🇲🇦 From medina to mountain: Why Marrakech is the perfect place to find peace ⛰

Eyes closed, breath slow, shoulders relaxed. Above you, the crayon-blue sky is unblemished, not even a freckle of cloud in sight. The breeze twirls through the trees, through your hair and stirs the loopy river that surrounds you. No need for a playlist here; the forest song becomes your soundtrack. You feel connected to nature, connected to yourself.

When we imagine a place of peace, this is often what comes to mind. Somewhere serene, remote, flawless. A place free of distractions where we can escape our busy lives full of challenges, expectations and responsibilities.

But while our environment can certainly play a role in our overall well-being, genuine and lasting peace can only be found within ourselves.

Fortunately, there are techniques we can learn which will bring us closer to achieving inner harmony, and we know the perfect place for you to develop them.

Surprisingly, it begins in the vibrant medina of Marrakech.

Scooters dart through the bustling labyrinth of narrow streets, skilfully avoiding meandering tourists and donkeys laden with goods. The chatter of fortune tellers, hagglers and henna artists compete with the noise of the drummers and other street performers.

Stalls burst with colour — handmade leather slippers, delicate tea glasses and bright silks. Hundreds of brass lanterns cast petals of light on the dusty streets, where curious cats slink around crumbling corners, tempting you to follow.

Welcome to the souk.

An Aladdin's cave of treasures you simply cannot observe from a distance. It’s a magnet that draws you in. Raw, loud, unpredictable. And to a fresh-faced foreigner, it can seem overwhelming.

But, within the swirling chaos lies an opportunity to find serenity.

By focusing on your breath, embracing the present moment and accepting it as something beyond your control, you can begin to nurture a sense of calm.

Leaning into short-lived discomfort like this can be an incredibly powerful way to increase your mental and emotional resilience — a lesson easily mastered in the lively training ground of the medina.

Beyond the yang-like pulse of Marrakech’s centre lies a serene yin of towering Atlas peaks. A landscape that lies still, as if on pause, with Berber villages quietly resting in valleys and canyons guiding tumbling streams through the vast countryside. When night falls, the stars in the vault of the African sky twinkle like Christmas lights.

While the medina served as a place to practice finding calm in the chaos, time in the mountains can teach us an equally important lesson: true tranquillity can only emerge when we are entirely at ease with ourselves.

In the absence of external noise, we must learn to quiet the mind's negative thoughts and feelings by practising non-judgment, self-care and gratitude.

Here in nature, it’s easy to find a quiet spot for meditation, to reflect on the joy discovered in the day, or indulge in activities that bring you genuine happiness.

The path to inner peace isn’t about brief respites to glossy locations. Instead, it’s about maintaining a balanced, steady state of mind that’s not easily shaken by life’s ups and downs.

By practising self-care and acceptance, embracing the present moment and nurturing a positive mind, you’ll be able to tap into the stillness that’s within us all.

Marrakech’s medina-to-mountain evolution provides a perfect setting for you to hone these skills, and it’s why we’re returning to the Red City for our next retreat.

Designed for those uninterested in the predictability of package holidays, our retreat is an adventure, an exploration and a chance to find magic in the most unlikely of places.

Days are balanced with time for relaxation, guided meditations and yoga practice suitable for all levels. You’ll experience the local culture with excursions into the city, sample the traditional cuisine with a Moroccan cooking class and enjoy moments of calm in the Atlas Mountains. Each day is thoughtfully crafted to welcome connection — with yourself, with nature and with the like-minded community you’ll share this journey with.

Then, when it’s time to return to the beautiful chaos of your everyday life, your most treasured souvenir won't be a trinket from the souk, but the peace you carried home within yourself.