A Journey into Morocco

Arriving at (the unusually lovely) Marrakech Menara Airport, you’ll be met by your private driver. They’ll ferry you to the heart of the ancient medina – and La Villa des Orangers, your exquisite home for three nights in the city. You’ll spend your first day and night settling in. Swimming beneath banana palms, dining in firelit riads, and indulging in an oh-so-Moroccan hammam treatment in the hotel’s spa.

You’ve had a taste of Moroccan cuisine; now it’s time to get into the kitchen. Today, you’ll team up with a ‘dada’ (a traditional cook). You’ll barter for ingredients as the souks come to life – and then you’ll head into a calm riad where you’ll learn the necessary arts. Lunch will be in a blissful, shaded courtyard. Sated, you’ll swap one oasis for another; making your way to the tucked-away Musee de Parfum to meet Amina, your perfumier, where you’ll enjoy a hands-on workshop where you’ll learn to create a unique scent of your own design; leaving with an intimate souvenir from your time in the city.

Leaving Marrakech behind, you’ll set off on a desert-buggy adventure into the sublime desolation of the Agafay; traversing remote tracks, dry riverbeds, and palm-shaded oases, you’ll pause for lunch at the aptly-named ‘la Pause’ – a desert camp nestled in the desert’s arid heart. When the dust has settled, we’ll take you to your very private, just-you camp – where you’ll be spending the night. Tents will be beautifully laid out with carpets, tables, chairs, beds and blankets. But the magic really begins at night: sitting beneath the stars in a camp illuminated by flickering candlelight, you’ll feel completely switched off from the rest of the world.

Waking at sunrise, you’ll watch as the light of early morning spreads across the desert landscape. After a traditional camp breakfast, you’ll head towards the High Atlas Mountains; discovering limestone peaks, cultivated valleys, high-altitude plateaus, and a vast ecosystem which includes Barbary macaques and Atlas cedars. Eventually, you’ll arrive at the welcome oasis of Kasbah Tamadot, your mountainous retreat for the next three nights. Here, you’ll have a chance to unwind; dining, relaxing at the spa, playing a game of tennis, or enjoying any number of activities in the foothills beyond.

On your penultimate day in Morocco, you can do as much (or as little) as you wish. You could relax by the outdoor infinity pool or you could join the hotel’s chefs for a hands-on cooking session and learn how to make some of Kasbah Tamadot’s most popular dishes. You could hike, bike, or play tennis. And then there’s the artisan workshops of the Eve Branson Foundation: a non-profit organisation working with local communities to preserve traditional crafts like woodwork and weaving.