The Numerous National Parks of Morocco

The Numerous National Parks of Morocco


Talassemtane National Park Morocco
Trekking Morocco is an experience you will not soon forget–so many places are worthy of a visit–some for a couple hours, some a couple of days. Noteworthy regions throughout Morocco include the High Atlas Mountains, the Rif Mountains, and the Anti Atlas region.  Depending on which region you want to visit, you do have a plethora of National Parks. Read on to get an idea of what National Parks (some combined with trekking) await you in Morocco.
When trekking Morocco you can choose from custom Morocco tours or pre- set tours. These tours are hosted by tour operators who are well versed in the topography as most areas are not well marked on a map.

The Mediterranean Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of Morocco and Spain is one of the most enticing places to visit.  The reserve spreads from the Northwest of Morocco to Spain.  It was once thought that Morocco was a part of Spain, which is why the Rif Mountains continue in Spain.  UNESCO decided they needed to create a reserve in the area to protect the natural wonders.  In 2006 the reserve was started with funding from both governments.  The goal of the reserve is to educate tourists and locals on the precious land.  The bio reserve includes Jbel Bouhachem, Lagune de Smir, Koudiet Taifour, and Jbel Moussa.  The mountain ranges are all within the Talassemtane National Park in the Rif Mountains.

For a trekking adventure in Morocco try Jbel Bouhachem. It is one of the best mountains in the area to climb.  There are multiple day treks which take you up the peak to the summit, as well as through some of the more popular valleys and villages within the area.  Morocco bio reserves often incorporate villages because they and the people have been there for centuries. The emphasis on the bio reserve is conservation so that the villages will be able to survive for many more years to come.

The Intercontinental bio reserve is just one of the many places you can trek in Morocco.  Merdja Zerga Biological Reserve or the Blue Lagoon Reserve is located near Moullay Bousselham.  Thousands of birds travel to this area each year, making it a haven for bird watchers.  The treks in this region are less strenuous and tend to be for family Morocco holidays.

We mentioned earlier that within the Intercontinental reserve there is a national park. The Talassemtane National Park is protecting the last fir forest in Morocco.  Fir trees in the rest of Morocco have been cut down and used for a variety of things.  Years ago Morocco decided they needed to protect the last forest for the next generations to see.  The park like many provides a look at what Morocco is truly like.

El Houceima is another coastal national park.  It is an Osprey colony and is a marine reserve protecting underwater habitats.  It is one of the best places to visit for a less strenuous trekking adventure in Morocco, as Morocco’s coastline is less mountainous than its interior.  Traveling around to the different parks will give you a glimpse of what Morocco is and used to be like.


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Top Three Natural Wonders in Morocco

Top Three Natural Wonders in Morocco
Morocco is home to high mountain ranges, wide expanses of stunning deserts, green oases, national parks filled with wildlife and miles of coastline. The array of natural wonders in the country ensure that there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Though it may be difficult to narrow down the prize attractions on your next trip to Morocco, here are three natural wonders that shouldn’t be missed:

Todra Gorge

Located on the remote, eastern side of the High Atlas Mountains, Todra Gorge can be difficult to explore unless you are on a trekking or climbing tour of Morocco. The gorge was carved out of the earth, and the canyon floor runs several miles through the Atlas Mountains. The imposing canyon walls make the Todra Gorge one of the most stunning rock formations in all of North Africa.

There is a road that runs the length of the gorge, and you can drive all the way through it if you have access to a vehicle. About halfway through the Todra Gorge there is a hotel. Hikers and climbers are welcome to stay here or at one of the many campsites along the canyon floor.

Arguably the most spectacular section of the gorge is beyond the hotel in the final half mile of the canyon where the rock formations begin to narrow. In some places, the canyon is only 30 feet wide. The walls are smooth and rise impressively on both sides. Sunlight struggles to reach this part of the valley, and the river water is ice cold.

At the end of the gorge the canyon suddenly opens into a clearing and the river runs freely. From here, the villages of Tinerhir, Ait Hani, Tamtattouchte and Imilchil are easy to reach. To best enjoy the Todra Gorge, arrive before 8:00 a.m. and stay through the early afternoon when the sunlight is at its best.

