Morocco Retreat
Escape to the serenity of the High Atlas foothills!
The calm and comforts of Amazigh (Berber) hospitality await on this four-day Intrepid Retreats experience to Ouirgage, on the green edges of the Mt Toubkal National Park. Leave the modern world of Marrakech behind and journey to a home away from home where olive trees and mountains make your backdrop. Surround yourself with the flavours and scents of this wild part of the country, hike the hills through small villages and farms, hang out with the locals, try your hand at making some iconic local dishes and, most importantly, take the time to sit back, relax, and reconnect with yourself and the world around you.
- Tap into the nomadic spirit of the Imazighen (Berbers) with a hike through the red earth hills and green-dotted valleys of a place that feels beyond the reach of the modern world.
- Break bread with a local Imazighen family in their village, and get an insight into daily life in the High Atlas region.
- Learn the secrets behind tea, tanorte and tagine with a cooking demonstration and, best of all, feast on the delicious dishes for lunch.
- Enjoy the comfort of your locally owned, unpack-once accommodation, where you’ll experience traditional Amazigh (Berber) hospitality and the small touches that make all the difference.
Day 1: Marrakech / Ouirgane
Start your Retreat with a welcome meeting at 11 am this morning, followed by the journey from the city to your accommodation in Ouirgane (approximately 1.5 hours). Welcome to the serene foothills of the High Atlas Mountains. Ouirgane is a place of peace and calm and a welcome escape from the bustling chaos of Marrakech city life. Settle into your own oasis for the next few nights. Your retreat is a locally owned, traditional Amazigh (Berber) guest house, built in the time-honoured style and full of character and the small touches that make all the difference. This truly is a home from home, and the bar, reading room, rose bush-surrounded swimming pool, and backdrop of olive trees and mountains will make it hard to even leave to explore. There will be a traditional, delicious dinner at the guesthouse, when the smells of lamb tagine, homemade bread and oranges with cinnamon fill the air.
Accommodation
- Guesthouse (1 night)
Included Activities
- Ouirgane - Welcome Lamb Dinner
Meals Included
- Dinner
Special Information
Meet at the centrally located Modagor Opera Hotel in Marrakech at 11 am this morning for the welcome meeting. It’s very important that you attend the welcome meeting as we will be collecting insurance and emergency contact details at this time, and will head out towards Ouirgane straight after. If you are going to be late please let your booking agent or hotel reception know. We are happy to book additional accommodation for you in Marrakech, subject to availability.
Day 2: High Atlas Mountains / Ouirgane
Get your energy up at breakfast this morning reading for a half-day hike in the beautiful landscape of the High Atlas Mountains (approximately 3 hours). Explore the surrounds that feel beyond the reach of the modern world. The red earth hills and valleys are dotted with green pines and terraced farmland of almonds, cherry and apple trees. You’ll navigate boulders and crags, running streams, and pass through traditional Amazigh villages on the way, waving to the villagers as they go about their daily lives. Learn more about local life here as you finish your hike with lunch shared with a local Imazighen family (Berber people). Rest your legs back at the guesthouse with an afternoon to relax and soak up the atmosphere and the view of lake and mountains before another delectable dinner.
Accommodation
- Guesthouse (1 night)
Included Activities
- High Atlas Mountains - Guided Hike
- Ouirgane - Lunch with Local Family
Meals Included
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 3: Ouirgane
After breakfast this morning you’ll get a chance to learn the secrets behind the delicious dishes you’ve been feasting on the last couple of days. Join in with a cooking class at the guesthouse and get a demonstration of how to make Morocco’s signature tea, using mint grown right here in the garden. Then, because bread baking is a key part of Amazigh life, learn how they work the dough to make a special type of bread called Tanorte. If that wasn’t delicious enough, get the inside info behind the iconic dish of the Imazighen, and Morocco as a whole – the tagine. Learn all the secret spices and techniques as it’s cooked outside over a wood fire. Then comes the best part – eating everything you’ve helped make for lunch. The rest of the afternoon is free, maybe join one of the optional activities detailed below, or snooze off your lunch by the pool in the shade of the trees.
Accommodation
- Guesthouse (1 night)
Included Activities
- Ouirgane - Tagine & Bread Baking Cooking Class with Moroccan Tea Making Demonstration
Optional Activities
- Ouirgane - Women's Association Visit & Carpet Making Demonstration - MAD50
- Ouirgane - Beauty Therapy at Domaine la Roseraie - MAD400
- Ouirgane - Domaine la Roseraie Massage (30 minutes) - MAD350
Meals Included
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Special Information
This afternoon you can choose to join a number of optional activities – your leader can provide more details. Be introduced to skincare secrets passed down through the generations in a ghassoul workshop. Or share a cup of tea with a local women’s association that craft carpets typical of the area, learning how the association plays an important part in supporting the women and the local community.
Day 4: Ouirgane / Marrakech
Make the most of the guesthouse surrounds during your final breakfast, before you depart for Marrakech. On your way back, your Tour Leader will lecture you about an Intrepid Foundation-backed project – which your trip helps support – called Education For All, which helps girls from remote villages in this region access an education.
Included Activities
- Education For All (Intrepid Foundation Project) project talk
Meals Included
- Breakfast
Special Information
The tour ends today in the early afternoon upon arrival back at Mogador Opera Hotel in Marrakech.
Speak to our travel experts at Benchmark Travel and we'll create the perfect Morocco Retreat itinerary to suit your travel dates.