Camel ride in Marrakech

This is the picture-postcard Marrakech: a line of camels between the palms, in traditional dress, at sundown. The camel ride in the palm grove is one of the simplest, most family-friendly and cheapest outings in the area - a nice first encounter with the animal, fifteen minutes from town.

The flow is the same everywhere: hotel transfer, loan of traditional dress for the photos, then an hour at walking pace between palms, fields and villages, a cameleer up front, with a mint tea break. No skill required, the pace is slow and reassuring - which is what makes it the ideal activity with young children.

Let us be honest on the setting: this is not the deep desert. The palm grove is close and partly urbanised, and the ride is short and firmly on the tourist track. It is a photogenic interlude, not an expedition. A word on the animal too: favour providers whose camels look well fed, calm and not overloaded. If an animal looks thin or exhausted, walk on.

For the full picture - what a healthy dromedary looks like, the legal framework for working equids in Morocco, and the contrast with the macaques and cobras displayed on Jemaa el-Fna - see our note Animal welfare at Jemaa el-Fna.

To take the sunset camel in a proper desert backdrop, head to Agafay. To stay in the palm grove another way, there is the horse ride or the quad.