Toubkal National Park

Trekking through this national park is drastically different than bustling Marrakesh, which is located less than 50 miles to the north. Located in the center of the High Atlas Mountains, Toubkal National Park is nearly 250,000 acres in size. It is the oldest national park in Morocco.

A variety of flora and fauna flourish in Toubkal National Park, in part due to its climate. Large oaks, pines and junipers and several herbaceous plants used by the local Berber tribes are found in the park’s forests. Toubkal National Park enjoys warm, sunny weather throughout the year, though snow falls in the higher altitudes during the winter. Make the most of your time here by visiting in the summer when all of the trekking trails are available and cleared of ice and snow.

High Atlas Valleys

What goes up must come down, and that is the case with trekking in the High Atlas Mountains. As beautiful as the mountains’ peaks are, the valleys offer a warm welcome to trekkers who are interested in spotting Moroccan wildlife. Mountain sheep, Barbary monkeys, eagles, falcons, lizards and snakes all make their home in the valley regions.

The High Atlas valleys are also home to the local people, who often open their doors in the summer to trekkers. Tucked between the towering mountain faces, you’ll have the chance to share in their culture and taste the fresh foods they’ve prepared. Though the natural wonders of Morocco are fascinating, many visitors to the country remember their time with the locals as being the most meaningful.

Posted by JoAnna Haugen, managing editor at Journey Beyond Travel and author of Kaleidoscopic Wandering.



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Why Are These Moroccan Goats Climbing Trees?

Why Are These Moroccan Goats Climbing Trees?

Argan oil has been a beauty buzzword for the last several years. Pressed from the nuts of the Moroccan argan tree, this light, golden oil has significant anti-inflammatory properties, and is found in countless hair and skin care products. Argan oil is also considered a specialty/health food product, due to its clean, nutty flavor and high levels of linoleic acid and nutrients (seriously, try it in your next vinaigrette or drizzled on soup).

What most people don't realize is how the oil is harvested. For anyone who's spent time traveling in rural northern Morocco, the sight of goats in argan trees, like so many magpies, isn't uncommon. According to the Daily Mail, however, the native Tamri goats are actually part of what's become a highly profitable cottage industry.

The animals feast upon the argan berries, and the fruit and pulp are absorbed into their digestive tracts. Berber women then collect their droppings, and remove the remaining nuts, from which the oil is then extracted. Think of it as the kopi luwak of the beauty industry.

Unfortunately, the global demand for argan oil is so great, the tree population is thought to be half of what it was 50 years ago, reports the Daily Mail. Conservationists are now pleading with herders to keep their goats out of the trees, so the berries can fall to the ground and reseed.

Despite the environmental complications, there's just something about goats in trees that's irresistible. Check out the gallery for a whimsical tour of Morocco's acrobatic, aerial caprines.



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3 Moroccan Meals You Should 

One thing I love most about travelling is getting to taste the local cuisine wherever I go. Having just spent 2 weeks in Morocco, these were 3 yummy staple dishes that the country had to offer, and that I recommend you try should you wash up on Moroccan shores! All of the following were meals I had on my Busabout 8 day tour of Marrakech & the Sahara.

Chicken Tagine

Chicken Tagine is basically chicken, potatoes, peas, carrots, chickpeas, and sometimes other vegetables all mixed up in a natural chicken gravy. Sometimes with Tagine they will make a little dome of potatoes, with the meat hidden underneath. For some reason it always tastes better when they do this!

Vegetable Cous Cous

Cous Cous in very popular in Morocco, with most cafes and restaurants serving a variety of Cous Cous dishes pretty much everywhere you go. With fruit & veg being a major export of Morocco (Agriculture is the largest industry in the country) I always like to opt for the veggie Cous Cous. There are so many fresh vegetables on offer in Morocco it would be a shame not to take advantage of all the fresh produce on offer!

Moroccan Chickpea Soup

If you’re eating out somewhere like Djemaa El Fna in Marrakech (the main square), you’d be as well getting a starter as well as a main meal. Food in Morocco is super cheap. A lot of places offer you soup for 5 Dirham (0.36 GBP/ 0.44 EUR). Chickpea soup is usually what’s on offer. Sometimes I do find the soup a bit watery in the cheaper places, but you can hardly complain considering the price!

