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| Morocco
Sports |
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Morocco’s varied
landscapes, which range from a 3500 kilometre (2170 miles) of coastline
to the mountains, rivers and forests of the Middle and High
Atlas and the Sahara Desert, offer a good
range of sports and recreational activities.
Golf
This is popular in Morocco, partly because King Hassan II
was an internationally ranked player. Some of the best-known of
the country’s 16 golf courses are situated at the Royal
Dar es Salaam Golf Club in Rabat, which has 3 courses and
yearly hosts the internationally renowned Hassan II Trophy.
Agadir has 3 courses:
•
The Agadir Royal Golf Club - a par 36 while the
beautiful
• Dunes Golf Club - 3 nine-hole
par 36 courses and designed by a disciple of Robert Trent Jones
• Golf du Soleil- 5-star which is a 27-hole
par 72 and set around lakes, palm trees and eucalyptus
Marrakech
• The Marrakech
Royal Golf Club - 18-hole par 72 course situated at the
foot of the Atlas mountains.
• The Palmeraie
Golf Club - designed by Robert Trent Jones, in great surroundings
that offers views of the Atlas mountains and easy access to the
Atlantic beaches
• The Amelkis Golf Club.
Other 18-hole courses include:
• Ben Slimane
and El Jadida (both near the Atlantic coast)
•
Mohammedia Royal Golf Club (close to Casablanca)
• Tangier Royal Golf.
As well as the Hassan II Trophy, the Moroccan Open and Hassan
II Challenge are noteworthy tournaments.
The
Mohammed VI Golf Trophy is held at Dar es-Salaam Royal
Golf Course in Rabat towards March.
Altogether, there are about 30 golf courses in Morocco, including
some new ones. On golfing holidays, tourists can find a useful golf
brochure and information from the National
Tourist Board.
Hiking and
trekking
4 different mountain ranges – The Rif, the Middle
Atlas, the High Atlas and the Anti-Atlas
– offer excellent opportunities for hiking and trekking. A
good choice of trekking tours can be organised through the National
Tourist Board.
Specialist tour operators offer a variety of treks which include
guided horse trekking in the mountains, and also camping trips.
1 of the most popular treks in the High Atlas is
the ascent of North Africa’s highest peak, Jebel Toubkal
(4167m/6668ft).
The Toubkal area is about 1 hour drive from Marrakech and the normal
starting point for this trek is Imlil village.
Official mountain guides with mules are recommended for trips lasting
longer than 1 day and guides are commonly available in Imlil. Accommodation
is provided in gîtes (resting places) and small hotels. Trekking
is possible all the year round, but the best time is from April
until October. The canyons and gorges are best tackled from June
to October but during the summer, storms can make the gorges impassable.
Watersports
Sandy beaches provide safe swimming, although the Atlantic can be
quite cold even during the summer months. Oualidia,
El Jadida, Agadir, Mohammedia,
Safi and Essaouira are all very good bathing resorts.
The Mediterranean coast in the north which is opposite Spain, is
being developed, and resorts such as Cabonegro
(14 kilometres/23 miles from Tetouan) offer excellent diving and
swimming. Other dive sites are at Agadir and Essaouira.
The rivers in the High and Middle Atlas ranges, particularly the
Oum-er-Rbia, offer whitewater rafting
during the year (visitors are strongly advised to use very experienced
guides).
Fishing permits are essential
for trout streams, lakes and pike lakes, and are issued by the Waters
and Forests Department or also by local clubs. Many ports
are equipped for deep-sea fishing, including Dakhla
in the Sahara and Mohammedia close to Casablanca.
Skiing
Skiing is possible for several months of the year. Ifrane
in the Middle Atlas and Oukaïden in the High
Atlas - located 70 kilometres/44 miles from Marrakech offer
skiing facilities.
Other ski resorts include:
• Mischliffen
- Middle Atlas, on the doorstep of Fès and Meknes.
•
Mount Tidiquin - Ketama district
•
Djebel Bou Volane - Middle Atlas - are popular areas for expedition-type
skiing and walking trips (with very few amenities).
Riding
There are horse riding clubs in all the major towns, notably
Fès, Casablanca, Agadir,
Marrakech and Rabat and some clubs organise
pony treks in the Middle Atlas. The combination of travelling by
mule and skiing -known as mule-skiing- is characteristic to the
High Atlas and can be carried out from February
to April. A good brochure, The Great Trek through the Moroccan
Atlas, is available from the Moroccan Ministry of Tourism
or the Moroccan National Tourist Office (see Addresses section).
Camel riding (méharrées)
is also available in the Atlas mountains and around the Sahara Desert
area in the southwest of the country.
Other
4-wheel-drives are also available throughout Morocco, incorporating
visits to natural and cultural sights such as the 300 metre (984ft)
deep Gorge of Todra, the huge sand dunes of Merzouga
and the Berber region of Ouarzazate.
These tours usually provide typical Moroccan feasts and barbecues.
The very well-known Paris-Dakar motor rally passes
through Morocco yearly. |
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