This first day you will depart from the States most likely on an overnight flight to Morocco. We suggest a non-stop from either JFK or IAD to Casablanca with your final destination being Agadir (AGA). On this route you will actually be in-transit only in Casablanca awaiting your flight to Agadir where staff will greet you for the 90-minute transfer to Courier Sud in Taroudant.
Delta Airlines now offers non-stop flights from Atlanta to Marrakech three days a week and United is offering non-stop flight s from Newark to Marrakech four days a week, where we can transfer you from Marrakech to Courier Sud in Taroudant.
There are also a number off European hubs that may partner with your airline of choice that offer flight into Agadir.
While there are other flights you can choose that will take you into Agadir, it may involve overnights in European hubs like Frankfurt, Paris, or Amsterdam. This may also get tricky of you are taking firearms so we highly suggest consulting with Trek flight agents to mark your best route.
Once you arrive in Agadir we will clear Customs and Immigrations and met by our outfitter Frederique Hebrard and Ahmed Bouknana. Frederique will also clear any guns that group members wish to take. After exiting the airport we will be transferred 90-minutes by private coach to our accommodations at Courier Sud Taroudant.
Our hosts at Courier Sud Taroudant, Jean-Victor and Nathalie Dugas de la Boissonny, will assign your rooms and ready the staff for a nice welcome dinner. You will also be introduced to Behrouz Bagheri who will be your local host throughout your trip. Behrouz is a native Iranian, educated in the U.S., and a citizen of both Canada and France. Behrouz has been involved with several businesses in Morocco and has extensive knowledge of its culture and traditions.
Evening at leisure.
After breakfast each days at Courier Sud we will depart 45 minutes to the Domain Chafarni for our driven partridge hunts. Our outfitter will make available in 4-5 different drives, 400 Gambra Partidge presented to our line of 8 guns (roughly 50 partridge per hunter/per day). A typical Moroccan lunch will be served each day inside a huge tent on the shooting grounds.
Mr. A. Laraïchi, with over 35 years of experience organizing wild bird shooting in Morocco for international sportsmen, together with a Spanish expert in driven partridge shooting, have joined to create the first Moroccan partridge shoot organization known as HAJAL ATLAS.
Our shooting area “Domain Chafarni” is our fauna & flora reserve, located at 65 Km from Taroudant, in the base of the Atlas Mountains, offering breathtaking views. It has an extension of 3.000 hectares of undulated landscape, with some fabulous valleys, combining arganiers, palmiers, mountain pines and arbustive vegetation, providing an ideal biotope for the gambra partridge. Some wild boars and the protected gazelles are also found in this area.
Parties may be formed by number of 6 up to 8 guns. Our anticipated daily bag is based on a package of 400 partridges per group, or prorated to 50 partridge per hunter per day for less than 8 guns. There will be with 3-4 drives per day depending on harvester partridge. Partridges shot and wounded are counted by the “secretarios” by loud voice and agreed after every drive with the shooter, so that total bag account is calculated by their declaration. It’s recommended to use a pair of guns / each hunter. Non shooting guests are very welcome to join the party during the shoot.
Weather conditions in the region of Taroudant and Chafarni, are very mild from middle October through end of December, with cooler mornings and sunny days later in January and February; average temperature around 65 F.
Non-Hunting Actvities- You are welcome to join the shooters daily in the field, at an additional 100€ per day but we must know in advance so that the outfitter can be prepared . Our host/translator Behrouz Bagheri can be pre-organized to accompany the nonshooters for any days of sightseeing and shopping in Agadir or Taroudant and will be quoted as needed. Courier Sud offers a variety of actvities including Hammam black soap scrub. steam room, massages, horseback riding, and specially prepared lunches in the gardens.
