Things to do

Dar Louisa is staffed by Mohamed, the House Manager, and Fatima, the chef and house-keeper.  Mohamed will be happy to arrange everything you could possibly want, from mountain trekking and staying overnight in a local Berber home, to a massage in the Hamman room in Dar Louisa.  Activities in and around Dar Louisa include Hamman, riding, trekking, surfing, exploring the Tizi n’Test

Calêche rides round the town – you can pick them up anywhere around town and they’ll take you on a tour outside the walls of the town.  Takes about an hour.  Ask them to take you to the tannery – amazing leather goods and a fascinating insight to the leather making process.

Trekking.  A 30-minute drive, north or south, can get you walking between Argan trees – you’ll spot goats climbing the trees to reach the Argan nuts! The oil of these nuts is a luxury of the area – fantastic for the skin, delicious drizzled on salads or into tagines.  Trekking in these lovely mountains is one of the most popular local activities for visitors – but take a guide. It’s lovely to go up for a night or two into the mountains, sleep in the local Berber homes and be fed on delicious local food. (Mohammed will arrange this for you)

Visit Tioute (40 mins from Taroudant) for a donkey ride around the Oasis there. Local guides compete to show you around and tell you the history of the farming, and the beautiful old Kasbah Tioute

Beaches Being an hour inland from Agadir, staying at Dar Louisa gives you easy access to the heavenly, unending, white sands and Atlantic-coast surfing (which is excellent) The beach offers horse and camel riding, which is incredibly exciting for children, and the town of Agadir is well-known for great golf courses too.

Tizi n’Test (2092m) is an awe-inspiring pass that crosses the Atlas and connects to Taroudant and Taliouine. Cutting right through the heart of the Atlas, the road was blasted out of the mountains by the French from 1926 to 1932.  Take a guide or an experienced driver – its a hair raising drive!