The Sahara and the main cities of Morocco. These are the pillars of this 8-day route, which also incorporates other natural corners of exuberant beauty, as well as small towns full of charm. A tour from Casablanca to the desert and the Imperial Cities, which we can organize privately so that you can enjoy it with whoever you want.
The Sahara Desert is the great goal of many travelers who come to Morocco. And on this tour you will reach it, specifically the Merzouga desert and its famous Erg Chebbi dunes . But on the way there and back, you will discover other attractions related to the desert, such as the oases that form in its surroundings, the Berber kasbahs built in adobe and the landscapes of the Middle Atlas and the High Atlas, with snow at many times of the year. All this creates an amazing contrast between aridity and humidity, plains, valleys and mountains.
In addition to the desert and natural landscapes, this tour covers the most important cities. Specifically, those considered ‘imperial’, that is, those that were the capital of the kingdom at some point in history, where medinas declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO are preserved: Rabat, Meknes, Fez and Marrakech, where the tour ends. In addition, we add to the route other smaller but equally interesting towns, such as Chaouen and Rissanii, And taking advantage of the fact that your plane lands in Casablanca, we will also see the great attraction of this great city: its mosque.
This tour begins in Casablanca and ends in Marrakech, 8 days and 7 nights later. Below you can consult the daily program of the route, which uses a comfortable private vehicle for road travel, as well as dromedaries to advance through the dunes:
This tour from Casablanca begins at the airport of this city, the largest in the country. And it is designed for those cases in which the flight lands in the morning. In this way, we can make the most of this first day of the route, from the moment we meet at the terminal.
We will make the transfer from the airport to the center of the city, specifically to the Hassan II mosque: inaugurated in 1993, it is the great monument of Casablanca and, fortunately for non-Muslim tourists, it is open to all audiences, whatever their religion. Visiting its internal spaces helps to better understand what the cult and symbologies of Islam are like. And contemplating it from the outside will serve to understand the great achievement that its construction entailed, with a minaret of more than 200 meters high and an artificial peninsula reclaimed from the sea.
After visiting the mosque, we will leave the city by road to travel to nearby Rabat, with time for you to freely visit the most emblematic places of the capital of the kingdom. The Mausoleum of Mohammed V, the Hassan Tower and the Kasbah of the Oudayas should not be missing in the itinerary, as well as other corners with views of the Bou Regreg River and the beaches of the Atlantic coast.
And at the end of the day, your first night of rest will be in a charming riad located in the medina (or near it) of this city, thus facilitating any travel through the center.
On this second day of the tour, we make an ‘incursion’ through the north of Morocco to travel to Chaouen, a small city nestled in the Rif mountains, the northernmost and Mediterranean mountain range in the country. Upon your arrival, you will have the rest of the day free to explore it at your own pace.
And what you will discover in it is a surprising medina extended along the hillside, with houses dyed blue. The panoramic view of it among the green mountains of the Rif is a very original image, but the beauty of Chaouen is also inside its historic center. Twisted and narrow streets, with small arches, stairs and recesses, often decorated with flower pots and with viewpoints towards the surroundings, which arise unexpectedly.
Its nerve center is the Plaza de Uta el-Hammam, where the 14th century kasbah, now a museum, is located. And very close to there will also be the riad where you will sleep this second night of the tour.
From Chaouen, again heading south on this third day, which is probably one of the richest from the point of view of history and culture: throughout the day, we will step on three sites declared World Heritage Sites by UNESCO, precisely because of the value of their constructions.
The first visit of the day is dedicated to Volubilis. This Roman-era site preserves triumphal arches, remains of basilicas, pagan religious temples and even mosaics of great quality. Without a doubt, a pleasant surprise that accounts for the importance that this territory had in Antiquity, before the Arab conquest.
After that, we will move to Meknes, which became the capital of the Alawite kingdom with Sultan Moulay Ismail. The references to this monarch are abundant, not in vain he built a royal palace and other buildings for the court, as well as his own mausoleum. Doors such as Bab Mansour and houses with refined wooden balconies are well worth a walk through its historic medina.
Finally, we will move to Fez. After checking in you will have the rest of the time free, ideal to get in touch with the craft shops and the popular life of the medina, the largest in all of Morocco. Precisely in it will be the charming riad of this third night of the tour.
Fez has the honor of being the only city on the tour where you will spend two nights. The reason: its rich history and its numerous monuments. For this reason, we will spend the entire fourth day here, with the intention of not missing any detail and understanding why it is considered the religious and cultural capital of Morocco.
In reality, it was already the capital with Idrisids, Merinids, Wattasids and Alawites. And its rulers, as well as the people who settled here (often expatriates from Al-Andalus and Algeria), contributed with constructions of great value. Many of them will be part of the guided tour you will have in the morning: mosques of Karaouine and the Andalusians, Nejjarine Square, madrasa of Bou Inania, the tanneries of Chowara… and everything that our guide considers of interest.
