The Morocco Experience 14-Day Tour

We will meet you at the airport in Casablanca, and welcome you to Morocco. There is much to see in Casablanca. But our first stop will be the outside of the Great Mosque of Hassan II, which was started in 1963 and inaugurated in 1993. It is a truly magnificent building built partly on land and partly on a rocky promontory and it is one of the largest mosques in the world. From the mosque’s grounds, you can also see the el Hank Lighthouse sitting on its little island about a mile out to sea. You will also see the old town and Port in the Anfa district and stroll down the famous Boulevard de la Corniche, with its many restaurants, cafés, and luxury hotels. We will visit the United Nations square and the massive Mohammed V Square with its central fountain and thousands of pigeons and gulls in fierce competition for bread and couscous! And then make our way to Rabat, an hour’s drive away, where we will stay for the night.

After breakfast, we’ll visit the Hassan Tower in Rabat, a very tall and imposing 12th century minaret whose mosque was never completed. Then we will drive on to Chefchaouen taking in the city of Knitra and taking the road to Rif Mountain, we’ll drive through Wazzan and other Rif villages, and arrive in Chefchaouen in the early afternoon and spend the rest of the day and night in this city

You will have the day to yourselves in Chefchaoun, free to explore one of the most charming cities in Morocco. It was first built in the 15th century to serve as a small fortress, which still stands today, and it is famed for its blue-washed houses, its Spanish-style square and its native crafts, particularly their wool products and their goat cheese.

After breakfast we continue our journey to the World Heritage site, Volubilis to explore the Roman ruins, which spread over 42 acres and are among the most important archaeological finds in the world giving a very real insight to Roman urban development in the outlying reaches of its empire as well as preserving archaeological traces of several civilizations. We stop for lunch in Meknes, a World Heritage site, and a very ancient walled city founded in the 11th century as a military settlement. It gradually evolved into a city with an eclectic mix of architectural styles – principally, Hispano-Moorish. Before leaving, we’ll explore the medina and its immensely high walls and monumental gates. After which, we will drive straight to Fes city where we will spend the night.

Another UNESCO World Heritage site, Fes was founded in the 9th century and seems to have stood still in time, for when you walk through the huge, magnificently decorated gates you could imagine yourself transported back to medieval times. It is home to the oldest university in the world and is the acknowledged as Morocco’s cultural and spiritual capital and is sometimes called the Mecca of the West. Amongst many some of its main points of interest are the Place Najjarine where the ancient caravanserai, now an arts and crafts museum, overlooks its exquisite fountain; the great Qayawan
mosque, the 14th century merchants’ shops; and the tanneries – where leather is stained in an array of striking colours. We hope you enjoy your tour and the Riad Tafilalet, where you will spend the night.

We leave after breakfast and travel into the mountains to the Imouzzer, a region dense with cedar, juniper and cork oak forests. It is also a birdwatcher’s paradise as well as being home to wild boar, and macaque monkeys (Barbary apes). Our scenic drive will take us to Azrou, where we will spend a little time browsing a typically Berber town. Our route then takes up into the Middle Atlas, and we may see the tents of Berber goatherds dotted around on the slopes, which are home to the nomadic Berbers.
We stop for a late lunch in Midelt, and then continue the mountain road from where we will see the River Ziz, and kasbahs and palm groves. We will pass through the we continue on mountain roads overlooking the wide flowing Oued Ziz. Passing Kasbahs and palm groves we pass through the colourful city of Er-Rachidia and in the late afternoon arrive at Merzouga, on the edge of the Sahara Desert.
Now you swop car seat for a camel saddle and enjoy a beautiful sunset as you ride through the sand dunes of the Sahara for about an hour before reaching the Erg Chebbi dunes and your Berber camp for the night, and where you will spend the evening under a starry sky eating delicious food prepared by your guide, and being entertained by Berber musicians.

The sun rising over the dunes is as glorious as the desert sunsets, and you will time to enjoy it and a good breakfast before we ride our camels back to Merzouga, where we can take a shower before leaving for the ancient city of Rissani. Here we will take a look at the fossil centre and browse the ancient city that between the 8th and 14th centuries was on the caravan route of the kingdom of Sijilmassa and was a thriving trading centre. It was also the home of the Alouite peoples – the early conquerors of all of Morocco. You will see men wearing the distinctive indigo blue robes and scarves, which is typical dress of certain Berbers.
We continue on to Khamlia village, where you will have the chance to listen the Gnaoua music so typical of the region. Then it will be time to depart to Todra Gorge the highest in Morocco, with walls 300 metres high whilst its width at the bottom is just 20 metres apart. This, and the rest of the region, where kasbash, palm groves and earth villages abound, is a photographer’s paradise. We dine and spend the night at Todra Gorge.

