TOUR OF IMPERIAL CITIES AND MERZOUGA DESERT

Our staff will welcome you at Mohammed V Airport in Casablanca and take care of your transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Visit of the country’s economic capital: the main souk, the Habous district, Royal Palace, Mohamed V square and the Hassan II Mosque from outside. Fish lunch (optional) at a seafront restaurant and transfer to Rabat. Arrival and visit of the city: Royal Palace, Kasbah of Oudaya, Mausoleum of Mohammed V and Hassan Tower. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

After breakfast, departure for Meknes, the Ismaeli capital renowned for its incredibly long walls (40 km). Visit to the Bab Mansour Gate, Hri Souani royal stables and the mausoleum of Moulay Ismail. After lunch, our journey shall take us to the Roman city of Volubilis. Visit of this archaeological site, a UNESCO World heritage, after which our journey shall take us to Fes. Free dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

After breakfast, the whole day will be dedicated to visiting Fes, Morocco’s spiritual capital. You will visit the medina dating back to Medieval times, the Bou Inania and el-Attarine Medersa, Nejjarine square with its extraordinary fountain and Karaouiyine University. Moroccan lunch (optional) at a traditional restaurant in the medina. In the afternoon, visit to Fes el Jadid district. Free dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

After breakfast departure for Merzouga through the mountains and cedar woods of the Middle Atlas, via Ifrane and Azrou. Stop for lunch in Midelt. We shall continue on to Merzouga via Errachidia and the Ziz Valley, with its palm tree grove stretching over 90 km and its dates which are harvested and celebrated every year in October at Erfoud. We’ll then set off for the Erg Chebbi desert in Merzouga, arrival in the evening. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

Breakfast at hotel, visit of the Merzouga area, its oases and nomad camps (travelling along the desert routes), visit to the village of Khamlia (home to descendants of black slaves from Mali). We shall also visit the mines of Mifiss and the desert plateau, traditional meeting point for Berber nomads. The morning shall conclude with a visit to the oasis of Tissardmine. In the afternoon, camel ride for around an hour and a half over the dunes of Erg Chebbi to the tented camp where we will have dinner and spend the night under the moonlit starry sky.

An early start to admire the sunrise over the dunes. Return to hotel for breakfast and then departure for the Dadès Valley and Todra Gorge, with its rocky walls of up to 250 metres high. Lunch in a restaurant at the canyon entrance and departure for the Dadès Gorge, for a visit to this incredible valley and the surrounding landscape. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.

Breakfast and departure for Marrakesh, passing through the palm tree grove of Skoura and along the route of a thousand kasbahs. Visit of the Taourirt Kasbah and the Aït Ben Haddou Kasbah, Morocco’s most extraordinary fortress and UNESCO World Heritage. Lunch at a typical restaurant and departure for Marrakesh via the Tizin’Tichka pass at 2260 m. The majestic High Atlas mountain chain offers a deeply inspiring landscape. Arrival in Marrakesh and transfer to riad. Free dinner.

After breakfast, the whole day will be dedicated to visiting Marrakesh, the “Pearl of South”. We shall visit the gardens of Menara, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Medersa of Ben Youssef and the wonderful Koutoubia minaret. In the afternoon, trip around the souk and the well-known Djemaa El Fna square. Free dinner and overnight stay in a riad.

After breakfast at the riad, half day at your disposal for a stroll in the souk and some shopping or a visit the new town of Gueliz and the Majorelle Gardens. In the afternoon we shall depart for Casablanca. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel.