For the better part of a century, North Africa has been the preferred destination of Europeans in search of a mind-expanding, doors-of-perception-opening experience. Today much of Morocco has been brought back to Earth by an endless stream of holidaymakers. But 40 miles outside of Marrakech, high in the Atlas Mountains, there's a place where you can still find a bit of the sublime: the mountain retreat of Kasbah du Toubkal.
Cinema buffs may recognize this place from its starring role as a Tibetan monastery in Kundun, Martin Scorsese's film about the Dalai Lama. It's less plush than Richard Branson's nearby Tamadot, but it's higher up the mountain, which certainly counts for something. Seekers on a budget can opt for dormitory-style shared-bath accommodations, where the only luxury is the view. More typical accommodations range from standard rooms on up to a separate private house and a three-bedroom villa. And while all of the bathrooms (dorm rooms excepted) are first-class, the Toubkal lacks such ordinary luxuries as television.
The point of this place, after all, is not luxury-hotel efficiency, but other-worldly transcendence - and if you can come away from the Kasbah du Toubkal unchanged by the experience, than you're made of some pretty stern stuff.
