your first target is the Tamatert Pass (2,272 metres), which you reach after ascending past wheat fields, then walnut, apple and cherry orchards, and finally woodland of pines and juniper bushes. After pausing to admire the sweeping views, you walk along the Tamatert Valley, surrounded by the high peaks of the Djebel Toubkal Massif. As you return to Douar Samra along the other side of the valley after your picnic lunch, there are great views towards peaks over 3,600 metres. (12km, 4hrs)
Walk 3: this walk leads through groves of almond, walnut and apple trees to a viewpoint overlooking the Imlil Valley, which is peppered with Berber villages that cling to the slopes. You walk through a corridor of red and bluish rocks to the M’Zik Pass (2,664 metres), where you can pause to admire the mountain views. From the pass, you descend through woods of juniper and pines to the Tamsoult Waterfall, where you enjoy your picnic by the water’s edge before returning to Douar Samra along more or less the same route. (15km, 7hrs) Accommodation: Douar Samra, as above. Day 10: after three days of walking in the high mountains, you travel to your last base, La Bergerie, in the foothills. The first kilometre or so is again by mule. The afternoon and evening are free to make the most of La Bergerie's restful atmosphere.
Accommodation: La Bergerie, Ouirgane. Small and family-run, La Bergerie offers inspirational views towards the Atlas Mountains and a pleasantly relaxed atmosphere. The owners have succeeded in combining a touch of sophistication with a real sense of cosiness and intimacy that is enhanced by all the personal touches and Moroccan details in the lounge, restaurant and bedrooms. We include the airy, beautifully appointed garden suites. As their name suggests, they each have their own space within the peaceful, well-tended gardens, as well as their own terrace, sitting room and fireplace to warm up cooler evenings. Behind the main hotel building is a (unheated) swimming pool. Day 11: your guide will meet you at La Bergerie armed with a picnic. After a short transfer, you set off along mule tracks to the village of Imareghan Noufla, where ancient presses are still used to extract oil from the olives harvested from the surrounding groves. From here, your path winds through fields of maize and seasonal wild flowers, passing other traditional villages. Salt is mined in the area and you may encounter salt sellers, usually the village women, transporting their goods. You then ascend to the summit of Tizi n' Tarabaza, pausing to admire the splendid views over the Tarabaza Plateau and the Oussertek Desert before descending to the pick-up point for the transfer back to La Bergerie. (10km, 5.5hrs) Accommodation: La Bergerie, as above.
Day 12: this route again starts and ends with a transfer. From the drop-off point, you walk past several Berber villages to reach the kasbah of Agadir n’Gouf, once the stronghold of the Berber Goundafa tribe. Nowadays, storks nest in the ramparts, but you can still see examples of the ornate decoration. Setting off once more, you pass another ruined kasbah and head along a riverside path past olive, walnut and almond groves to enter an enchanting hidden valley, where the clear waters of the river are full of trout. Further along the valley is the fortified settlement of Tin-Mal. The mosque here is the only one in Morocco that can be visited by non-Muslims (except on Fridays), and it is a real privilege to see the carefully restored décor, an excellent example of intricate Almohad design. (16km, 5.5hrs, plus transfers) Accommodation: La Bergerie, as above. Day 13: heading west, you pass cornfields until you meet the River Oued N’Fis, the 27-metre-deep canyon of which is striped black, white and grey. After pausing for lunch at the village beyond the canyon, you continue along trails that rise beneath pines and holm oaks to the Ouzzla Pass (1,090 metres), from where you can admire the views of stark escarpments, fertile valleys and the Kik Plateau. The path zigzags downhill to an area where you may see foxes, hares and squirrels, and then leads alongside salt flats from which locals have collected salt for centuries. The last leg leads past fields of corn and potatoes back to your base. (11km, 6.5hrs) Accommodation: La Bergerie, as above. The order in which you do the walks may vary according to local conditions. The durations given for the walks are an indication of how many hours you will be away from your base for in total, and include time for lunch and plenty of stops to admire the views and to take photographs.
Prices & travelPrices for autumn/winter 2008/9 will be available online shortly. In the meantime, please contact us for details. > Notes on prices > Any queries? Let us call you back  |
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Koutubia Mosque, Marrakesh 