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Marrakech Tour: Sights and Attractions

Marrakech is clearly a large city divided into old quarters – the Medina – and the new town – Guéliz.

The focus of the whole city is Djemaa el Fna, a large open space full of entertainers and food sellers at the heart of the Medina. Along the alleyways adjacent to Djemaa el Fna, lie some of the most remarkable landmarks of Marrakech. North of Djemaa el Fna are the souks and the Sidi Ben Youssef Mosque, the main mosque after the Koutoubia. South of Djemaa el Fna, you have the Saadian Tombs and an area full of palaces and the ethnographic museum Maison Tiskiwine.

Another popular sight in Marrakech is the tour of the many gardens. These include the Jardin Majorelle, near Bab Doukkala, the Ménara, a large pool set in a large olive grove and the Agdal, another pleasant olive grove. Across the Oued Issil to the northeast of Marrakech, lies the Palmery dotted with oases.



Djemaa el Fna
 Djemaa el Fna: The most famous landmark in Marrakech, where large crowds gather to watch groups of acrobats, drummers, snake charmers, story tellers, dancers and many other performers.
Djemaa el Fna is the most famous landmark in Marrakech, a place sure to involve you so effortlessly you will come back again and again.

It is an open space in the heart of the city where a long-established ritual takes place. Large crowds of onlookers – both locals and tourists – gather around to mingle together and watch groups of acrobats, drummers, snake charmers, story tellers, dancer, comedians and fairground acts.

Read more about Djemaa el Fna

The Koutoubia
 The Koutoubia: A seventy metres Almohad tower that dominates the Marrakech skyline, rising from the low-rise buildings of the old town and the plains of the north.
The Koutoubia is to Marrakech what the Statue of Liberty is to New York and the Eiffel Tower is to Paris.

Nearly seventy metres in height and visible for miles afar, the Koutoubia is a landmark that dominates the whole of Marrakech, rising from the low-rise buildings of the old town and the plains of the north.

Originally built by the early Almohads, this is the oldest and most complete of three great Almohad towers – the other two are the Hassan Tower in Rabat and the Giralda in Seville.

Read more about the Koutoubia

The Souks of Marrakech
 Marrakech Souks: Vast, colourful and varied, with small squares devoted to specific crafts and products.
The souks of Marrakech stretch immediately after Djemaa el Fna, along Rue Souk Smarine, a long, covered street. At the end of this street are two lanes: Souk el Kbir and Souk el Attarin – Follow the alleyways and you will discover small squares devoted to specific crafts and products.

At first sight, the souks may seem vast and bewildering. However, with a good map it is perfectly possible to navigate the souks on your own. If you’d rather use some help, there are no shortage of offers from guides, both official and non-official.


 Almoravid Koubba: The only Almoravid structure still standing in Morocco, with a design that is at the root of all Moroccan architecture.
Opposite the Ben Youssef Mosque, on the southern side of Place de la Kissaria, is the Almoravid Koubba.

At first glance, it looks a very simple building with variously shaped doors and windows. With a closer look, you will understand the significance and fascination of this monument, for it is the only Almoravid building still standing intact in Morocco!

Dating back to the reign of Sultan Ali Ben Youssef (1107 – 1143), the Almoravid Koubba probably formed part of the ablution facilities of a nearby mosque. The style of the monument is at the root of all Moroccan architecture, subsequently used in all Almohad and Merenid designs.

Climb down the stairs to get to the level of the Dome and view its ceilings. Note the unique range of Almoravid motifs – the pine cones, acanthus and palm leaves and the powerful expression of form in the square and star-shaped octagons at the dome’s interior support.


 The Marrakech Museum: A magnificient late nineteenth-century palace that houses traditional and contemporary exhibitions of Moroccan art and sculpture.
The Marrakech Museum is housed in a magnificent late-nineteenth century palace, Dar Mnebbi, on the west side of Place de la Kissaria.

The palace was originally built by Mehdi Mnebbi (1894-1908), Moroccan ambassador to London. It was then bought by T’Hami el Glaoui, the famous Pasha of Marrakech during the French protectorate. Restored in 1997, it houses today both traditional and contemporary exhibitions of Moroccan arts and sculpture.


