Camping in a desert is a once-in-a-life-time experience. But, we didn’t want to do ‘camping’, nooooo…with Voyage privé it was called ‘glamping’ 🙂 Since this is a first for us, we didn’t know what to expect. And Agafay is not even a real desert, it is more of a mineral land with a lunar landscape. But it is only a half hour away from Marrakech. It is also in Agafay that Inara Camp built its luxury tents.
We can see the white tents from afar, since they stand out from the impressive Atlas Mountains . On arrival we are warmly welcomed by Aziz and lead to a tent with a panoramic view over the desert landscape.
Our tent was to say the least, intriguing . The design and decor were straight out of a movie. I just couldn’t decide if it was ‘Lawrence of Ariaba’, ‘Out of Africa’ (in the desert instead of the jungle) or ‘Sex and the city’ (in Abu Dhabi). But the tent was perfectly comfortable. It had a private bathroom and living room. The bedroom with double bed was facing the panoramic window (foldable and zipable). It also had a terrace and AC for those wanting to keep cool during hot, dry, desert days. However we decided to keep the AC off to save energy and the terrace side of the tent open to enjoy the desert view .
After a nice pot of freshly brewed mint tea, we had a swim and just chilled by the pool. Since we were not really interested in a camel ride or quat rides, we decided to have lunch at the Kasbah Tamadot, Richard Branson his hotel. Anyone who knows me, knows that I’ve been a fan of Richard Branson ever since I worked at Brussels airport and talked to him.
Kasbah Tamadot was actually discovered by Richard Branson his mum Eve, when she adventured in a hot air balloon ride. Here is the story: In 1998, Branson went with his family to Morocco. During a ballooning expedition his parents stumbled upon an old Berber fortress, nestled in the rugged landscape of the Atlas Mountains. His mother Eve knocked on the door, had tea with the owner and then told Richard that she would disown him if he didn’t buy the resort and transformed it into a Virgin Limited Edition retreat. And so he did…
What I didn’t know is that Branson is very popular in Morocco. Because foreign investments can be quite controversial, but Virgin Limited makes everything possible to give back to the community. At Kasbah Tamadot, they make an effort in offering employment to the locals. 98% of Kasbah Tamadot’s staff are from the local areas. They also support other projects from the Eve Branson Foundation by using the revenue from Kasbah Tamadot’s gift shop. But what I love best is that Virgin Limited promotes educational enrichment, and better healthcare for women and young people in the Berber communities that surround Kasbah Tamadot. Beside this, there is a real effort of protecting the environment. They use solar panels on the roof of the car park to heat the main swimming pool. They grow seasonal produce on-site to serve in the “Kanoun Restaurant” And because of Corona, Moroccans can now book a lunch at the resort at a special price. Guess what we did…
Upon our return, we enjoyed some peace and quiet and I caught up on some reading. We had a nice tajine, sat by a bonfire and watched the evening sunset accompanied by the sounds made by scarabs. Scarabs are Agafay’s representative insects (completely harmless, even if pretty bigg and noisy). I must admit that the desert does have something magical and healing….it grows on you…
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