Yoga Retreat in Marrakesh and the Sahara Desert

Day 2: Marrakech – Skoura Valley

After morning yoga and meditation, we will be met at the Riad by our drivers with private 4×4 Landcruisers to take us through the High Atlas Mountains on a stunning journey south into the heart of the desert along the ancient caravan route. We will arrive at the ancient Berber Kasbah town of Ait Ben Haddou, and a half-an-hour drive west of Ouarzazate lies the palm grove of Skoura. Set between the Atlas mountains in the north and Djebel Saghro in the south, it first meets the eye as a large green ribbon making its way between the beige ridges, sometimes white in winter. Once past the oued and within the shade of the palm trees, a true earthly heaven uncovers itself: figs and pomegranates, vine and pumpkins, tomatoes and olives, rosemary and thyme all grow alongside one another, as the water streams gently make their way to each garden, ingeniously separated by hand- made dams that open and close every few hours. One can wander for hours here, protected by the shade of the palms, past century- old kasbahs where we will explore local architecture with a guide.