Morocco Deserts From Marrakech - 8 Days

Upon arrival at Menara Airport in Marrakech, you will be met and transferred to your accommodation.

You have the rest of the day at leisure to relax or explore the main square Jemaa el Fnaa, and the surrounding souks.

Marrakech - Ait Ben Haddou - Ouarzazate. We embark on a walking tour of Marrakech at 8 AM with an official local guide. During the tour we visit the Koutoubia Mosque, explore the medina and its souks, and discover sites including the Ali Ben Youssef Koranic School and the Saadian Tombs.

After the tour, we meet our driver and travel into the High Atlas Mountains, passing through the Tizi n’Tichka Pass with stops for panoramic views and photographs of the small Berber villages built into the mountainside.

We then continue south to the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, where we visit the famous kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1986. Several well-known films were filmed here including Gladiator, The Mummy, The Jewel of the Nile, Obelix, and Sahara.

We continue to Ouarzazate, known as the Gateway to the Desert, where we see the Taourirt Kasbah, one of the most impressive ksars in Morocco. We then check in to our accommodation.

Ouarzazate - Dades Valley - Todra Gorges - Jorf - Erfoud - Merzouga. This morning, we start our journey towards the Merzouga Desert. We pass through the Rose Valley and the large Skoura palm grove, where more than 700,000 palm trees grow among many kasbahs in the surrounding area. In this valley, Damask roses are cultivated for cosmetic products such as the well-known rosewater.

We continue to the Dades Valley, where we see the rock formations known as monkey toes and the still-standing 19th-century Kasbah of Ait Yul.

Leaving the Dades Valley, we travel towards Tinghir and after several stops along the way we reach the Todra Gorges. Here we walk beneath the impressive 300-metre-high red cliffs, a popular place for rock climbers, while nearby adobe villages are home to local families who live in the area.

After a short walk in the gorges, we continue our journey to Erfoud and Rissani where we stop. Here you will have time for lunch. Afterwards, we travel to the village of Merzouga.

In the afternoon, we ride camels into the dunes for about one hour to watch the sunset. We then continue by camel to the desert camp, where we have dinner and spend the night in a bivouac tent in the middle of the dunes.

Merzouga - Rissani - Ziz Valley - Azrou - Ifrane - Fes. Today, we have an early start to see the sunrise in the desert. From the dunes near the camp, we watch the sun rise over the Sahara, one of the most memorable moments in the desert.

After breakfast, we return to Merzouga by camel and begin our journey north through the Tafilalet palm grove, the largest in the world. Along this road, we see thousands of palm trees stretching for around 20 kilometres.

We then reach the Ziz Valley, where the river flowing from the High Atlas Mountains feeds the palm groves. We stop at a high viewpoint to enjoy views across the valley and the town of Aoufous.

We continue to Midelt, located in the heart of the Atlas Mountains, where you have free time for lunch and a short rest.

In the afternoon, we travel through the Cedar Forest, where we may see wild monkeys. We then visit Ifrane, located on the north-western slope of the Middle Atlas at 1,630 metres above sea level. With its wide avenues, gardens, green spaces and distinctive architecture, the town is often compared to a Swiss town and is sometimes called the Moroccan Switzerland. It is also home to the Michlifen ski resort.

At around 6 PM, we arrive in Fes and check in to our accommodation.

Fes - Chefchaouen. After breakfast, we meet a local guide to explore Fes, the most ancient and holy of the Imperial cities. Our cultural and historical walking tour takes us through the 2,000-year-old medina, a labyrinth of narrow streets filled with markets and souks, craftsmen at work, and donkeys and mules transporting goods.

During the visit, we see the Attarine and Bou Anania Medersas, the Nejjarine Fountain, the Moulay Idriss Mausoleum, the Karaouine Mosque, and the famous Chouara Tannery.

Later, we meet our driver and travel to the mountain town of Chefchaouen, where we will spend the night. The scenic drive takes us through fertile agricultural land and into the Rif Mountains. Chefchaouen is well known for its distinctive, blue-painted houses.

Chefchaouen - Rabat - Casablanca. Today, we explore Chefchaouen and its beautiful walled medina. We walk through the cobbled streets, taking in the Moorish and Spanish atmosphere while admiring the town’s distinctive blue-and-white houses.

We visit the 18th-century kasbah with its tower, garden and museum. The main square, the heart of Chefchaouen, is home to the kasbah, a central mosque and cafés serving traditional Moroccan food. The medina is small and easy to explore, with souks offering a variety of local goods.

Afterwards, we depart for Rabat, the capital of Morocco. In Rabat, we explore the Imperial city including the Mechouar - the ramparts and walls surrounding the Royal Palace - the Mohammed V Mausoleum, the Hassan Tower, and the Kasbah of the Oudayas, which overlooks the Atlantic Ocean.

We then continue to Casablanca, where we check in to our accommodation.

Casablanca - Marrakech. This morning, we visit the impressive Hassan II Mosque, built in 1993 by a team of more than 6,000 craftsmen. Located on the shores of the city, it is an imposing building and one of the few mosques in Morocco that non-Muslims are allowed to enter.

Later, we depart for Marrakech by highway. On arrival, we check into our accommodation. In the afternoon, you will have free time to explore the medina on your own.

After our final breakfast, depending on your departure flight time you may have some time to relax or explore more of Marrakech at your own pace. You will then be transferred to the airport for your departure.