• Bargain your best for handicrafts at the souk (market) in historic Fes, a UNESCO World Heritage landmark. But don't expect a brisk business transaction: in Morocco, successful negotiations unfold in a leisurely, sociable way, accompanied by bottomless glasses of mint tea.

• Experience a climatic moment atop Morocco's picturesque High Atlas Mountains. One of the most popular treks is the ascent of Jebel Toubkal (4,167m/13,671ft), North Africa's highest peak, starting from the idyllic Berber village of Imlil, built right into the base of the mountain.

• Let off some steam in a traditional hammam (steam bath), where the tabaya (assistant) will slough away your cares and a layer of skin using traditional savon noir (black soap) and a rough glove, followed by a massage with rejuvenating essential oils.

• Head boldly into the Sahara on your trusty steed. Camel treks (méharrées) can be arranged throughout the Sahara Desert region in southwestern Morocco, where you can camp under the stars on a camel caravan.

• Get into the summer groove at May's TANJazz in Tangiers, June's Gnaoua and World Music Festival in Essaouira, July's Marrakech Festival of Popular Arts and the Festival of World Sacred Music in Fes, also in July.

• Storm the battlements of the spectacular desert kasbahs built right into cliff walls lining the Drâa Valley. You won't get much resistance these days. Some fortifications like Aït Benhaddou have been used as Hollywood film sets.

• Swim, surf, windsurf and splash around in the Atlantic in the sheltered, sandy coves of Agadir and Oualidia and the one-time Portuguese pirate ports of El Jadida and Essaouira.

• Spot millennia-old Berber petroglyphs as you rock-climb and spelunk your way across the Middle and High Atlas Mountains and get a foothold on the rock faces of the Dades and Todra Gorges.

• Hit the rapids white-water rafting as you pass through spectacular gorges on the rivers of the High and Middle Atlas ranges.

• Mountain-bike through desert oases and rugged terrain trails in the Anti-Atlas and Drâa Valley, and enjoy nature without the environmental damage to the fragile local ecosystem caused by dune buggies and 4-wheel drives.

See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.