Imperial Cities, Southern Morocco, and Desert Tour from Marrakech – 8 Days

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Overview:

From the rugged peaks of the High Atlas Mountains to the vast golden dunes of the Sahara, Morocco offers an unforgettable tapestry of experiences. The southern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains unveil a rich tapestry of culture and history. Here, the majestic Kasbahs—Telouet, Aït Ben Haddou, and Amredhil in Skoura—stand as timeless symbols of Berber heritage. In Kalaat M’gouna, the fragrance of Damascene roses fills the air, while cooperatives offer locally made cosmetic treasures. The rugged beauty of the Dades Gorges captivates with its striking geological formations.

Venture deeper into the heart of the Sahara with a visit to Merzouga. The golden dunes provide a stunning backdrop for a sunset camel ride, while evenings under the stars, accompanied by nomadic rhythms, create an atmosphere of magic and tranquillity. Spend a day in the company of camels and their handlers, discovering the timeless traditions of desert life.

The route from Marrakech to Fes weaves through a mosaic of experiences. Unearth ancient fossils in Erfoud, savour the sweetness of Ziz Valley dates, and admire the orchards of Midelt. In Azrou, cedar forests are home to playful Barbary apes, and Ifrane’s Alpine-inspired architecture surprises with its charm. Fes awaits with its vibrant medina, stunning Royal Palace, historic madrassas, and bustling souks, showcasing the grandeur of Morocco’s imperial past.

History comes alive in the ancient ruins of Volubilis and the imperial city of Meknes, known for its colossal gates and royal granaries. The journey concludes with Morocco’s modern capitals. In Rabat, the Mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Hassan Tower blend tradition with elegance. In Casablanca, the breathtaking Hassan II Mosque stands as a testament to exquisite Moroccan craftsmanship.


Highlights:

  • Marrakech sightseeing: vibrant souks, tranquil gardens, grand palaces, historic madrassas, and the lively Djemaa El Fna.
  • The architectural wonders of Morocco’s kasbahs: Ksar Aït Ben Haddou, Kasbah Telouet, and Kasbah Amredhil in Skoura.
  • Discovering Morocco’s rich landscapes: the Atlas Mountains, Skoura Oasis, Valley of the Roses, and the dramatic Toudgha Gorges.
  • Experiencing desert adventures: a sunset camel ride, wandering the sweeping golden dunes, and dancing to traditional nomadic music.
  • A delicious dinner under the starlit sky: a magical night in your private tent at a luxury camp nestled among the dunes.
  • A guided tour of Fes: the enchanting medina, bustling souks, the Royal Palace, historic madrassas, and traditional leather tanneries.
  • Discovering Morocco’s rich past: Berber villages, the Roman ruins of Volubilis, and the imposing ramparts of Meknes.
  • Visiting iconic landmarks: the Mohamed V Mausoleum, the Hassan Tower in Rabat, and the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca.

What is included:

  • Transportation in a private air-conditioned vehicle; 4×4 Toyota Prado Tx
  • Experienced English, French, Spanish, Italian-speaking Berber/Nomad driver-guide
  • Airport transfers
  • Accommodation in air-conditioned rooms/suites with private bathrooms
  • Two nights in a luxury desert camps in Erg Chebbi dunes in Merzouga: private tent with bathroom & shower, king-sized beds, mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets, lamps & traditional furniture
  • All meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner (except lunch and dinner in Marrakech, Fes, Rabat and Casablanca) – with vegetarian and vegan options available
  • Bottled water, tea, and coffee in the desert camps
  • Sunset camel ride with guide plus free sandboarding if desired
  • Berber drumming and music in the desert camps
  • Possibility to go for short hiking in the midst of beautiful scenery
  • Free time to explore sites of interest, for walks, photos and tea/ coffee breaks
  • Luggage service to the desert camp and all accommodation
  • Sightseeing Tours of Marrakech and Essaouira with professional guides
  • Entrance fees (except in Marrakech, Fes, Rabat and Casablanca) and local guides
  • Personalised service throughout the trip

What is not included:

  • Lunch and dinner in Marrakech & Essaouira
  • Entrance fees in Marrakech & Essaouira
  • Drinks
  • Tips
  • Extras

Good to know about this tour:

