DAY 1: Casablanca – Rabat
We will pick you up at the airport in Casablanca and visit the most famous monument in the city: Hassan II Mosque. We will then travel to Rabat, an imperial city and the administrative city of the kingdom. We will visit the Mechouar (bulwarks and high walls surrounding the Royal Palace), the Kasbah of the Oudayas and the magnificent Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Hassan II. Accommodation in a riad.
DAY2: Rabat – Meknes – Volubilis – Fez
We will pass the Mamora forest in Rabat and arrive in the city of Meknes, which rose to prominence with Sultan Mulay Ismail. Here, we will visit the ruins of the Roman city of Volubilis, located at 27 kilometers from Meknes, and the holy city of Moulay Idriss. We will then continue to Fez, where we will spend the night in a riad.
DAY 3: Fez, World Heritage Site
We will have the whole day to discover Fez with a local guide. This is not only the oldest imperial city of Morocco, but it is also its most intellectual one. We will visit several monuments: Medersas (Koranic schools), Chahrij, Bouinania, Attarin, Souks, Fez El-Jedid and the Karaouine Mosque (the oldest known university in the world). Accommodation in a riad.
DAY 4: Fez – Ifrane – Erfoud – Merzouga
After breakfast, we will head to the Merzouga desert by crossing the Middle Atlas and its cedar forest. We will visit Ifrane, known as Morocco’s “Little Switzerland”. The next stop will be Azrou (which means “rock” in Berber), a town known for its handicrafts, carpets and wood carving. After passing Midelt, we will continue to the Tizi Talghemt pass, or Camel’s Neck, located at 1,907 meters of altitude. The landscape is impressive, the mountains are completely bare. Passing Errachidia, we cross the Tafilalet massif up to the palm grove of Erfoud. We finally head to the Merzouga desert and arrive at the hotel.
DAY 5: Merzouga – Khamlia Village – Nomad families – Erg Chebbi – Dromedary ride – Overnight stay in jaimas (Berber tents)
This will be a day full of adventures in which we will discover another side of Morocco! We will start the trip in a 4×4 car and make our first stop in the Khamlia village to enjoy the Gnawa music. The inhabitants of this village are descendants of slaves who arrived from Sub-Saharan Africa. We will continue through mountains that at first glance seem rocky, but from close by, one realizes that they are made of fossilized sand deposited millions of years ago. We will walk to a place where dinosaurs remains are extracted. Experience the daily routine of an explorer at first hand by visiting the interior of one of the excavations and enjoy the calm of the arid landscape by the small village of Bega. We may also search for the Desert Rose and whoever finds it will have a surprise prize! Next, we will continue our trip along cobbled paths close to the border with Algeria until we reach an area where marine fossils are extracted. We will stop for a Berber-style picnic with a nomad family at a unique landscape, on one side the mountains and on the other the orange dunes of the Sahara. We will visit the French Cemetery at an abandoned town from the colonial era. We will then set off in a caravan of dromedaries that will take us to the Great Dune in about an hour and a half. There, we will watch a beautiful sunset. Dinner and overnight will be in a camp in the heart of the desert. At night, we will enjoy traditional Berber drums, singing, and dancing under a spectacular starry night sky.
DAY 6: Merzouga – Ramilia – Tafraoute
Wake up early to watch one of the best sunrises of your life and admire the unique beauty of the breathtaking Dunes of Erg Chebbi, where the light changes over the course of the day. After breakfast, we will leave for Ramlia, a remote village in the middle of the desert. You will meet the local people and experience the real rural Morocco. We will spend the night in a hotel or riad in Tafraoute.
DAY 7: Tafraoute – Todra Gorges – Dades Valley
After having breakfast, we will head towards Rissani, once home to the Alaouite Dynasty and the first imperial city of Morocco. We continue to Erfoud, known for its fossilized black marble, and reach the palm grove of Tafilalet. We will visit the Todra Gorges and arrive in Dades Valley. Accommodation in a kasbah.
DAY 8: Dades Valley – Valley of the Roses – Ouarzazate – Aït Ben Haddou – High Atlas – Marrakech
After breakfast, we depart to Ouarzazate through Boumalne Dades, El-Kelaa M’Gouna and Skoura. Admire the view of the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, the Valley of the Roses and the Skoura oasis. Once in Ouarzazate, we will stop to visit the Taourirt kasbah, built by the Glaoui dynasty. We will then head to the town of Aït Ben Haddou to have lunch and explore its exotic Ksar (fortified village) declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. We will drive through the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass (at 2260 meters) with stops to take photos and enjoy the landscape of the High Atlas mountains. We will visit the Argan oil cooperative to learn about the making process and the benefits for the human body. We will then leave behind the lunar landscape that gradually gives way to the predominant green and ochre color. We will arrive at your hotel or raid in Marrakech in the late afternoon.
DAY 9: Visit the Red City: Marrakech (with a local guide)
You will have the day free day to learn how to bargain in the souks and to discover the most hidden gems in the medina. Accommodation in a riad.
DÍA 10: Transfer from your riad to Marrakech airport
You will have the morning free up to two hours before your flight, when we will take you to the airport. We will help you with your luggage and with the check-in.