Morocco Family Retreat: Ouirgane

Welcome to your Intrepid Family Retreat 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. Start with a welcome meeting at 11 am, then make the journey from the city to your accommodation (approximately 1.5 hours) and 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, a backdrop of olive trees and mountains – and of course the kids will enjoy the swimming pool. Enjoy an included dinner tonight at the guesthouse, when the smells of lamb tagine, homemade bread and oranges with cinnamon fill the air.

Get your energy up at breakfast this morning reading for a half-day hike in the beautiful landscape of Toubkal National Park (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. The family will 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. Bring the families together and learn more about local life here as you finish your hike with lunch shared with a local Imazighen (Berber) family. Rest your legs back at the guesthouse with an afternoon to relax and for the kids to jump in the pool before another delicious dinner.

After breakfast this morning you’ll get a chance to learn some new dishes for family dinners as you join a cooking class at the guesthouse. 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, get the kids to knead the dough for 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, snooze off you lunch in the shade of the trees, or play pool games with the kids.

Make the most the guesthouse surrounds during your final breakfast, before you depart for Marrakech.