The process involves tanners treading and rinsing skin i

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The Djameaa El Fna

The Djameaa El Fna

there's nowhere in Morocco like the Dejemaa El Fna - no place that so effortlessly involves you and keeps you coming back. By day it's basically a market, with a few snake charmers, storytellers and an occasional troupe of acrobats. In the evening it becomes a whole carnival of musicians, clowns and street entertainers. when you arrive in Marrakesh, and after you've found a room, come out here and you'll soon be immersed in the ritual: wandering round, squatting amid the circles of onlookers, giving a dirham or two as your contribution. If you want a respite, you can move over to the rooftop terraces of the Café de France or the Restaurant Argana to gaze over the square and admire the frame of the koutoubia.
what you are part of is a strange process. Some say that tourism is now vital ti the Djemaa's survival, yet apart from the snake charmers, monkey handlers and water vendors (all of whom live by posing for photographs), there's little that has compromised itself for the west. In many ways it actually seems the opposite . Most of the people gathered into circles round the performers are Moroccans - Berbers from the villages and lots of kids.There is no way that any tourist is going to have a tooth pulled by one of the dentists here, no matter how neat the piles of molars displayed on their square of carpet. Nor are you likely to use the scribes or street barbers or , above all, understand the convoluted tales of the storytellers, round whom are gathered perhaps the most animated, all-male crowds in the square.
Nothing of this, though, matters very much.There is a fascination in the remedies of the herb doctors, with their bizarre concoction spread out before them. There are performers, too, whose appeal is universal. The Jemaa Elfna square's acrobats, itinerants from Tazeroualt, have for years supplied the European circuses - though they are perhaps never so spectacular as here, thrust forward into multiple somersaults and contortions in the late afternoon heat. There are child boxers and sad-looking trained monkeys, clowns and chleuh boy dancers - their routines, to the climactic jarring of cymbals, totally sexual (and traditionally an invitation to clients).
And finally, the Djemaa's enduring sound - the dozens of musicians playing all kinds of instruments. late at night, when only a few people are left in the square, you encounter individual players, plucking away at their ginbris, the skin-covered two-or three-string guitars.Earlier in the evening, there are full groups: the Aissaoua, playing oboe-like ghaitahs next to the snake charmers; the Andalucian-style groups, with their ouds and violins; and the back Gnaoua, trance-healers who beat out hour-long hypnotic rhythms with iron clanging hammers and pound tall drums with long curved sticks.
if you get interested in the music there are two small sections on opposite sides of the square where stall sell recorded cassettes : one is near the entrance to the souks and the other is on the corner with the recently pedestrianized Rue Bab Agnaou. Most of these are by Egyptian or Algerian Rai bands, the pop music that dominates Morocco radio, but if you ask they'll play you Berber music from the Atlas, classic Fassi pieces, or even Gnaoua music - which sounds even stranger on tape, cut off only by the end of the one side and starting off almost identically on the other. These stalls apart, and those of the nut roasters, whose massive braziers line the immediate entrance to the potter's souk, the market activities of the Djemaa are mostly pretty mundane.


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The best new holidays in Morocco