  • It is possible to customise this tour to accommodate your areas of interest, preferred budget & timetable
  • You can add other activities to this trip: cooking classes, food tours, quad-biking and hot-air ballooning
  • There is a 25% reduction for children under 12 years old & we do not charge children under 5 years old
  • We ask for a 30% deposit to confirm your booking. The balance can be paid to the driver or at our Ouarzazate office.
  • We accept payment through PayPal, credit card, bank transfer or cash(USD, Euro, GBP or MAD)
  • These prices are subject to an increase over the high season, Christmas and New Year’Eve period

Price details

Number of persons2 Persons3 Persons4 Persons5 Persons6 Persons
Price per person1565 €1495 €1365 €1295 €1295 €
Total price3130 €4485 €5460 €6475 €7770 €

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Itinerary:

1st: Marrakech Sightseeing Guided Tour

Marrakech is famous for its vibrant Djemaa El Fna square, alive with juice stands, dried fruit and nut vendors, henna artists, snake charmers, storytellers, and a variety of nightly food stalls.

You can explore the following attractions based on your time and preferences:

The Majorelle Gardens: Designed by Jacques Majorelle and later owned by Yves Saint Laurent, these peaceful gardens feature fish ponds, small bridges, and a variety of cacti, flowers, and trees. The garden is famous for its “Majorelle blue” color, which is replicated throughout the city. It also includes a Berber museum, café, and a restaurant offering delicious Moroccan-inspired cuisine.

Le Jardin Secret: A stunning Islamic Paradise Garden divided into four sections, each with a water channel from the High Atlas Mountains. The garden’s calm atmosphere, with its simple color schemes and soothing fountains, is complemented by displays explaining its restoration, as featured in Monty Don’s documentary on Middle Eastern Paradise Gardens.

The Koutoubia Mosque: Marrakech’s largest mosque and a key city landmark, the Koutoubia takes its name from “al-Koutoubiyyin,” referencing its historic role as a center for booksellers. Built in the Almohad style, the mosque’s 69-meter minaret is crowned with four copper globes.

El Bahia Palace: This grand palace, built for Ahmed Ibn Moussa, the Grand Vizier of Morocco, between 1894 and 1900, showcases traditional Alaoui style. With 160 rooms set around beautiful courtyards, the palace features intricate stucco panels, zellij tiles, carved cedar wood ceilings, and marble finishes. It is surrounded by an expansive eight-hectare garden.

Ben Youssef Medersa: A Quranic school founded by Sultan Abou el Hassan (1331–49) and rebuilt in the 1560s, this medersa once housed 800 students. It is a fine example of Moroccan architecture, with its intricate zellij tiles, stucco plasterwork, and carved cedar wood.

The Saadian Tombs: Dating back to the reign of Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603), these tombs were rediscovered in 1917. They are the final resting place for over sixty members of the Saadian Dynasty and remain a major attraction in the city.

The Jewish Mellah: Every Moroccan city has a Jewish quarter, and many still house active synagogues. The Mellah in Marrakech was historically home to all non-Muslims, including Jews, and offers a glimpse into the city’s diverse history.

The Souks: At the heart of Marrakech, the souks offer an array of traditional handicrafts, spices, medicines, and more. You can find Moroccan slippers (babouches), leather goods, textiles, pottery, silver jewelry, and try your hand at bargaining for a good deal.

FYI: Tickets for each attraction can be purchased during your guided tour, but please note that tickets for the Majorelle Gardens must be booked online in advance.

Optional Experience: If you’d prefer to learn how to prepare traditional Moroccan dishes, we can arrange a cooking class for you instead of the city tour, for an additional fee.

You will spend the night in a charming riad, experiencing the authentic atmosphere of Marrakech.

2nd: Marrakech – Dades Gorges

Morning departure at 08:30 from your riad or hotel in Marrakech, as you set out south on your desert adventure. You travel through the high Atlas Mountains, enjoying panoramic views of impressive landscapes, beautiful Berber villages and snow-topped mountain peaks.

After the Tizi-n-Tichka pass, a side road leads you to Kasbah Telouet which used to be the palatial residence of the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui Family. The Kasbah now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled Morocco following the departure of the French in 1956. But, wait to be pleasantly surprised by the architectural marvel of this historic home.

