Kasbah Tamadot

At 1,800 metres in the Atlas Mountains above Asni village, 65 kilometres south of Marrakech, Kasbah Tamadot was acquired by Sir Richard Branson in 1998 after he spotted it during a hot-air balloon flight over the High Atlas and subsequently converted the traditional Berber kasbah into a luxury retreat that maintains the building’s original architecture of pisé construction, painted cedar screens, and the vertical terraced gardens that step down the mountain face towards the valley below. The 28 rooms and suites are individually decorated with Moroccan antiques and kilim textiles collected by Branson from the souks of Marrakech and the mountain markets of the High Atlas, and the kasbah’s rooftop terrace provides one of the most dramatic vantage points in Morocco — a panorama across the mountain valley to the snow-capped peaks of the High Atlas that include Jebel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa.

Hiking in the Atlas Mountains with Berber guides whose knowledge of the local trails, villages, and seasonal snow conditions reflects generations of mountain familiarity, mule trekking to the mountain hamlets of the Imlil valley, and visits to the cooperative studios where Berber women produce the traditional wool textiles are among the most substantive cultural and physical activities available from the kasbah’s position. The restaurant draws on the traditional Berber mountain cuisine of tagine-cooked lamb, preserved lemons, hand-rolled couscous, and the local honey and olive oil of the Atlas villages. The infinity pool on the kasbah’s lower terrace looks across the valley towards the mountain peaks.

Kasbah Tamadot’s relationship with the surrounding Berber community is expressed through the kasbah’s support for the Asni market, the local honey and olive oil producers whose products supply the kitchen, and the Virgin Unite foundation’s work in the Atlas region supporting girls’ education and mountain environmental conservation.