Horse Riding in Essaouira - Beach, Sunset and Cap Sim Rides

About this experience

Diabat, just south of Essaouira, is made for riding. After a safety briefing at the ranch, where your instructor helps you pick a helmet in your size, you set off on a calm Arab-Berber horse. Choose your ride when you book. The one-hour ride heads for the beach, past the ruins of the Sultan's palace and the old Portuguese fort, along the Ksob river where migratory birds stop in season. Rides of two or three hours continue through the mimosa and eucalyptus forest and over the dunes to a wild beach where confident riders can canter, past a small fishing village and the freshwater springs where cows, donkeys and camels come to drink. At sunset, ride one hour on the south beach, framed by dunes and forest, with the ruined Portuguese fort and Mogador island in view, or two hours through the dunes and mimosa forest before reaching the sand as the sun sets. You watch the sunset on the beach and ride back straight after, before dark. The full day takes you to Cap Sim on a route adapted to your level, the group and the tides. Beginners ride south along the beaches and through the forest to a picnic spot near a fishing village, then on to the great dunes; experienced riders head east through argan fields and across the river by the village of Ghazoua before reaching the high dunes and riding back along wild beaches. Lunch is a picnic carried in the saddlebags. Rides suit all levels: the guides adapt the pace to the group. Tell the ranch in advance if you would like to help groom and saddle your horse before the ride.