THE TOUR  in Morocco

Marrakech-"Morocco City",as early travellers called it -has always been something of a pleasure city,a marketplace where the southern tribesmen and Berber villagers bring in their goods, spend their money and find enter-trainment. For visitor it's an enduring fantasy - a city of immense beauty low, red and tentlike before a great shaft of montains-and immediately exciting. At the heart of it all is a square,Djemaa El Fna, really no more than an open space in the centre of the city, but the stage for a long-established ritual in which shifting cir-cles of onlookers and comedians. However many times you return there, it remains compelling. So, too, do the city's architectural attractions: the immense, still basins of the Agdal and Menara gardens, the delicate Granada-style carving of thesaadian tombs and, above all the Koutoubia Minaret, the most perfect Islamic monument in North Africa.
Unlike Fes, for so long its rival as the nation's capital, the city exists very much in the present. After Casablanca, Marrakesh is Morocco's second largest city and its population continues to rise. It has a thriving industrial area which reflects the rich farmlands of theHaouz plain which surround it: notably flour mills, breweries and canning factories. And it remains the most important market and administrative centre of southern Morocco. None of this is to suggest an easy prosperity-there is heavy unemployment here, as throughout the country, and intense poverty, too -but a stay in Marrakesh leaves you with a vivid impression of life and activity. And for once this doesn't apply exclusively to the new city, Gueliz; the Medina, substantially in ruins at the beginning of this century, was rebuilt and expanded during the years of French rule and retains no less significant a role in the modern city.
The Koutoubia excepted, Marrakesh is not a place of great monuments. Its beauty and attraction lie in the general atmosphere and spectacular location -with the magnificent peaks of the Atlas rising right up behind the city, towering through the heat haze of summer or shimmering white of winter. the feel, as much as anything, is a product of this. Marrakech has Berber rather than Arab origins, having developed as the metropolis of Atlas tribes-Maghrebis from the plains, Saharan nomads and former slaves from Africa beyond the desert, Sudan, Senegal and the ancient Kingdom of Timbuktu. All of these strands shaped the city's souks and its way of life, and in the crowds and performers in Djemaa El Fna, they can still occasionally seem distinct.
For most travellers, Marrakesh is the first experience of the south and-despite the inevitable 'false' guides and hustlers-of its generally more relaxed atmosphere and attitudes. Marrakchis are renowend for their warmth and sociability, their humour and directness-all qualities that (superficially, at least) can seem absent among the Fassis. there is, at any rate, a conspicuously more laid-back feel than anywhere in the north, with women, for example, having a greater degree of freedom and public presence, often riding mopeds around on the streets. And compared to Fes, Marrakesh is much less homogenous and cohesive. The city is more a conglomeration of villages than an urban community, with quarters formed and maintained by successive generations of migrants from the countryside.

For westerners, Morocco holds an immediate and enduring fascination. Though just an hour's ride on the ferry from Spain, it seems at once very far from Europe, with a culture Islamic and deeply traditional that is almost wholly unfamiliar. Throughout the country, despite the years of French and Spanish colonial rule and the presence of modern and cosmopolitan cities like Rabat or Casablanca , a more distant past constantly makes its presence felt. Fes, perhaps the most beautiful of all Arab cities, maintains a life still rooted in medieval time, when a Moroccan empire stretched from Senegal to northern Spain; while in the mountains of the Atlas and the Rif, it is still possible to draw up tribal maps of the Berber population. As a backdrop to all this, the country's physical make-up is also extraordinary: from a Mediterranean coast, through four mountain ranges, to the empty sand and scrub of the Sahara.
All of which makes travel in Morocco an intense and rewarding -if not always easy -experience. Certainly, there can be problems in coming to terms with your privileged position as tourist in a nation that, for the most part, would regard such activities as those of another world. And the northern Morocco cities especially have a reputation for hustlers: self appointed guides whose eagerness to offers their services -and whose attitude to tourists as being a justifiable source of income (and to women as something much worse) -can be hard to ideal with. If you find this to be too much of a struggle, then it would probably be better to keep to low-key resorts like Essaouira or Asilah, or to the more cosmopolitan holiday destination of Agadir, built very much in the image of its Spanish counterparts, or even a packaged sightseeing tour.
But you'd miss a lot that way. Morocco is at its best well away from such trappings. A week's hiking in the Atlas; a journey through the southern oases or into the pre-Sahara; or leisured strolls around Tangier, Fes or Marrakesh -once you adapt to a different way of life, all your time will be well spend. And it is difficult for any traveller to go for long without running into Morocco's equally powerful tradition of hospitality, generosity and openness. This is a country people return to again and again.


THE TAOURIRT CASBAH Approaching from the Boumalen road for Dadès, near to Ouarzazate is the casbah of Taourirt, a name that combines the Arab and Berber languages, meaning "hill fortress" - a structure that is of particular interest both for its fine architecture and its perfect integration into the environmental setting. Originally the residence of the pasha of Marrakesh and a symbol of the feudal period of the lords of Atlas, it consists of buildings that had a mainly military function and developed into a fortified city criss-crossed by numerous alleyways. There is a magnificient view from the terrace of the casbah. across to the mountains and the lake created by the Mansour ed- Dahbi dam, as far as the oases and enchanting Draa Valley.


