The Moroccan Culture Tour

Casablanca » Chefchouen » Fes » Merzouga » Dades » Ouarzazate » Marrakesh » Casablanca    

Desert Tour

10 days 9 Nights

Itinerary

1st day: Casablanca » Chefchouen

 We pick you up from the airport or your accommodation and start with a visit to the biggest mosque in morocco (Hassan ll mosque ). Following this, we drive to Rabat where we will see Hassan ll tower, the kasbah of Ouday afterwards, We drive to white-blue mountain city of Cefchouen, where you will have time to explore the city.

2nd day: Chefchouen » Fes

 After breakfast we drive to Volubilis to enjoy the Roman ruins which are spread over a wide area and afford beautiful views over the valley and hills. After having visited the ruins, we will drive towards Meknes where we will take lunch and walk around to discover the historical monuments and see great walls surrounding the tomb of Moulay Ismail. After we will towards Fes for dinner and overnight in local riad.

3rd day: Fes Sightseeing

 Enjoy a full day sightseeing tour in Fes which is the oldest of Morocco’s four “Imperial Cities”. The medieval city of Fes El Bali, or “Old Fes” remains complete and is unspoiled. During a tour of this part of the town, we visit the exotic Bou Inania Medersa, the Medina and the Kairaouine Mosque as well as the famous soukhs. In the afternoon you can visit Fes El Jdid, or “New Fes” and the Museum of Moroccan Arts. The night is spent in the riad.

4th day: Fes » Merzouga

 Departure from Fes at 8 o’clock, travelling via Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes in the cedar forest of the Middle Atlas. Lunch is in Midelt, “the apple capital”, at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. After lunch we continue over the Tizi-n-Talremt pass and through the Ziz Valley, which is particularly well-known for its palm trees and the length of the oasis. All along the road there are innumerable “ksars”, small villages of individual houses. From here we reach Erfoud, famous for its date festival and fossils.

On arrival at  the bivouac in Erg Chebbi, you will be greeted with a glass of tea and have time to wander the dunes before the sunset. Dinner is served and followed by an evening of music and the night in a nomad tent.

5th day: Merzouga

After breakfast, we take the camels, either riding or walking behind, as they carry everything needed to cook your lunch, which will be prepared out in the dunes by your camel man. We walk about three hours in the morning, followed by another three in the afternoon returning to the bivouac for dinner and the night.

6th day: Merzouga » Dades

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. After breakfast you can have a camel ride for a couple of hours before leaving for Tinghir and the Toudgha gorges for lunch. The road passes through Tinjdad and the Toudgha Valley. After lunch we continue to the Dades Valley and the Dades Gorges for the night in a hotel.

7th day: Dades » Ouarzazate

After breakfast a walk in the Dades Gorges is scheduled. Back at the car, the trip to Ouarzazate continues, going off-road along the Boutarar piste to visit Berber nomads in their caves and partake of a glass of tea with them. From here we continue through the Valley of the Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May, and where highly valued oils, creams and soups are produced.  We reach the kasbahs of Skoura, the most well-known of which is Kasbah Amredil which you will visit. Once in Ouarzazate you will stay the night in a riad or guest house.

8th day: Ouarzazate » Marrakesh

After breakfast, the route goes on to Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, a World Heritage site and the backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters such as the Kingdom of Heaven and the Gladiator. It is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and one of the most visited spots in the whole country. From there the road continues to Telouet, along the recently asphalted road high above the beautiful green valley below. Telouet is set right in the midst of the mountains and was once the seat of the last Pasha of Marrakesh, El Glaoui, from where the highest pass in Africa, Tizi-n-Tichka was controlled. At the end of the afternoon we arrive in Marrakesh, having crossed this highest pass in North Africa.

9th day: Marrakesh Sightseeing

Marrakech is probably best known for central Djemma El Fna with its juice stalls, dried fruit and nut stalls, women applying henna, snake charmers, story sellers and the myriad of nightly food stalls. You will visit the following places according to time and inclination: the Majorelle Gardens which belonged to Yves St Laurent and is famous for its special shade of blue, the Koutoubia Mosque, El Bahia Palace which means “the palace of the beautiful”, the Qoranic School, the Ben Youssef Medersa which used to house some 80 Qoranic students and the Saadian Tombs. You spend another night in your riad.

10th day: Marrakesh » Casablanca

 In the morning we will Drive back to casablanca to connect with your flights with the best of Morocco’s souvenirs and memories.

Please Note: Prices for all of our tours include accommodation and access to historical sites.  Unless otherwise stated in the details of the specific tour, breakfast and dinner are included, however lunch and alcohol are not