Reviews of Holidays and Hotels in Morocco - View The Perseids From Mountainous Morocco

Travel Bites, 22 June 2006

View the Perseids from mountainous Morocco

Good weather permitting, the annual Perseid meteor shower can be seen from many places around the world.

But few will match the experience of watching hours of gracefully streaking meteors from the remote foothills of the Atlas mountains.

At 3,000 feet up in the heart of Moroccan Berber country, there is little chance that your view will be spoiled by light pollution.

This year's Perseid meteor shower will occur on August 12th, and is expected to peak before first light with between 50 and 100 visible meteors per hour.

The Perseids derive their name from the constellation Perseus, from which their tails appear to stream from.

The shower is also known as the Tears of St Lawrence because it occurs around the time of his martyrdom in AD258.

Independent tour operator The Best of Morocco is offering a four-night stay at the hotel La Roseraie, which is located in the foothills of High Atlas, centred around viewing the Perseid meteor shower.

But there is plenty more to see in the vicinity of the hotel, which is only 90 minutes from Marrakech.

A well established riding centre provides guests with the chance to ride an Arab horse into the surrounding countryside, through villages, forest, and hunting reserves.