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The best new holidays in Morocco

The best new holidays in Morocco
From luxury desert camps and riad hotels to Atlas mountains walks and cooking lessons in the souks of Marrakech, we round up the best new holidays in Morocco


The best new holidays in Morocco

Nomadic beach retreat, Atlantic coast

A new trip combines the best elements of different holidays – a pinch of city break, a dash of fitness retreat, a soupcon of beach-bumming – to make a very appealing one. It begins and ends in a boutique riad in Marrakech, with spa treatments and delicious dinners. There's time for lunch in Essaouira and a night in a coastal village villa before the retreat begins in earnest. Each day, early-morning meditation is followed by four hours of walking along secluded beaches, then a luxury camp is set up while you enjoy an afternoon of yoga, reiki, swimming and sunbathing. Drinks are served at sunset and dinner is eaten around the campfire to the sound of tribal singing. The camp moves along the coast each day, with camels carrying everything – and you, if you get tired. 

• £1,150pp for seven days including two nights at a riad, one at a villa and three at a luxury beach camp, all food and drink, hammam, scrubs and massages; and five days of reiki, yoga and meditation. The first trip starts 5 July, +212 6 6121 5062, moroccoretreats.com

Scarabeo Camp, Agafay

Camp Bling (camp-bling.com) is a new website bringing together the most luxurious campsites around the world – it's not just glamping, it's camp-bling, geddit? There are floating lodges in Cambodia, a luxury Galapagos safari site, a New Zealand campsite only accessible by helicopter, and now Scarabeo Camp, a nomadic encampment in Morocco. Eventually there will be four bivouacs across the country but the first to open is the Stone Camp, based in the desert of Agafay, around 40km from Marrakech. The camp moves location according to the season, but there are always views of the desert and the Atlas mountains beyond. Fresh bread is baked daily in a traditional earth oven.

• From €155 half-board for two people in a luxury tent

Sahara Safari Camp, Draa Valley

A new luxury tented wilderness camp, Sahara Safari Camp, opened in February near Zagora and Tagounite, south Morocco, and has now added some budget tents. They still contain proper beds and duvets, and each one has a private bathroom tent a few metres away. The camp has excellent eco credentials: bio-loos, solar lighting, local produce and partnerships with the tribal community to help minimise impact on the land. 

• From £30pp pn for two people and a budget tent, including dinner and soft drinks, specialistmorocco.com

Hotels and riads

The Sirayane hotel in Marrakech

Marrakech

New ones to watch include the Sirayane hotel (doubles from around £120 a night, uk.sirayane.com), in the newly-hip area of Hivernage and the Route D'Amizmiz, designed in a simple style by architect Imaad Rahmouni, with an outdoor swimming pool facing the mountains and a small but stylish spa, plus an hourly free shuttle bus into the medina, around 10 minutes away. The Selman Marrakech (opening offer: around £290 B&B a night, selman-marrakech.com), a glamourous country club-style estate which opened this month, is owned and run by a Moroccan family and home to 16 Arabian horses. Ten are thoroughbreds and not for riding – they're more of a living art installation, roaming the 15-acre grounds – but the remaining six horses can be hired for trekking.

L'iglesia, El Jadida

Boutique Souk, the Morocco travel concierge service, is launching a new property in El Jadida this month. L'iglesia is a converted 16th-century Spanish church, now decorated in a 1940s/50s style, overlooking the sea. A separate wing of the property is housed in the old US consulate, which dates from the period of Portuguese occupation. El Jadida is a relaxed port town on the Atlantic coast, 60 miles south of Casablanca, with long beaches and a Unesco-recognised old town.

• From around £98 a room, boutiquesouk.com

Number Thirty, Essaouira

This quirky townhouse, billed as "Essaouira meets Brighton", is ideal for self-caterers who are looking for something a little different. There are plain walls, splashes of bright colour and retro fabrics – and not a traditional rug or tile in sight. It's in a quiet street in central Essaouira, an easy walk from the beach and restaurants, and has a roof terrace for sunbathing.

