Day 1: Airport – Fez:
Pick up at the airport and transfer to the riad. Dinner and accommodation
Day 2: Fez – Fez:
Today we will spend all day visiting this great city, the oldest, richest, cultural, religious, spiritual and mysterious of the four imperial cities of Morocco, where you can see that has not suffered the passage of time.
The medina of Fez has to be visited without hurry, for something is the largest in the Maghreb, getting lost in its labyrinthine streets is the charm of this medina, but to appreciate this city you have to go through it in the daytime and then at dusk as it changes completely, during the day it is a bustling city full of people wandering around the shops, buying or just watching, but at sunset it acquires another speed, it is much more relaxed less oppressive.
Its medina is a labyrinth of narrow streets with houses, shops and workshops that includes more than 150 neighborhoods, and each of them has its mosque, its Koranic school, its bakery etc …
Fez hidden within its walls of abobe palaces, mansions, mosques and gardens that are like pools of peace that survive among the noise of its streets, for this reason when walking you have to observe each gate well because if it is half open you can take the pleasure surprise that inside you find a different world.
The best-known monuments are the Moulay Idris Mosque (9th century, rebuilt in the 13th century), the tomb of the city’s founder, the Qarawiyin mosque (founded in 859 and enlarged until the 13th century), the Medersa Bu ‘ Inaniyya, a residence for students of the Koran that was built in 1355 and the mosque of the Andalusians (founded in 860 and enlarged in 1200).
First, before immersing yourself in the vortex of the city, you have to appreciate it as a whole, and to do so, see it from its multiple viewpoints. From there you will observe the fabric of the city, the walls of the houses, the gloom of its streets, the pasty color of its houses, which have been anchored with its appearance since its founding. The only thing that clashes with the setting of past centuries are the antennas of TV and satellite dishes. Everything else is of a total age.
Day 3: Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Errachidia – Erfoud – Merzouga:
Today after a good Moroccan breakfast we will head towards the desert of Merzouga, we will cross through the mountains of the Middle Atlas where landscapes and inhospitable lands full of life and stories await us that will allow us to observe the landscape, take a photo and stop at the places they deserve worth visiting, we will cross the town of Ifrane which everyone knows as ‘The Moroccan Switzerland’ of Alpine character above all European with its houses of sloping roofs, nothing to do with the traditional architecture of Morocco. Due to its altitude (1630 meters) it is surrounded by trees and what is most striking is the nature that surrounds this small city, specifically the National Park which deserves a stop to visit one of the most interesting inhabitants, the Barbary monkey that survives as it can in these extensive cedar forests, the landscape begins to change again leaving behind the trees and their greenery and becomes an arid landscape but that manages to catch you, we will make a stop at Midelt to eat, our route will continue through from the Valley of Ziz a language of palm trees that are lost in the distance and that runs along the course of the river, some 9000 palm trees from Kasbah is a treasure hidden in Morocco especially for all nature lovers it is a pleasure to be able to admire the immensity of the mountain and erosion that over the years have produced the waters that formerly came from the High Atlas with great force. The contrast of the green of the palm trees with the red earth of the mountains and the small typical ocher-colored Berber houses that are along this valley and that are accommodated in a spectacular landscape that we can not miss.
We will be able to notice that the landscape is changing and that little by little the sand of the desert welcomes us making an appearance in small dunes as we get closer to Merzouga, we will arrive at the Riad located at the foot of the desert of Erg Chebbi where we They will be waiting for a welcome tea. Dinner and overnight at hotel in Merzouga according to selected hotel category.
Day 4: Merzouga – Khamlia – Merzouga – Erg Chebbi Desert:
Today very early after breakfast will be a day full of emotions as we will travel through the desert in its purest state by one of the tracks that were used in the ‘Rally Paris-Dakar’ our adventure will continue to surround the great dune of Erg Chebbi more than 250 meters of altitude, an expanse of desert of fine sand where the natural scenes become an unforgettable landscape bordering Algeria, we will continue along the track making several stops like the Oasis of Tissardmin, we will continue through the desert arriving at a settlement nomadic of the area where we will share a tea and know some secrets of his life and his customs. Another obligatory stop is the town of Khamlia (people originally from Black Africa, where they will make us enjoy their traditional music (gnawa) while we have a delicious tea.
