Ait Bouguemez, known as the Valley of Happiness is Morocco at its lushest.

Morocco never stops surprising the intrepid traveler. If its name conjures images of the Sahara, there are locations in Morocco where you’d doubt you’re really in Africa. Cherries, plums, wheat and walnuts jostle on the 2000 meter high plateaus of Ait Bouguemez, some 4 hour drive north of Marrakech, deep in the High Atlas mountains. This is Morocco at its most bucolic. Best visited in summer, when the Sahara turns into a furnace, but also the rest of the year for those that have treaded the more classical Morocco itineraries. A stay in Ait Bouguemez ideally complements an itinerary that loops in the palm grove of Skoura, the Valley of Roses, the waterfalls of Ouzoud, Ait Benhaddou kasbah or the Dades Gorges.