9-Day Morocco Tour from Marrakech: Desert and Imperial Cities

Pickup location:

Day 1: Arrival in Marrakech

Day 2: Marrakech, a full guided day

Sightseeing

The first of two guided city days, with an official guide. After breakfast you begin on Jemaa el-Fna, where storytellers and musicians hold a stage that never closes, see the Koutoubia from outside, and reach the mosaic courtyards of the Bahia Palace and the Menara gardens, facing snowy summits. Last come the souks, one trade district after another, for leather, lanterns, carpets, spices and metalwork. Your guide shapes it around you. Late-afternoon return to the hotel, dinner and a second night in Marrakech.

Day 3: Marrakech, Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate

Stop

Day 3 turns the loop south-east. You leave Marrakech early and climb into the High Atlas to the Tizi n'Tichka pass, on a spectacular mountain road. Beyond it comes a guided stop at Ait Ben Haddou, the World Heritage ksar seen in many films. You finish in Ouarzazate, the door to the Sahara, with dinner and breakfast at the hotel.

Day 4: Ouarzazate, Dadès valley, Todra gorges and Merzouga

Stop

Day 4 carries you from Ouarzazate to the Sahara's edge. The Road of a Thousand Kasbahs leads through the Dadès valley, past Berber villages and forts of earth, to the Todra gorge, where the rock walls narrow to a few metres apart. You reach Merzouga as the afternoon ends and switch to a camel, crossing the Erg Chebbi dunes to camp before sunset. Dinner and the night are at the camp.

Day 5: Sunrise at Merzouga, Ziz valley, Middle Atlas and Fes

Stop

From here the circuit turns north. You rise before dawn to watch the sun come up over the dunes, with breakfast at the camp. The road runs up the Ziz valley, through some of the south's most striking palm groves, and on through the Middle Atlas cedar forests. Stops in Berber towns such as Midelt or Azrou come before you reach Fes as the day ends; dinner and breakfast are at the hotel.

Day 6: Fes, a full guided day

Sightseeing

Day 6, the second guided city day, is spent wholly in Fes, the spiritual capital of the country, with a licensed guide. In Fes el-Bali, the World Heritage medieval medina, your route takes in the al-Qarawiyyin mosque and university and the Bou Inania madrasa, looks down on the Chouara tanneries from the terraces and stops at the Nejjarine fountain and its woodwork museum. Crafts and history matter more here than monuments.

Day 7: Fes, Meknes, Moulay Idriss, Rabat and Casablanca

Stop

The loop now swings west, on one of the circuit's long driving days. Crossing Middle Atlas countryside, you reach Meknes for a panoramic tour of the imperial city: Bab el-Mansour, the tomb of Moulay Ismail and the Agdal basin. After passing through the holy village of Moulay Idriss, you go on to Rabat for the Hassan Tower, the mausoleum of Mohammed V and the Kasbah of the Udayas. Evening brings you to Casablanca for dinner and the night.

Day 8: Casablanca, then back to Marrakech

Stop

Casablanca, the economic capital, fills the morning: the Hassan II Mosque from outside (going in is optional), the old medina, United Nations Square and the Habous quarter. Lunch at Rick's Café is an option. The afternoon drive takes you back to Marrakech for the circuit's final night.

Arrive back at:

Day 9: Marrakech, departure