Nature Immersion & Forest Therapy in the Atlas Mountains

We offer Nature Immersion and Forest Therapy sessions in the Atlas Mountains. A typical session will either be a half-day, or a full-day with picnic lunch.

What is Forest Bathing?

Forest Bathing, or shinrin yoku, is a wellness practice that seeks to enhance health holistically through mindful use of the positive effects of forest environments on human health.
Since the emergence of this practice in Japan in the 1980s, the preventive and curative effects of forests and natural environments have been increasingly explored and documented in scientific literature. Spending time in the forests, even without performing any physical exercise, has been shown to have a considerable positive effect on human health and happiness. Closeness to nature creates positive affect, vitality, and life satisfaction. Nature connectedness can be fostered through simple awareness and connection exercises.

How does Forest Bathing help?

Psychologically, through the reduction of stress levels, anxiety, etc., acting on the decreasing of stress hormones (salivary cortisol and urinary adrenaline)

Physiologically, through observing a significant improvement in:
Cardiovascular and hemodynamic systems: forested spaces stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, thereby reducing heart rate and blood pressure.
Immune system: forested environment increases the number and activity of natural killer (NK) cells, those cells responsible for immune response to threatening bacteria and viruses. NK cells are crucial in the fight against cancerous proteins, suggesting that spending time in forests can help to prevent cancers.
Metabolic system: green spaces can enhance the presence of adiponectin hormones in the blood, and this may play a crucial role in protecting against metabolic syndromes such diabetes or obesity.

Who are we?

I’m Marc, a mountain guide and certified Forest Bathing Guide. In 2021 I qualified with the Forest Therapy Hub, and my desire is to help people to experience Nature on a deeper level. If we notice and enjoy the natural world and the beauty around us, it will help us to de-stress and feel connected to something greater. It will also naturally help us to love our planet more, and want to protect it.

Three ways to enjoy Forest Bathing:

Half-day connection

A typical forest bathing session lasts on average two to four hours, and we offer it to you as a half day experience. During this time we will immerse ourselves in the natural environment using our five senses. The session will help us to engage with nature through guided activities and invitations, and is both calming and deeply connecting.

Day Nature Immersion

For a longer esperience we propose a full day of nature connection. This will cover similar activities to the half-day, but some activities will be given more time so that you can really immerse yourself in the environment. We will provide a picnic lunch at midday. If you desire, the day experience could also involve more walking so that is becomes a journey interspersed with nature-connection.

Forest Bathing multi-day Mountain experience

It is possible to integrate a half-day or full-day of nature immersion into one of our multi-day treks. This is available on all our village-to-village treks and also some of the higher mountain ascents. We will take you to remote forest or wilderness environments as part of your trek, and then lead you through the sequence of Nature Connection activities in these beautiful locations. Please make an inquiry for more information.

We can arrange a private taxi to pick you up from your hotel and return you there afterwards. You will need to pay the taximan directly, in dirhams (local currency). We suggest this as our taxi drivers know exactly where to bring you. However you may also ask your hotel to arrange a taxi for you, in which case please ask your taximan to call us for instructions where to go. For more information please get in touch!

Our booking availability is shown below, please select the date you are interested in, fill in the form and then click “send”.