After lunch we will return to the Riad to pick up the most essential and go into camel in the desert where they will take us to the haimas camp in the middle, during the journey we can take photographs, an experience that you will definitely like. At nightfall you can see that the desert takes a very different color and the weather changes since it refreshes a lot depending on the time you go. At the rhythm of the timbales singing and playing dinner will serve us, and as not the great bonfire will keep us company until the time to go to sleep. So without any worry the best thing is to enjoy this magical and authentic night under the starry desert sky.
Day 5: Erg Chebbi Desert – Rissani – Todra Gorges – Dades Gorges:
Without any doubt, one of the greatest spectacles of the desert is to see how it dawns, so today it is time to get up early to contemplate the wonderful sunrise, do not miss seeing the changes of colors that the dunes are taking as the sun rises over the horizon . A visual spectacle that you will not forget.
The camels await us to return to the Riad and give us a good shower and a traditional Moroccan breakfast, our adventure continues in 4 × 4 crossing the hammada (a stony desert landscape that is characterized largely by its arid, hard, plateau landscape) rocky and with very little sand), during the journey we will pass through palm groves, dunes and small oases where life takes shape.
We will continue along the track until we reach Tinerhir, an explosion of greenery that is its palm grove, an endless green snake between rocky cliffs and that surprises us when we find the fast and fresh waters of the Todra River that surrounds a lush vegetation and the numerous ksurs that surround
Although Tinerhir has lost its walls, it still preserves its many traditional adobe houses, very well preserved and inhabited.
We will continue towards the Todra Gorges of more than 100 meters high, with their houses carved in stone, a magical place with vertical rock walls caused by the erosion of water and air for centuries, a perfect place for climbers. Surrounded by a river with little flow but with crystal clear water, we can enjoy this stop to take a leisurely stroll
Dinner and night in a hotel according to selected hotel category.
Day 6: Gorges of the Dades – Valley of the Dades – Valley of the Roses – Skoura – Ouarzazate:
Today and after a good Moroccan breakfast we will continue through the interesting Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, they are curious fortified citadels and built with adobe, these superb buildings are fully integrated with the landscape and even some of them show high towers and walls decorated with Berber origin that sometimes appear silhouetted in white.
We will continue to the Valley of Roses well known for the massive cultivation of roses, where we will discover an impressive landscape, nature in its living state and with its harmonious and impressive colors make this Valley a landscape worthy of admiration, we will continue our journey towards the Palm Grove of Skoura with more than 700,000 palm trees stands out as an important enclave of greenery and life in this arid plateau, the great concentration of kasbahs spreads throughout the oasis and its surroundings, a stop that deserves to be visited where it emanates a special beauty and where it seems that time has stopped at other times.
Following our route we will pass through Oarzazate taking the direction of Ait Ben Haddou, the best preserved ksar and that enjoys the status of World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO, its highly ornamented adobe dwellings are grouped within a strong defensive wall and reinforced by turrets, this spectacular kasbah, built with mud and stones, miraculously remains standing as in the time it was inhabited, raised on a hill and surrounded by the desert landscape of the Anti Atlas is without a doubt one of the most magical places from Morocco.We’ll spend the night in this magnificent Ksar where we can enjoy time to visit it quietly.
Day 7: Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech:
Today our route will be a succession of strong points as we will pass through the High Atlas and reaching the incredible port of Tizi n’Tichka at 2260 meters high, a great mountain range full of extraordinary landscapes that we will cross admiring the Berber territory with small typical villages, strengths etc.
We will pass by the old caravan route that joined the two cities through the Ounila Valley where we will find an open valley that offers, in addition to some beautiful photographs, green forests that gradually give way to slopes and completely arid peaks that leave closing to become a true canyon in some sections and where we can admire in some sections as the villages are perched on its walls, we will take a track that will take us to visit the Kasbah of the Pacha Glaoui located in Telouet, built in the 18th century to control the passage of commercial caravans. It is impressive the contrast that creates the ruined walls built with adobe with the decorative luxury of the main rooms adorned with mosaics, marbles, silk carpets etc … a highly recommended visit.
Our route will continue through the High Atlas where we can admire the many kasbahs scattered around the Atlas.
We will arrive in Marrakech in the afternoon.
Day 8: Marrakech – Marrakech:
Without a doubt, a good way to get to know this city is to immerse yourself in the hustle and bustle of the Jemaa el Fna square and perceive a leap in time totally different from European civilization, the beautiful city is a seductive, enveloping, magical and sensual mix since just walking through its small streets we fall in love.
Day 9: Marrakech – Airport:
At the agreed time, transfer to the airport and start of the return flight. End of our services.