Southern Morocco Sable d'Or Ride
Riding tours in Morocco

Long gallops along sandy roads will take us through many deserted villages with their labyrinths of cactuses. A world of rich plantations, oueds and on the other side the sometimes dry and barren land in front of the AntiAtlas. Rocky fields where only a few herbs can grow, Berber women in colorful clothes. At the seaside we will gallop for hours and hours just before losing our breath, carried by the speed and vigor of our horses…
It is an exotic journey which will take you from one Berber village to the other.

PG-MRS8
Rates include meals, 3 nights hotel, 4 in tents, 6 riding days 
8 days/ 7 nights $ 1,575    Single: $109
-- based on € 1,095 / € 75
2008 Dates:  
02/17-02/24    03/02-03/09    03/23-03/30
12/21-12/28    12/28-01/04    02/15-02/22
03/01-03/08
  availability & reservation
 
Meeting:    Agadir 
Transfer:    included
Level:         Strong Intermediate
Tack:          English  trekking
Horses:      Arab and Berb 
Pace:          Moderate with fast trots and canters, about 5 riding hours per day

Min/Max Riders:  4-10
- Small group supplement is:
$200 (€ 130) if only 3 riders sign up
$415 (€ 260) if only 2 riders sign up

ITINERARY
Day 1: Arrival in Agadir and transfer to your hotel for dinner and overnight..
Day 2: Before starting the ride, we will meet our horses in the morning. Afterwards, we will start the day by riding across the fertile plain of the Souss with many beautiful sandy roads allowing many gallops. In this region, the vegetables are grown in greenhouses to protect them against too big changes in temperature. Like this, you can have tomatoes, potatoes and courgettes all year round even in winter! Between the greenhouses are some open fields where dry bushes are growing that the people here are using to feed their sheep and goats. We will have dinner and our camp between some ancient walls close to a small Berber village.
Day 3: Long sandy roads that never end take us from one Berber village to the next one. Here, made out of red clay, the walls are mostly hidden by cactus bushes, but you may see that behind every cactus a pair of curious eyes will look at us wherever we go, as horse and riders are very a very unusual sight in these regions. Under the hot sun, the farmers here are only capable of growing a few crops but basically they are living most of the time on their livestock of sheep and goats, taken care of by young children or old people.
Day 4: Today we will leave the fertile plains of the Souss to descend into the rocky and deserted hills, filled with cactus fields and bushes. The Berber people in this region live basically on the production of oil from the nuts of the local trees and on the sheep that they raise. It's surprising to see the little goats being able to climb in the bushes here to get the few leaves that are still left. The stop at noon will be at the side of the lake, located between the mountains. In the afternoon we will continue our way between the hills under the pleasant chanting of birds. We will spend the night at the shore of the lake Youssef Ibn Tachafine.
Day 5: Today we will the road in the hills of Tachilla that will give us one more view of the blue waters of the lake before we will head for the region of Tiznit. The landscape will vary between dry sand dunes and big rock formations. We will leave the horses in a small village and a car will take us to the city of Tiznit, which is very famous for his silverworks. We will have dinner and spend the night at a hotel in Tiznit.
Day 6: Return to the horses who spent the night outside Tiznit. In the morning we cross the stony plane towards the Atlantic. After the first hour we reach a wood of succulents and cactuses. This wild part is very impressive and often we have to search for the way. Finally we come to the last hill. A fresh wind blows over from the sea - long gallops over the sandy plane brings us to the Atlantic. We follow sometimes on sandy ways - sometimes on the beach and enjoy the waves. Picnic is at the Atlantic on top of the coast. In the afternoon many long gallops brings us to the camp on the coast.
Day 7: The entire morning we will follow the coast of the Atlantic ocean, going once in a while into the dunes and low hills nearby. The morning ride will end on a enormous deserted beach where we will have the chance for a real race. Only the cries of the seagulls and the sound of the waves break the silence in this area. Waves of birds, seagulls and pink flamingos will make way as our horses are racing neck by neck. In the afternoon, we will reach the oued Souss that is also a big bird reservation and their chants will accompany us for a long time. A road with many eucalyptus trees will take us slowly back to civilization. After an emotional goodbye with our horses that will stay there, we will be driven back towards the hotel where we will share our last meal and sleep for the night.
Day 8: After breakfast transfer to the airport.