• From £100 a night, sleeps six, book through i-escape.com

Temple des Arts, Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate, a Berber city in south‑central Morocco, is a good base for expeditions into the Drâa Valley and the Sahara. The Temple des Artes, a seven-room luxury guesthouse, opened there last year. It is owned by a Moroccan film producer and is a celebration of cinema, with movie-themed suites and brilliantly ostentatious decor. The Atlas Film Studios, among the largest movie studios in the world, are just five miles down the road. They are well worth a visit for the strange site of old movie sets decaying under the desert sun.

• From around £105 a night, templedesarts-ouarzazate.com

Chez Max, Tagadert

This new earth house has been built in the Berber hamlet style, around central courtyards, in a sleepy village near Marrakech. There are six airy rooms and plenty of nooks and crannies, terraces and balconies for reading and relaxing, plus gardens and a swimming pool, and staff to do all the cooking.

• Five nights from £672pp B&B, including flights from London, lawrenceofmorocco.com

Activities

Walking week, Bougmez Valley

KE Adventure Travel has a new easy walking holiday in the Bougmez Valley, a lesser-trodden area of the Atlas mountains. The trip is based at the Touda Ecolodge in the village of Zawyat Oulmzi. Daily guided walks may take you to Lake Izourar in an ancient glacial valley, Ait Ourit, a peak with magnificent views, or to the market town of Tabant.

• £545 for eight days, excludes flights but includes transfers from Marrakech and all meals, departures 1 July, 9 September and 21 October, keadventure.com

History walk, Atlas mountains

Walks Worldwide's new Morocco trip, Raiders of the Lost Kasbah, follows the old caravan trade route across the Tizi n'Telouet pass, stopping at famous fortresses and fortified towns. Accommodation is mainly basic hostels with a night's camping, plus a couple of nights in a three-star in Marrakech.

• Eight days from £475pp, excluding flights, walksworldwide.com

Horse riding, Diabat

Explore the deserted beaches, fishing villages and argan forests south of Essaouira on horseback. You'll ride alongside goat herders, spot turtles and visit argan oil producers. Three nights are spent in a boutique hotel and three in a Berber tent, and the trip is suitable for all levels of experience.

• Seven days from £780pp, excluding flights, golearnto.com

Family holiday, multi-location

Time in Fes and Marrakech will appeal to the grown-ups on this new family holiday, while kids will be happiest in the mountains searching for Barbary apes, discovering dinosaur footprints, playing traditional Berber games and camping under the stars. Accommodation is a mix of hotels, village houses and basic tents.

• 15 days from £799 adults and £732 children excluding flights, explore.co.uk

Foodie

Tagine cookery class, Marrakech

Tagine cookery class, Marrakech 

Urban Adventures has launched short tours in more than 80 cities around the world, where locals take visitors off the beaten track for a few hours. On the Tagine Cookery Class you have a short Arabic lesson to learn the words for key ingredients, go to the souk to shop for fresh produce, have a hands-on cookery lesson, then eat your salads, tagines and couscous for lunch.

• £36 for a four-hour class, urbanadventures.com

Berber lunch, Imlil

The Atlas village of Imlil is the centre of Moroccan mountain tourism and the starting point of many treks. Fleewinter's new day trek is designed to get people into the mountains for a taste of real village life. The highlight is lunch with a Berber family, overlooking one of the valleys. Mules will carry your bags and children.

• Prices vary depending on size of the group, fleewinter.co.uk

Culinary tour, multi-location

Trip Feast specialises in cultural tours with a culinary slant. On the new Exotic Flavours of Morocco trip, you'll make bread and other Fassi specialities in Fez and sample wine in Meknes. You'll meet olive growers and honey producers in rural villages on the way to Marrakech, where you'll go spice shopping, have cookery lessons, sample street food and eat in a hidden palace restaurant. Accommodation is in four-star riads and kasbahs.

• £1,295pp for eight days excluding flights, or £1,595 with flights, including breakfast and some other meals, departing 10 November or 23 March, tripfeast.com.