In the afternoon, you can complete freely the program, with museums and other spaces of the medina, such as the Jewish mellah or the exteriors of the Royal Palace. Or continue your exploration of quality crafts, with pieces of ceramics, cabinetmaking and leather as main attractions.
From the fifth day we begin to discover the exotic Morocco that extends to the other side of the Atlas. But on the way to that ‘far south’, there will still be time to admire other unique towns and landscapes.
For example, Ifrane: built in the times of the French Protectorate to become a winter resort, as its altitude (1700 meters above sea level) and rainfall regime favor snow to be abundant here in the coldest time of the year. It is no coincidence, therefore, that all its buildings have gabled roofs and its streets are wide, regular and clear.
Later, the road will make us cross the Ifrane National Park, which has two great hallmarks. On the one hand, its tall and abundant cedars, which cover a good part of its 50,000 hectares of surface here. And the other, its numerous Barbary macaques: that is great news, as it is an endangered animal. Its most populous community is this one, and many of its members often come out to meet humans, so it will not be difficult to spot them.
Already on the southern slope of the Middle Atlas, aridity is imposing: the Ziz Valley will lead us to Erfoud, where the shops and museums of minerals and fossils are a paradise for collectors: many of the pieces are tens of millions of years old.
And shortly after, in Merzouga, the long-awaited transfer will arrive: our car will be parked and our dromedaries will be ready to start the ride through the Erg Chebbi dunes. A Tuareg, caretaker of these noble animals, will open the way through the soft undulations of sand.
Around sunset, we will arrive at the jaimas camp where we will spend the last hours of the day. There a Berber welcome tea, a typical dinner, a purifying bonfire and nomad canvas tents await us, which will not lack any comfort.
On this sixth day of the tour, it is convenient to get up even at night. And not only to see the majestic starry sky of the desert, which you have probably already contemplated the night before. But, above all, to see the magical sunrise over the dunes: as the sun peeks over the horizon, we will be enveloped by lights and colors capable of exciting anyone.
After breakfast, dromedary ride back to Merzouga, where you can take a shower (if the package does not provide it in the camp) before resuming the road route. A few kilometers later, Rissani will come out to meet us: it has one of the best medinas in the desert, as well as a genuine and popular atmosphere that symbolizes its weekly market, with donkey parking included.
Later, we will enter the Dades Valley, dotted with palm groves, cultivated land, kasbahs and small towns. At Tinghir, we will take a detour to the Todra Gorges: it is the gorge of that river that here, after millions of years of erosive work, has created walls of great verticality and height, admired by climbers and walkers in general.
Back to the Dades Valley, we will continue to its starting point: the city of Ouarzazate. And in it is one of the best Berber fortresses that are preserved: the kasbah of Taourirt, with an architecture that combines the impregnability of its exterior with the refinement of the interior. The reason: its inhabitant was Thami el Glaoui, lord of the Atlas and pasha of Marrakech. As an alternative and if the schedules allow it, there is the possibility of visiting the Atlas Studios, the most important cinematographic enclosure in North Africa, the filming location of scenes from Lawrence of Arabia and so many other films.
And it will be here in Ouarzazate where we will put the brakes on this day, one of the longest of the tour, and thus spend the night and have dinner in a hotel in the city.
The beginning of the seventh day is also ‘from the movies’: a few kilometers after resuming the march we will arrive at Ait Ben Haddou, a fortress-town made of adobe, surrounded by high crenellated walls and watched over in the past by a kasbah, now in ruins. It is a magnificent example of the popular and military architecture of the Berber civilization, closely related to the caravan routes, to which it provided service.
Its unique disposition has served to set episodes of Game of Thrones and other great film and television productions. And as it could not be otherwise, it is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
After that, our route advances kilometers and ascends meters through the slopes of the High Atlas. Near the port of Tizi n’Tichka, the kasbah of Telouet is usually a must stop, for its architecture in the line of the kasbah of Taourirt and its privileged position… And privileged are the views from the mentioned port, towards the highest peaks of the country, which many travelers photograph.
After that, it will only remain to descend the valleys of the northern slope of the mountain range and, already on the plain, enter Marrakech. As it is the penultimate day of the tour and perhaps the last free moment of the program, it will be worth taking a walk on your own in the medina and perhaps doing some souvenir shopping, before the night’s rest in the riad in the center.
The eighth is the last day, but it is not just a day of farewell: until the moment of the transfer, you will make the most of your hours in the so-called ‘red city’. In fact, during the morning you will take a guided tour with an accredited professional, touring the most emblematic places of the medina.
You could not leave the country without first knowing places such as the Koutoubia mosque (only exterior), the Jemaa el-Fna square, the Ben Youssef madrasa, the Bahia Palace and other monuments of interest. To visit other places such as the Jardin Majorelle or art and craft museums, it will be convenient to study the flight schedules, as at the agreed time we will pick you up for the transfer to Marrakech – Menara Airport. And at the terminal, we will say goodbye with gratitude until, who knows, a next time.
To square in detail such a varied program, it is necessary to offer the following services, which are of the highest quality and are included in the package:
These other services are not included, so each traveler must take care of their acquisition or payment:
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