We head south along the Draa Valley, a huge palmery containing over four million palm trees, edged by many ksours (fortified villages). We skirt the shattered orange and brown-coloured rocks of the Jebel Sahro to arrive at the oasis town of Zagora. Situated right on the edge of the Sahara, this town was formerly a starting point from which traders set off on their arduous journey across the desert to Timbuktu.

We enjoy a short camel trek in the morning before continuing our journey up the Draa Valley, passing the beautiful palmery and Ouarzazate, to the well-preserved Kasbah Ait Benhaddou. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the most spectacular sights of the Atlas Mountains and was made famous as the location of several Hollywood films, including ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ and ‘Gladiator’. Although few families continue to live in the various fortresses within the walls, Ait Benhaddou retains an exotic atmosphere that transports us into another world, especially at sunset when the walls of the Kasbah glow red.

There is time to relax this morning on the gite terrace, with wonderful views across the fertile Tijhza Valley. Alternatively, we offer an optional 3-4 hour trek through the villages of this remote area, passing fields cultivated by the Berber women, with peaks of the High Atlas as a fitting backdrop. After lunch, we leave the gite making the scenic drive over the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech, with some stunning scenery along the way. The main pass is called the Tizi’n’Tichka, and at 2260m it’s the highest road pass in Morocco. In the evening we visit Djemma el Fna, the open-air central square around which Marrakech revolves. The name literally means ‘place of death’, as the Sultans once displayed the heads of their enemies here. Now, with the food stalls, snake charmers, juice-sellers and acrobats, it is a place of night time entertainment for locals and tourists alike.