We leave Todra Gorge after breakfast and drive through the Tammalt hills and their science fiction-like rock formation of purples and reds, to the Dadès gorge, where we take a road with dizzying hairpin bends to take a look at the gorge walls plunging down to the river below. From the Dadès Gorge we go off-road through the Dadès valley, where we will have the chance to see the cave houses of Berber cave dwellers. The same route will take us through small towns to the middle of the Rose Valley, Kella M’gouna, known for its sweet-smelling roses, which are harvested in May and distilled into perfume and beauty products at the local distillery. We then take the ‘Road of a Thousand Kasbahs’ travelling through the Skoura Oasis to Ouarzazate and the stunning World Heritage site Ait Ben haddou, a fortress village, where we will have dinner and spend the night.

In the morning we will tour the 17th century ksar (fortress village) of Ait Ben Haddou. It is built into the side of a hill on the bank of the Ounila river, and overlooks the valley and the old salt road which was once a major caravan trading route. It is a stunning example of earth architecture and the beautiful red clay with which it is constructed and it can be quite breathtaking against the dark blue of a North African sky – a photographer’s paradise! It is no surprise that it has been the location for many epic films, such as Lawrence of Arabia, Marco Polo and Gladiator. We continue our trip off-road through the Ounila valley with its wonderful river, verdant valleys, and colourful hillsides., until we reach the Kasbah Telouet a huge fortress- palace built for the powerful tribal leader and Pasha of Morocco ‘the vulture sultan’. Telouet is now falling into ruin but there are still vestiges of its opulence and its dramatic setting against the background of the Atlas mountains is magnificent. We go through the highest pass in Morocco Tizi n’Tichka (2260m) and continue upwards through Berber villages and wonderful views at every turn, until we get to Imlil, a trekkers paradise and starting point for the ascent of the highest mountain in North Africa. We will have dinner and spend the night at Imlil.

Imlil sits in a west-facing valley in the High Atlas mountains and is overlooked by the Jebel Toubkal, the highest mountain in North Africa. Once a thriving pastoral hamlet, it is now a bustling village catering to an-ever increasing tourist traffic. It serves as a base for hikers, mule trekkers and serious mountaineers alike wishing to either explore the valleys or attempt the 4000 metre climb to Jebel Toubkal’s summits. The best way to explore this stunning area is on foot and there are many trails and tracks for walkers. Explore the nearby village and surrounding mountains on a half-day walk or just relax on the terrace. Have dinner and spend the night at Imlil.

From Imlil we drive west to the Atlantic coast and the former pirate’s lair of Essaouira, one of Morocco’s most attractive coastal cities. The maze of narrow lanes with tiny cafes looking out onto small squares is encircled by Portuguese, Berber and French battlements. The fortress looks out over the ocean, and on an offshore island stands another, even larger fortress. As befits a seaport, the pace of life is more relaxed here, and the whitewashed streets lend a truly Mediterranean air to the city. You will have dinner and spend the night her and you are free to browse all afternoon.

Take a leisurely stroll around this picturesque and lively old fishing port. Early morning is the best time when the fishermen can be seen bringing in their catch or mending their nets. The harbor was once the lair of pirates, who sailed out to plunder richly laden ships that passed along the coast, on the main trade route round the Cape of Good Hope to Western Europe. It later became a free port, when it had a small international community of merchants. Essaouira is one of Morocco’s most ancient and most charming fortified port towns, which for centuries, has not only been one of the most important trading ports linking Morocco to the world, but also a magnet to artists, poets and musicians from all over the world. The town’s eclectic architecture reflects the influence of its multicultural history from the Phoenicians and the Romans, to the Portugese and the French. Its whitewashed walls and blue shutters are reminiscent of Portugese towns; its beautiful doorways are entirely Moroccan; whilst the medina and fortress, are a good example of 18th century French military architecture, and blue and white buildings remi century European settlement. It’s worth paying a visit to the Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum, which displays ancient artefacts, as well as some fine marquetry examples crafted from local Thuya wood, and jewellery and carpets. The town is also home to the annual, international Gnoura music festival, which is usually held around June. In the afternoon we return to Marrakech.

Explore the maze of back streets of Marrakech with a guide (optional)* or simply enjoy a free day in Marrakech, with perhaps a visit to Ben Youssef Medersa, the Koutoubia mosque, and the Marrakech Museum. As evening falls, drums will draw you to the Djemaa El Fna (main city square) where a festival atmosphere awaits. You will be mesmerised by the snake charmers, or you can have your fortune told, or listen to Berber and Gnaoua musicians and storytellers, or watch the “exotic” dancers illuminated by lamplight and wreathed in smoke. You will spend the night in a riad in the medina, which includes breakfast.

*If you wish you can book a city guide for a 3-4 hour tour.