Some tracks and paths may require riders to dismount to assist their horses in difficult passages with significant elevation changes. The itinerary includes beach crossings, but the duration and gaits used will depend on the tide level. You will ride well-trained and physically fit horses, equipped with top-quality and recently renewed gear.
While offering comfort through a carefully selected range of hotels and guesthouses, this trek is fully immersed in deep and authentic Morocco, far from the typical tourist routes. What surprises riders the most? The opportunity to traverse different landscapes every day! Deserts of rock, sand, and dunes, you will cross many oases to end on the beach for a grand final.
The management of the ranch and the horseback riding tours is handled by qualified professionals with many years of experience in equestrian activities. For the trek, it is advisable to bring sunscreen, lip balm with high SPF, a blouse with a collar and long sleeves, a lightweight scarf to protect your neck and décolleté, comfortable riding pants, chaps, and shoes that allow for comfortable walking. Water is provided, and helmets are available for your use.
Day 1: Agadir
You will be welcomed at Agadir Airport (AGA) and transferred by taxi to the ranch. Upon arrival, you will discover the ranch, a green oasis where you will spend the evening and the night. You can enjoy the gardens and terraces with views of the sea and mountains. You will have the opportunity to meet the team and the horses while enjoying a delicious cup of Moroccan tea.
Day 2: Ranch - Laouina
After a good breakfast, prepare your mounts and leave the ranch for this first day of hiking. Head to the mountains overlooking the ranch and the ocean. Cross Berber villages and come across shepherds and their flocks. You will enjoy a picnic under the argan trees. In the afternoon, leave the mountains with a superb view of the Tiznit plain. Between farming and wadi, take a ground way that allows good gaits. For the evening and the night, you are welcomed into a local’s home to discover the Berber culture and way of life.
Day 3: Laouina - Ouijane
Shortly after leaving Laouina, cross an oasis, which brings you shade and freshness, following the canals, an ancestral irrigation technique. After crossing the village and a break in the spring to quench the horses' thirst, enter an arid stone desert, with the mountain as a backdrop. For lunch, stop in a village where you can admire the old constructions of typical adobe houses. Then let’s set off again to attack this rock desert!
Pass a few palm trees and cross wadis before seeing the village of Ouijane and its century-old olive trees forest. After a maze of alleys and shaded paths, arrive at Valérie and Michel’s place. You will enjoy the swimming pool before spending the night in traditional chaima tents (there's a possibility of reserving a Kaïdal tent with private toilets, at an additional cost).
Day 4: Ouijane - Assounfou
From Ouijane, take a pretty track overlooking the wadi. They propose 2 options for this morning: a passage through the mountains which requires a good walk on steep paths but the breathtaking view is worth it or you can walk along the mountain for a morning more accessible to everyone.
After the picnic with a view of the argan plantations and the rocky cliffs, go for an afternoon which crosses the villages on the foot of the mountains. Evening and night in a comfortable hotel lost at the gates of the “little Sahara”.
Day 5: Assounfou - Palmeraie de Massa
To begin the day, cross the sand dunes. You'll then follow the Massa wadi, the largest in the Souss region. Lunch near the large farms, then reach Massa crossing ancestral cultures along the donkey paths, which have shaped the landscape of their work for centuries. Water gives rise to luxuriant life in this delta which contrasts with the arid landscapes crossed previously. Reach your hotel, where you can enjoy the swimming pool for a moment of relaxation before dinner with a view of the palm grove.
Day 6: Palmeraie de Massa - Les Grottes
Leave Massa to reach the coast via the tracks that cross desert landscapes. Lunch with a sea view, at the top of the cliffs. Magnificent galloping tracks allow you to cross a new sandy desert to the lodge run by a Berber family. You spend the evening in troglodyte caves hidden in the cliff overlooking the ocean.
Day 7: Grottes - Ranch
For this last day of hiking, finish crossing the desert on the heights of the cliffs to the fishing port of Aglou, where you'll stop for lunch. Return towards the ranch via the beach with 15 kilometers of fine sand! On arrival at the ranch, you participate in the horse's care and can enjoy a well-deserved massage (extra with an appointment). The copious Friday couscous will end this week with a grand final!
Day 8: Agadir day of departure
Depending on the flight time, you have the option to take a trip to Mirleft to bring back souvenirs or to enjoy the services of the masseuse/beautician who will be pleased to relieve any muscle soreness. Transfer to Agadir Airport (AGA) and return flight.
Skill levels
The "soft" formula is for experienced riders but the rhythm is classical.
Reminders
- The program and layout can be adapted according to the level of the riders, the weather conditions, and the constant improvements made to
- these courses.
- No hard suitcase but small light bags.
- No children under the age of 15, unless confirmed with Ranch Les 2 Gazelles in advance.