About Taroudant- Taroudant is a former capital of Morocco, built by the Saadian dynasty as a base to attack the Portuguese on the Atlantic Coast. The city walls, which are almost completely intact, were built in 1528 and reflect the glow of the setting sun, making them a favorite location for locals to hang out and promenade on summer evenings. Inside the walls of Taroudant, is the main square, Place Assareg, a bustling Moroccan market town centered between the so-called Arab and Berber souks. Not as tourism-oriented as Marrakech, these souks are for the local people and are more representative of how a Moroccan household would shop. Close to Taroudant is also the palace of the very famous painter Claudio Bravo. Tours showcase his palace, gardens and superb private collection. The small village of Tiout is also an easy day trip from Taroudant at 30 km. Perched on a peak of the Anti-Atlas it overlooks a beautiful palm grove, where 3,000 inhabitants live around this oasis of greenery. Glimpses of traditional life, from the breeding of goats to subsistence farming in this arid land contrast sharply with the sight of cash crops and gardens that are commercially irrigated. The oasis offers a chance to see a desert wadi, a hilltop Kasbah, donkey rides and a visit to a women’s cooperative where quality organic products are available for purchase. This area is known for its excellent Chicken Tajine with Lemon.
When shooting partridge, it is best to always shoot out front so that you do not miss any opportunities. Once you turn around to attempt to bring down a partridge from behind, you will miss easier opportunities to come out front.
This will again be a driven day of partridge hunting.
Non-Hunting Actvities- You are welcome to join the shooters daily in the field but we must know in advance so that the outfitter can be prepared. A hostess/translator can be pre-organized to accompany the nonshooters for any days of sightseeing and shopping in Agadir or Taroudant and will be quoted as needed. Courier Sud offers a variety of actvities including Hammam black soap scrub. steam room, massages, horseback riding, and specially prepared lunches in the gardens.
As you can imagine, this will be a very excting hunt with the boar scampering across the ground at a rapid pace. You will need to be alert and ready to get a shot off, but also to be cognizant of your distance to those shooting next to you.
This will be our last day of driven partridge. Same schedule as the day before.
Non-Hunting Actvities- You are welcome to join the shooters daily in the field but we must know in advance so that the outfitter can be prepared. A hostess/translator can be pre-organized to accompany the nonshooters for any days of sightseeing and shopping in Agadir or Taroudant and will be quoted as needed. Courier Sud offers a variety of actvities including Hammam black soap scrub. steam room, massages, horseback riding, and specially prepared lunches in the gardens.
After breakfast, we say our goodbyes to Courier Sud and start our trek up the Atlas Mountains to Sir Richard Branson's wonderful property called Kasbah Tamadot. This will be a very exhilarating and scenic drive up the Atlas Mountain (weather dependent) with a stop at various sights for photos and acknowledgments. Behrouz will be your host for this exciting day.
Dinner will be at 7:30 PM at Asayss Restaurant in Kasbah Tamadot.
After lunch at Kasbah Tamadot we will check out of the hotel for our excursion down the mountain to Marrakech and our hotel La Mamounia with a stop first at the Royal Golf Marrakech for lunch. This afternoon we will have a walking tour of the Medina near our hotel. And if everyone is willing, you might take a camel ride this day.
Marrakech, known as the red city of Morocco, where nature and civilization blend, with Berber, Andalusian, Arab and European cultural influences. The first impression of this vibrant and lively city is usually unforgettable: snake enchanters, a colorful market and a city full of surprises. We can visit some points of interest outside the Medina here, such as: Majorelle Garden, the only botanical garden in Marrakesh. Jacques Majorelle projected it and it belongs to Yves Saint-Laurent and Bergé Pierre since 1980. Enjoy a walk surrounded by exotic plants from all over he world. You can also explore the wonderful souk, the largest Berber market in the country, and stroll through La Menara, a garden located 2 km from the Jemaa el-Fna square and the locals' favorite spot for an afternoon walk. These gardens were built in the 12th century, but the present construction dates back to the 16th century. The day can end at the fantastic Jemaa el Fna Square, a market under open sky, where the mixture of scents, songs and shows are inebriating and where the tourists and locals often merge and dine side by side.
Dinner will be at a local restaurant TBD.
After breakfast at La Mamounia this will be a full day, private bi-lingual historian tour of Marrakech and all its vibrancy. Your tour will be a full day including lunch and include visits to mosques, palaces, universities and markets. Click on the Marrakech day tour tab at right for more details.
Dinner this evening will at La Trattoria at 7:30 PM.
After breakfast we transfer 15 minutes to Marrakech's Menara International Airport to meet your first flight back to the U.S.
If you aren't quite ready to leave this beautiful country, we offer the option to extend your trip with an unforgetable experience camping in luxury in the Moroccan desert. Select the link to your right to learn more about the luxury camp.
Thank you for choosing Trek and we hope you had the trip of a lifetime!