From here, your 3-day Marrakech to Fes desert tour continues along the fascinating Ounila Valley, full of bends in the roads, beautiful Berber villages as well as fortified Kasbahs. You arrive at the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, which you visit after lunch. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a backdrop for many Hollywood blockbusters, including “Gladiator,” “Alexander,” and some scenes of the famous TV series “Game of Thrones.”

In the afternoon, we drive past Ouarzazate to the Skoura Oasis, where you stop to visit the Kasbah Amredhil, which used to be featured in the old 50 dirham banknote. The Kasbah has been beautifully repaired and is well worth the visit.
From here, you travel through the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs and then the beautiful Valley of the Roses as far as Kel’aa M’gouna. Here, you can visit a local cooperative manufacturing cosmetic articles from the abundant roses of the valley.

By the end of the day, you will arrive at the Dades Gorges, where you spend the night with dinner and breakfast in a guest house overlooking the valley.

3rd: Dades Gorges – Merzouga

After breakfast, you continue your adventure southeast. In Toudgha Gorges, there will be plenty of opportunities to walk alongside the river through the gardens or up the road on the other side of the gorges. You could have lunch either here in the gorges or later in Erfoud. Between Tinjdad and Erfoud, you can stop to go down into “Khettara”, a fascinating underground water channel deep below the earth, always cool and preventing the evaporation of water.

In Erfoud itself, you can stop at the local workshop to see the workings of thousands of fossils made into all sorts of artefacts. There is no obligation to buy anything, but the workshops are well worth a visit! From here, you continue driving further east as far as Merzouga where sand dunes alongside the road indicate the begining of the mighty Sahara Desert.

At the campsite, you check in to your tent and enjoy a relaxing glass of tea and Moroccan biscuits. Then, you take a camel ride to the summit of the Erg Chebbi dunes (250 m). You will enjoy the sunset from the top of the dunes!

Back at the camp, dinner is served, followed by an evening of nomad music and drumming around a campfire. You spend the night in your tent, equipped with a private toilet & shower, king-sized beds, mattresses, sheets, pillows, blankets & carpets, lamps and beautiful Moroccan furnishings, all tastefully arranged to enhance your stay.

4th: Merzouga

After breakfast, you will explore the region of Merzouga more fully. First, you will visit the Gnawa people in the village of Khamlia. They specialise in Gnawa music brought from sub-Saharan Africa with the slave trade. They will play Gnawa music for you.

Afterwards, you will visit the old town of Rissani. This small town was the foundation of the Alaouite dynasty – the current ruling royal family in Morocco. It is surrounded by 360 ksars (a ksar is a fortified village with many towers) and has a large souk (an open market) held three times a week. Here you will walk through the souk, which sells spices, vegetables, household goods, and handicrafts. Rissani has been built on the site of Sijilmassa, which was the meeting place for the salt caravans, coming from Timbuktu in Mali.

And then in the afternoon, you will mount your camel, and be led by an experienced camel man through the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga for an hour to an hour and a half to watch the sunset. Dinner is once again in the amp and followed by an evening of nomad music and drumming around a campfire.

5th: Merzouga – Fes

If you get up early in the morning, you will be rewarded by the amazing spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour dunes and the play of shadows are an incredible sight. You will also have some free time to wander the dunes and experience moments of pure peacefulness.

After breakfast, experience a scenic drive through the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. Once you are back on the paved road, you travel up north to Errachidia, along the Ziz valley, very remarkable for its huge palm groves and the extent of its green oases. Lunch will be in Midelt, nicknamed “the apple capital”, and is situated at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain.

In the afternoon, you drive over the Middle Atlas Mountains and via the Tizi-n-Talremt pass, travelling along a beautiful road bordered by green oaks and cedar trees to reach Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes looking out for tidbits.

From here, you travel across Ifrane, where the houses have sloping roofs, very remarkable and unusual in Morocco. We reach Fes at the end of the afternoon. Finish off your day adventure as your driver takes you to your riad or hotel in Fes.

6th: Fes Sightseeing Guided Tour

After meeting your licensed local guide, enjoy a full-day sightseeing tour of Fes, the oldest of Morocco’s four “Imperial Cities.” This journey will take you to some of the most iconic and intriguing attractions, offering a deeper understanding of this ancient Moroccan gem.

