There was no chocolate for the kids last Easter. Not a single measly mini egg. Our reasoning with Joe and Ellie (our five-year-old twins) was infallible: Easter eggs would melt in Morocco. You can imagine their crestfallen expressions. It was bad enough that we were about to cancel their Easter chocolate quota, but to be suggesting a trek in the Atlas Mountains as an alternative must have struck them as totally Willy Wonka.
The fact is, though, that thanks to the huge growth in family-friendly adventure trips, there really is no excuse not to break with tradition. The beauty of these trips is that everything is taken care of, from day-to-day activities to the practical logistics of travelling in remote places with children. Best of all, by joining other families on holiday, you can relax in the knowledge that nobody is going to give you the “raised eyebrows” if your brood occasionally play up.
The launch point of our four- day trek in the western High Atlas was Taroudannt, a walled city in southern Morocco that resembles a “mini Marrakesh”. We spent a morning exploring its crowded souks, half expecting the six children in our group (aged from five to 10) to recoil with culture shock. If anything, however, it was their enthusiasm and total lack of inhibition that helped the parents adjust. While the youngsters spontaneously ploughed their hands into baskets of lentils and spices, or attracted the cheek-squidging attention of stallholders, they drew us into contact with the locals far more swiftly than if we had been alone.
The next day, as we drove into the Atlas foothills to begin our trek, none of the youngsters whinged about the heat or the prospect of having to walk.
A squirt of factor 30 and a pocketful of raisins, and they were off — boulder-hopping across streams and following our local guide, Ali, like a gaggle of frisky lambs.
Joe and Ellie quickly elevated the older children, particularly 10-year-old Sam, to hero status, and were happy to scurry alongside him. I doubt whether I’d have been as successful in cajoling them to walk the 2Å miles to Riad Afensou, our first night’s stop.
A traditional village house, with a tiled courtyard and bougainvillea-strewn walls, Afensou had an unexpected surprise — a spring-fed swimming pool. For a while, the sandstone cliffs, rearing behind the riad, echoed with the more familiar family- holiday sounds of children splashing and shrieking. Then the muleteers arrived, bringing with them a dose of reality. Each man led a mule that would carry luggage, food and cooking equipment (and tired children, if necessary) during our trek into the next valley — an ambitious route across a col called Tizi-n-al Cadi.
First, however, Ali led us on a more modest, circular day- walk, sheltered from the sun by groves of walnut and almond trees, the latter speckled with pink and white blossom. For lunch, Ali and the muleteers laid out a hearty picnic of fresh salad, dates and pitta bread on rush mats beneath a gnarled old argan tree. Then it was back to Riad Afensou, where we feasted on peaks of couscous and simmering vegetable tagines, and drank sweet mint tea — with hot chocolate for the kids.
The serious business of trekking began the next morning. Putting on their Bob the Builder and Barbie cycling helmets, Joe and Ellie opted for mules right from the start. The climb to Tizi-n-al Cadi was gradual but long and hot.
We entered a starker, more arid landscape of scree-riddled hillsides studded with resilient herbs and resounding to the clatter of goats’ hooves. Occasionally, the muleteers broke into song, the children responding to the chants with their own repertoires. There were plenty of other ways to stay entertained, too — from playing I-spy and fossil hunting to carving walking sticks and watching dung beetles trundle perfect “poo-balls” across the path.
There was no doubt about it: they were having an extraordinary adventure. Occasionally, however, I felt a pang of discomfort when our pampered broods rode past local children. It’s only when you see your own children alongside others of similar age, who are cutting firewood, carrying drinking water or herding goats barefoot, that you realise how trivial most of your parental concerns really are.
Beyond the col, we descended to Tafilalt, late-afternoon sunlight backlighting the lush vegetation that surrounded the riverside village. There was no electricity in this valley. Our riad was a much simpler affair, with mattresses on the floor and a long-drop toilet. While Ali and the muleteers prepared dinner by candlelight, Sam broke the ice with some local boys by organising a game of football.
The next day, we continued up the valley, following a trail etched into precipitous slopes, where remote villages sprouted like clusters of quartz above a turquoise river streaked with rapids.
Compared with the previous day’s six-hour slog, this was a much gentler hike, culminating at lunchtime near a spectacular 30ft waterfall — and another excuse for a swim.
By now, any worries over whether a more traditional family holiday might have been more appropriate had long since evaporated. There had, of course, been occasional tears over scuffed knees or blisters, but nothing more serious.
Despite being “tamed down” for young families, it had still been a spectacular hike — not that scenery is foremost in Joe and Ellie’s minds. Ask them about the trek and they will begin by telling you the names of the other children, followed by the names of the mules. They will then recount the milestone event when Sam showed them how to climb their first tree — a gnarled old olive with bark like elephant hide. They seem not to remember that the Easter bunny never came...
William Gray travelled as a guest of Walks Worldwide
Details: the eight-day Gardens of the West Atlas tour, with Walks Worldwide (01524 242000, www.walksworldwide.com), is suitable for all ages. It costs £695pp (£595 for ages 2-11, £75 for infants), including flights from Gatwick to Agadir, guided walking, with mules for baggage transportation, some hotel accommodation and village house-stays, and most meals. Trips run in May, December and February. Or try Inntravel (01653 617949, www.inntravel.co.uk), or Explore Worldwide (0870 333 4001, www.exploreworldwide.com).
