HORSE RIDING
Southern Morocco is popular for horse riding, from beaches such as Diabat to hills, mountains,
valleys, gorges and the desert.
Specialist travel companies offer guided horse-riding tours:Club Farah (www.clubfarah.com) Meknès-based Swiss-Moroccan company running trips
throughout Morocco, from the imperial cities to the southern Atlantic coast.
Unicorn Trails (www.unicorntrails.com) UK-based operator offering four expeditions in the
High Atlas, Sahara and Essaouira area.
MOUNTAIN BIKING
Ordinary cycling is possible in Morocco, but mountain biking opens up the options considerably.
For the very fit, the vast networks of pistes (dirt tracks) and footpaths in the High Atlas offer
the most rewarding biking. The Anti Atlas, Jebel Sarhro plateau and the Drâa Valley also offer
excellent trails.
Travel agencies, hotels and shops hire out mountain bikes, for example in Tafraoute, but the
quality isn’t really high enough for an extended trip. Adventure tour companies cater to serious
cyclists.
ROCK CLIMBING
There is a growing climbing scene in Morocco, with some sublime routes. Anyone
contemplating climbing should have plenty of experience and be prepared to bring all their own
equipment.
The Anti Atlas and High Atlas offer everything from bouldering to very severe mountaineering
routes that shouldn’t be attempted unless you have a great deal of experience.
The Dadès and Todra Gorges are prime climbing territory.
Des Clark’s new guidebook Mountaineering in the Moroccan High Atlas (published by
Cicerone), subtitled ‘walks, climbs and scrambles over 3000m’, is destined to become a
classic. It covers some 50 routes and 30 peaks in handy pocket-sized, plastic- covered form,
with plenty of maps, photos and practical information.
The following are useful for information and hooking up with other climbers:Nicolò Berzi ([email protected]) Italian climbing guide organising trips to Todra Gorge.
PlanetMountain.com (www.planetmountain.com/english/rock/morocco) Has a section on
Morocco.
Royal Moroccan Ski & Mountaineering Federation (www.frmsm.ma, in French) Has a list of
routes.
Serac Outdoors Sports (http://tinyurl.com/4neemp6) UK operator offering climbing trips in
Morocco.
SKIING
Skiing is viable from November to April, although Morocco’s ski stations are somewhat
ramshackle.