You will visit the following places, according to time and your preferences:

The University of Al Quaraouiyine: Begin your exploration at the prestigious University of Al Quaraouiyine, renowned as one of the world’s oldest continuously operating educational institutions. Established in the 9th century, it holds a unique place in history as a hub of learning.

Bou Inania Medersa: Next, you will be able to visit the Bou Inania Medersa, a religious school celebrated for its stunning mosaics, exquisite stucco work, and detailed architecture. Here, you can admire the beauty of Islamic artistry in this historic setting.

The Royal Palace: Although not open to the public, the exterior of the Royal Palace is a masterpiece of Moroccan architecture. Why not stop here to appreciate the intricately designed portal, capturing the essence of Moroccan royalty?

The Medina: As you venture into Fes’ UNESCO-listed Medina, you will be immersed in its labyrinthine streets that have preserved their mediaeval charm. The bustling souks, ancient mosques, and historic landmarks offer a glimpse into the city’s vibrant past.

Leather Tanneries: Fes is renowned for its centuries-old leather production. At the tanneries, you can witness the traditional techniques employed in crafting leather goods, gaining insights into the city’s time-honoured craftsmanship.

Local Market: The vibrant markets of Fes, teeming with life and offer a wide array of products, including souvenirs, textiles, spices, ceramics, wooden crafts, silver jewellery, and leather goods, displaying the diversity of Moroccan culture and artistry.

Nejjarine Museum of Wooden Arts and Crafts: Why not conclude your tour at the Nejjarine Museum, housed in a beautifully restored caravanserai? Here, you can discover a wealth of wooden arts and crafts integral to Moroccan culture. The museum’s exhibits provide an in-depth look at the intricate craftsmanship that defined Fes for generations.

Your sightseeing tour ends as your guide accompanies you back to your riad.

7th: Fes, Volubilis, Meknes – Rabat

After breakfast in your traditional riad, embark on a journey through picturesque valleys and rolling hills. Along the way, visit Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its sprawling Roman ruins and panoramic views. Spanning 42 hectares at the base of Jebel Zerhoun, this ancient city showcases the sophistication of Roman urban planning and culture. To gain deeper insight into its rich history, hiring a knowledgeable local guide is highly recommended.

Continue southward to Meknes, one of Morocco’s historic Imperial Cities celebrated for its Islamic architecture. Wander through its ancient medina, a maze of narrow streets bustling with souks and hidden gems. Marvel at the magnificent Bab Mansour, one of the most exquisite and well-preserved gates in Morocco, adorned with intricate zellij tilework and grand wooden doors. You might also explore the Heri es-Souani, the royal granaries and stables constructed under Sultan Moulay Ismail, which stand as a testament to the engineering ingenuity of the era.

Arriving in Rabat, explore the iconic Hassan Tower, a symbol of the city and one of Morocco’s most renowned landmarks. This striking minaret, begun by Almohad Sultan Yacoub Al Mansour in the 12th century, was intended to crown the largest mosque in the Muslim world. At 44 metres tall, it bears architectural similarities to the Koutoubia in Marrakech and the Giralda in Seville.

Conclude your day with a visit to the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, a monument dedicated to the late king who passed in 1961. The mausoleum also houses the tomb of his son, Hassan II, who ruled until 1999.

End your day with an overnight stay in a charming riad.

8th: Rabat, Casablanca – Marrakech

Begin your day with a visit to the Chellah, an ancient necropolis and site of Roman and medieval ruins situated at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River. Continue to the Oudayyas Kasbah, a twelfth-century fortified citadel built by the Almohads, showcasing the city’s rich military history.

Later, travel via motorway to Casablanca, where you’ll visit the impressive Hassan II Mosque, the largest mosque in Africa, renowned for its exquisite tilework and intricate craftsmanship. Be prepared for potential queues when purchasing tickets, as guided tours depart hourly and last approximately one hour.

After lunch, explore Casablanca further, including a stroll along its scenic corniche. From there, journey to Marrakech, taking in the stunning views of Morocco’s countryside and its dynamic landscapes.

Upon arrival, your driver will escort you to your hotel, marking the conclusion of your Moroccan adventure.

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