Morocco Experiences

Fascinating & Extraordinarily Beautiful

Morocco is endowed with a complicated geographical and geological makeup: the High and Middle Atlas mountains running over 1000 kilometers north-east from Agadir: the imposing summits of the Rif mountains in the north; and the High Atlas mountains in the south.

These mountain ranges physically dominate the whole country and determine the nature of the widely differing Moroccan climates.

However, it is Marrakech – the vibrant City of Roses and gateway to the desert – that is the key to a cultural understanding of Morocco.

The Marrakech of today, with the exquisite, snow-capped Atlas mountains shimmering in the background, is a pulsating, sensuous, and fashionable resort with excellent cafés, imaginative French and neo-Moroccan restaurants, social bars, and discothèques.

In the Marrakech medina (old town), visitors will find ancient labyrinthine lanes, quaint horse-drawn carriages, riads behind closed doors offering cool and shade, and vibrant souks for sourcing Berber carpets, pottery, lamps, silverware and jewellery.

Then there is the world-famous square, Djemma el Fna, with many herbalists, acrobats and snake charmers and, as early evening draws in, countless lines of exotic food stalls, storytellers, snake charmers, fire eaters and strange musicians.

We can easily make arrangements for the more conventional activities such as golf, dune buggy excursions, and camel trekking as well as guided buying forays into the souks; in addition, for an appreciation of the depth of Moroccan culture, we usually advise a drive to the imperial cities, Fès and Meknès, and a visit to the Roman ruins at Volubilis.

However, for someone wishing to have a life experience, we suggest “the Great Safari”—a luxury RV drive or private charter south across the High Atlas and down to the area around Ouarzazate.

During the five-hour first leg—faster if you charter a private plane—you will see snow-capped mountains, lush valleys and orchards, desert country as awesome as that in the American West, and just about all the landscapes known to man.

A must is a visit to the Aït Benhaddou pisé Kasbahs near Ouarzazate—many well over 500 years old—where the acclaimed film Lawrence of Arabia was shot.

Your safari would then continue south east along the Draa valley over to Zagora: in Jebel Zagora there are great views of the Amazrou Palmeraies and the unforgettable Sahara dunes where one can go camel trekking or dune buggy riding while watching the world's most dramatic sunrises.

The road north-east in the Dadès Valley – flanked dramatically by the High Atlas on one side and Jebel Sarho on the other – passes through the famed Skoura oasis, the town of El-Kelaa M'Gouna, known for its fields of roses, and the Vallée des Oiseaux – a birdwatcher's paradise and gateway to the Gorge du Dadès.

This leg of the safari ends dramatically in Tinerhir with the largest and most beautiful palmeraie in Morocco.

A little further east of Tinerhir is Erfoud which, although quite unremarkable in itself except for the October date festival, is the access point for the great Tafilalt region with its palmeraies, remote berber ksar, and the spectacular Erg Chebbi sand dunes near Merzouga where sunset and dawn camel rides offer the ultimate romance.

If you are thinking about embarking on all or part of this awesome journey, once you have even a general idea of what you want to do and the time available, we advise that you have an initial conversation with us to get an idea of the timing as well as the kind of costs involved in your adventure.

From Marrakech, whether you decide to travel west to Essaouira and Agadir on the Atlantic coast, south west across the Atlas to the great walled city of Taroudant, or south east on the big one, you are certain to become captivated and filled with a longing to return to this extraordinarily beautiful and exciting country.