Transfer Option:

Day 1:  Meeting in Quarzazate at 1 PM. After lunch we drive by mini bus in direction of Skoura (20 miles) where you will check into a typical Kasbah. The historic fort from the 13^th century was exquisitely renovated. Dinner and overnight.
Day 2:  After breakfast to meet your horses and off we go riding in direction of the Atlas Mountains. We stop for lunch at an Oasis that provides some well deserved shade for horse and rider. The evening camp is situation at a creek at the edge of a mountain village. Relax and enjoy one of the many culinary highlights of your trip tonight.
Day 3:  Today we cross several mountain villages and get to know more about the day to day life of these original people. We ride further along the Atlas until we reach a high plateau, where we stop for lunch and enjoy a superb view over the whole countryside. The afternoon will bring several more mountain villages before reaching camp in the early evening.
Day 4:  First we will follow a dried out river bed before we reach the villages of the Ikandoules tribes. Lunch is on a nice plateau. The afternoon is a nice ride along the plateau before reaching camp for the night.
Day 5:  We leave the plateau and descend into a wonderful valley, where we stop for lunch. Here we can gaze towards the snow capped peaks of the impressive Atlas. We then ride through impressive canyons, along lonely villages until we reach the immense Mogun Valley. We have to cross a river before reaching the camp for the night.
Day 6:  Riding through a wonderful valley we again climb the mountains for a last magnificent view around lunch time. After lunch we say good bye to the horses and drive back to Quarzazate (1 hr), where we will overnight in a “Riad” – a especially beautiful and luxurious but still very much typical Moroccan hotel. Relax and enjoy !
Day 7:  A day to rest, relax and sightsee Quarzazate and the impressive “Kasr de Tourirt” – once the residence of the Pascha of Marrakesh. Dinner and overnight.
Day 8:  Departure after breakfast.

The local climate is pleasant and hot (between 15 °C and 35 °C, according to the period). On the other hand, in winter, the nights are a little bit cool! (Close to 5 °C)

Women:  please do not wear any see through blouses, tank tops, shorts or simialr clothing. Show your host country the respect for their culture.

Luggage
The crew will take care of your luggage and transfer it from place to place in the support vehicle.
It is best to bring soft luggage and not hard suitcases. Not too many pieces will avoid problems as well.

Lodgings will be 3 nights in hotels or riads  and 4 nights in deluxe camps.

We have selected hotels with the usual criteria in mind : cleanliness, hospitality, comfort, but also  trying to share some treasure troves: outstanding architecture, incredible welcome or exceptional restaurant. Not all these places sport a star, but everyone is impressed and wonders how we found these places. ……It's a secret …

During the trip, there is the bivouac, where everything is ... like in a hotel.
The rooms/tents are typical berber tents, roomy, high, with real beds (with a base, a mattress, sheets, pillows, blankets). There are rugs on the floor and night tables with lamps. If needed, there is heating in winter (in the desert the temperature can drop to 5°C / 40°F, down from 25°C / 80°F during the day).
Every evening you'll find your towel, soap and shampoo on your bed, because we have hot water showers. There are restrooms too, fully equipped. Every day we have two water tanks brought to the bivouac !

Thanks to the generator, you can charge your cell phone, your camera or camcorder batteries or your laptop ! You may even use a blow dryer... Just remember, the power here is 220V / 50 Hz and you may want to bring an outlet adapter.
You can even call in the middle of the desert !

There are always some surprises (two or three) : musicians, dancers, snake charmers, and even an incredible bard... but we shouldn't disclose too much if we want them to be surprises !

Meals
All meals at the hotel, including a special welcome evening and an animated goodbye evening.
During the ride: Continental breakfast and traditional Moroccan breakfasts, picnic lunches (salads, BBQ) or in typical restaurants, dinners are cooked by our chef and his assistants in camp.

Meals are important, therefore it has to be just perfect! The chefs have been carefully selected and the evening meals at the bivouac are literally gastronomic. For lunches we have huge barbecues and for breakfast, a superb buffet !

Here are some menus, just to give you an idea :

Lunch :
* Continental salads
* marinated meat kebab, vegetables
* Pastries, fruit, tea, coffee
* Moroccan salads : Zaalouk, Carrots à l’orange, yams,…
* Tajines de Kefta, vegetables
* Pastries, Beghrir, fruit, tea, coffee

Dinner :
* Harira
* Lamb Tajine with prunes Harira
* Oranges with cinnamon, fruit, tea, coffee
* Cheese Briouats
* M’Qalli chicken with lemon and olives, sautéed potatoes
* Semolina desert, fruit, tea, coffee
* Potato and carrot salad
* Chicken Pastilla
* Almond Briouats, fruit, tea, coffee

Breakfasts are super buffets with everything you want : French style and Moroccan pastries, eggs, cheese, fresh fruit juices, coffee, tea,…

Cavalry and saddle
The horses are Arab-berbs specialized for this type of excursion. They are particularly well maintained, accustomed to working together, patient and reliable. These horses are selected on the spot by your French guide. The saddles are English or excursion saddles.