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Why Moroccan Recipes And Cuisine Are Popular

Why Moroccan Recipes And Cuisine Are Popular

Considered as one of the most diversified and sumptuous food, Moroccan cuisine offers a delightful experience. There primary reason contributed to the diverse Moroccan food is it’s interaction with the outside world for centuries. Food in Morocco has blended different cuisines from different cultures like Moorish, Arab, Middle Eastern, Berber, Jewish, Iberian and Mediterranean African.
Over different historical eras and centuries the Moroccan cuisine was refined by the highly capable cooks of the royal kitchens in Meknes, Fez, Marrakech, Tetouan and Rabat. This refined cuisine laid the base for the modern Moroccan cuisine.
History of Moroccan Cuisine
Morocco has been at the crossroad of different civilizations, which has greatly influenced Moroccan food. Today you will even find some of the best Moroccan recipes over the internet but the truth is that nothing tastes like the Moroccan spices.
It is said that the history of Morocco can be seen reflected in their cuisine. There has been different settlements in Morocco, which has led to creation of a blended cuisine that has many different flavors. There was a time when political refugees came all the way from Baghdad, Iraq during the Middle Ages to settle in Morocco. They brought with them the traditional recipes, which have since become a part of the traditional Moroccan cuisine. One of the signature characteristics of this blend is the recipe where fruit is cooked with meat like apricots with chicken.
Moroccan food has also been influenced greatly by Morisco or the Muslim refugees who were thrown out of Spain preceding the Spanish inquisition. An important part of Moroccan cuisine is the ingredients used. Since Morocco produces Mediterranean vegetables and fruits, they are used in the preparation of different Moroccan recipes. Poultry, cattle and fish is also in abundance in Morocco and hence they have become an integral part of the country’s cuisine.
Moroccan Spices
Food in Morocco can’t do without the Moroccan spices. One of the biggest markets in Morocco for spices is at Agadir and you can find spices in different colors and for rendering a different taste. These spices are used in all Moroccan recipes and render a taste that will remain with you for a lifetime. The Moroccan spices have not existed in the country always, they were initially imported from other countries over thousands of years.
Some of the popular Moroccan spices include saffron that came from Tiliouine, olive and mint came from Meknes, while lemons and oranges came from Fez. Some of the common spices were also home grown like kamoun (cumin), karfa (cinnamon), kharkoum (tumeric), libzar (pepper) , skingbir (ginger), tahmira (paprika), sesame seed, anis seed, kasbour (coriander), zaafrane beldi (saffron) and maadnous (parsley).
The Great Moroccan Meal
You have to really taste the tanginess and the spicy flavors of the Moroccan cuisine to understand why it is so popular across the world. The most important part of the Moroccan cuisine is the midday meal, which is not consumed in the holy month of Ramadan. A Moroccan mid day meal will start with hot and cold salads, and will be followed by tagine. Bread is the staple food of every mid day meal. This is followed by chicken or lamb dish and then a dish of couscous topped with vegetable and meat. At the end of the meal, you will get to drink a cup of sweet mint tea, which is a part of their tradition.
Couscous is the main Moroccan dish and is considered to have been of Berber origin. The most commonly consumed form of meat is beef although lamb is also preferred but costs more than beef. There is also a growing importance of seafood and is slowly becoming an important part of Moroccan cuisine.
Some of the popular as well as famous Moroccan food recipes include Pastilla, Couscous, Tajine, Harira and Tanjia. Although Harira is a soup, but it is an important part of the Moroccan cuisine and is consumed mostly during the holy months of Ramadan.
Where you have rich food laced with Moroccan spices, you will definitely have Desserts. Desserts in Morocco don’t necessarily have to be sweet although the sweeter it is, the better it will be. One of the common desserts is the kaab el ghzal or gazelle’s horns. Of course that’s just a name and you won’t get to eat any horns. Kaab el ghzal is a type of pastry with sugar toppings and is stuffed with almond paste. Honey cakes are extremely popular too and they are prepared by deep frying dough and dipping them in hot honey and finally sesame seeds are sprinkled on the top.
Moroccan cuisine has a lot of variety and also include drinks (Mint Tea) and snacks apart from their mid day meal and to feel the real flavor of spice, you will have to taste their traditional food.



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