We might have stayed in a single day in Taroudant. If you select to, there’s a serene riad referred to as Dar Louisa, with a tiled courtyard pool and stylish roof terrace, that may be rented by households and teams. When not giving excursions of the medina, Mohamed cooks there alongside together with his sister, who concocts mouthwatering Moroccan dinners of couscous and grilled fish, completed with buttery baklava.
But we’re off to Le Domaine Limoune, a personal property turned luxurious resort, hidden amongst citrus groves en route again to the coast. The authentic farmhouse has been transformed into rooms, and outbuildings into luxurious cottages, or you possibly can verify in to one of many new lodges, which have a safari aesthetic to them. As properly as being a working ostrich farm, Le Domaine Limoune has an animal sanctuary on web site, homing monkeys saved from vacationer exhibits in Marrakech, amongst different animals. Checking in right here feels as should you’re the visitor of a rich Moroccan landowner who likes to host firm on his huge rural plot. So a lot so, Le Domaine is seen extra as a rustic membership by prosperous native households, who come right here for the spectacular pool, trendy eating places (with a menu overseen by Chef Lahcen Hafid of Ritz Paris), and weekend events. We are at Le Domaine for one such occasion, when a grand Berber tent is decked out with kilims and cushions, and diners eat pigeon “bastilla” pie and lamb tagine whereas conventional gnawa music is performed. The performers name kids as much as dance, however my 13-year-old stays resolutely by my facet.
As we drive the single-track freeway through the desert again to the airport, the peaks of the Anti-Atlas Mountains are already snow-dusted in October. In one path we might purchase faux Nike sneakers and frolic in resort swimming swimming pools, whereas within the different, there are historical walled medinas to discover and chilly foothills to hike. We’ve seen all of it in only a week, with no arduous overland transfers or advanced home flights. And now that we have now this first actual family journey beneath our belts, the remainder of Africa beckons.