There is a particular kind of anticipation that comes with knowing you are about to leave a city behind for the mountains. Marrakech in early October is warm and golden, its Medina filling with the smell of cumin and charcoal before the day has properly begun. We arrived on a Friday and let the city wash over us: the souks, the rooftop mint teas, the unhurried first evening before the harder, better days began.
Leaving, in itself, was part of the draw. Marrakech is a city that has given in to the business of being visited, and can sometimes feel more like a performance of Morocco than the place itself. But beyond its walls lies another version, something older and less rehearsed. The plan was to reach it on horseback.
The trip was arranged through Unicorn Trails, a British operator founded in 1998 by Wendy Hofstee (a veterinary surgeon, traveller and life-long horse lover), whose guiding principle was simple: find the world’s finest riding holidays, ensure the horses are in exceptional condition, and make it as straightforward as possible to get on one abroad.