The Equestrian Level
You should feel comfortable at all gaits and have some experience of long rides. We spend between 4 and 5 hours on horseback every day. During a typical day we mostly walk, there is some trot, sometimes we walk beside our horses and when the conditions are right, we go for a fast canter. There are two guides on horseback so that we can split into smaller groups in order to allow for different paces. We are not in a competition but on vacation !

The Horses
The Barb-Arab horses are absolutely fabulous. They have been schooled and are kept by a french Saumur instructor living in Morocco. These horses only do trips and are used to working every day. Some of them are perfect for less experienced riders and others for higher level riders.

Tack
You have a choice of trail or English saddles, all being very comfortable. They come with saddle bags. We use bridles with Spanish bits. All the tack is in excellent condition, perfectly maintained.

On a full trip there will be a crew of 15 people (less on smaller rides):
* Your guide, Corinne, rides along with you
* The GP doctor
* One Moroccan guide, Salah or Ahmed
* The logistics chief, Hamid or Saidi
* The vehicles chief, Mabrouk
* The chef and his assistants (2 or 3)
* The service personnel (2 to 3)
* The chief groom Hassan, and the stablemen (2 to 3)
* The personnel for the setup of the bivouacs
* The drivers
The vehicles :
* The doctor's 4WD
* The truck for 14 horses, is waiting at every campsite and keeps the spare horses
* The water tank trucks
* A passenger van is available at every campsite, just in case it is needed
* The trucks for the camping gear and the luggage
All the personnel has walkie-talkies.

Safety is a proactive matter: horse selection, choice of tack and personnel. Our horses have been carefully selected, they are perfectly calm and schooled for trail tours. Our partners are trail professionals with extensive local experience.
Last but not least, the passenger van follows the group all the time, although out of sight, it's always, just like the doctor's 4WD and the horse truck, less than 15 min away. Should anything happen, a person or even the whole group can be safely taken care of.

Tack:		English
Horses:		Arab and Berber
Pace:		Fast with many trots and canters 5-6 riding hrs | Trot | Canter |
Level:		(3 to 3 out of 5)    Intermediate
Age:		Min 18
Riders:		Min 6 riders	Max 12 riders

Cavalry and saddle
The horses are Arab-berbs specialized for this type of excursion. They are particularly well maintained, accustomed to working together, patient and reliable. These horses are selected on the spot by your French guide. The saddles are English or excursion saddles.

The Equestrian Level
You should feel comfortable at all gaits and have some experience of long rides. We spend between 4 and 5 hours on horseback every day. During a typical day we mostly walk, there is some trot, sometimes we walk beside our horses and when the conditions are right, we go for a fast canter. There are two guides on horseback so that we can split into smaller groups in order to allow for different paces. We are not in a competition but on vacation !

The Horses
The Barb-Arab horses are absolutely fabulous. They have been schooled and are kept by a french Saumur instructor living in Morocco. These horses only do trips and are used to working every day. Some of them are perfect for less experienced riders and others for higher level riders.

Tack
You have a choice of trail or English saddles, all being very comfortable. They come with saddle bags. We use bridles with Spanish bits. All the tack is in excellent condition, perfectly maintained.

On a full trip there will be a crew of 15 people (less on smaller rides):
* Your guide, Corinne, rides along with you
* The GP doctor
* One Moroccan guide, Salah or Ahmed
* The logistics chief, Hamid or Saidi
* The vehicles chief, Mabrouk
* The chef and his assistants (2 or 3)
* The service personnel (2 to 3)
* The chief groom Hassan, and the stablemen (2 to 3)
* The personnel for the setup of the bivouacs
* The drivers
The vehicles :
* The doctor's 4WD
* The truck for 14 horses, is waiting at every campsite and keeps the spare horses
* The water tank trucks
* A passenger van is available at every campsite, just in case it is needed
* The trucks for the camping gear and the luggage
All the personnel has walkie-talkies.

Safety is a proactive matter: horse selection, choice of tack and personnel. Our horses have been carefully selected, they are perfectly calm and schooled for trail tours. Our partners are trail professionals with extensive local experience.
Last but not least, the passenger van follows the group all the time, although out of sight, it's always, just like the doctor's 4WD and the horse truck, less than 15 min away. Should anything happen, a person or even the whole group can be safely taken care of.

Passports
Passport valid for at least six months from date of entry required by all nationals referred to in the chart.
Passport Note
Visitors should ensure that their passports are stamped when they enter the country.

Visas
Not required by all nationals referred to in the chart above for stays of up to three months.
Visa Note
(a) Visa extensions are possible upon request at the nearest police station. (b) Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements.