Imperial Cities and Desert in 9 days

Departure from your riad in Marrakech at 9:30. You will meet your guide and begin the tour. The visit will include the most emblematic places of Marrakech such as:

• Bay Palace, with its shady courtyards and blue mosaic walls built by Ahmed Ben Moussa.
• Ben Youssef’s madrasa is the largest theological university in the Maghreb and an exceptional achievement of Moorish architecture.
• Saadi tombs recently discovered in 1917 and restored with a decoration of great beauty.
• Jemaa El Fnaa Square, the main square of the city, nobody knows how it came to be, but over the years it has become the heart of Marrakech. Walk through the most interesting crafts, visiting different parts of the souks, such as the leather auction, tinsmiths and tinsmiths.
• Koutoubia Mosque or Mosque of the Booksellers, started under the Almoravid Berber dynasty in 1120, but was significantly modified from 1162 under the caliph Almohade Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, and became one of the most characteristic buildings this style. Its name comes from the fact that it was an important library and there were more than 100 stalls selling books.

After lunch we drive you to visit the gardens of Majorelle (gardens of Yves Saint Laurent) and stroll in the new town so you can see the difference between the old town and the modern part of Marrakech. In the afternoon we will take you back to your accommodation or we will drop you back at Jemaa el Fnaa square.

Departure from your accommodation in Marrakech towards Ouarzazate in the morning, through the Atlas mountains (we will make small stops on the way to get closer to the beautiful landscapes and authentic Berber villages). The first stop will be the visit of the Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, a 16th century fortress classified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, and many great films were made there too (Gladiator, Laurence of Arabia, the kingdom of heaven…). Then we continue Ouarzazate (lunch). Afterwards, we will go to the Dades Valley and the Rose Valley, with a stop to see the locally made cosmetics, through the fascinating palm grove of Skoura, where many old kasbahs stand out, among the palm trees. Dinner and overnight in the Dades Valley.

After our breakfast we will tour the dizzying zig zag road of the gorge of Dades, where we will enjoy one of the most famous panoramic views of Morocco. We will enjoy the views of this gorge and the river that crosses it.

We continue towards Tinghir, where we will continue discovering wonderful views of the adobe and palm tree constructions until we reach the gorges of Todra. In the gorges we will make a stop to enter walking inside the gorge making a small route through this gorge on foot. We will continue towards Touroug, where we can stop to see the underground irrigation used by the ancient tribes to bring the water from the mountain. During the route we can enjoy lunch.

We continue to the city of Erfoud, this city located at the gates of the desert is known for its fossils. Then we continue to Merzouga to enter the Erg Chebbi desert. Before our arrival you can buy scarves for your desert adventure. We will arrive at our lodge where after a cup of tea we will prepare to enter the desert. We will ride on our camels for about an hour and a half to head to the khaimas in the middle of the desert. In this journey and once we enter the vastness of the desert, we will stop to enjoy the sunset on the large sand dunes, take pictures and admire the magic that the desert gives off. Then we will continue on a camel to the khaimas, where our staff will be in charge of transporting the luggage to your khaima.

We will arrive at the khaimas where they will be waiting for us to give us a warm welcome, after a break they can enjoy dinner in the restaurant of the khaimas. After dinner, you will enjoy the experience of admiring the magnificent sky of stars in the impressive desert of the Sahara all accompanied by a special show of traditional Berber music around a campfire. Night in luxury jaimas.

We will wake up early to admire the sunrise in the desert from the haimas. After our breakfast in the restaurant of the haimas you can return to the hostel of Merzouga by camel or in 4×4 where we will start our route to Fez.

On our way to Fez we will cross the Ziz Valley. The Ziz Valley is known for the cultivation of dates given its extensive palm grove, we can admire its adobe villages. We will make a stop in the town of Midelt to take our lunch.

We will visit in Azrou its cedar forests and meet its curious inhabitants: the Berber monkeys. We will continue to Ifrane, this town is known as the Moroccan Switzerland due to its architecture. The reason for this is that it was founded by the French as a spa town with two ski resorts.

The journey then continues to Fez where we will take you to your accommodation in Fez.