Kingdom of Morocco

Departing From

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Description

Day 1: Casablanca Arrival

On arrival at the Casablanca Airport, meet your escort and transfer to your hotel in Casablanca. Relax at your hotel or optional traditional hammam or spa or walking tour on your own. Overnight in Casablanca

Day 2: Casablanca – Fes

Depart via the Atlantic coast through Rabat, the administrative capital of Morocco and another important imperial city of Morocco. Rabat is known for sites that illustrate the Islamic and French colonial heritage. Visit the old town of Rabat, called Oudayas and Kasbah Oudaya, located adjacent to the Rabat medina at the mouth of the Bou Regreg River opposite Sale, a royal fort of the Berber era surrounded by formal Andalusian gardens overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. Stop for lunch along the way and continue through Khemisset, and on to your guesthouse in Fes for dinner and the night.

 Day 3: Fes Cultural Tour

Spend the day in the cultural capital and first imperial city of Morocco. Fes, founded in the 8th century by Moulay Idriss II, is known for the fortified medina of Fez El Bali (Old Fes) and is one of the largest preserved medieval sites in the world, with medieval architecture, lively souks, and an old-fashioned atmosphere. Explore the medina and the religious schools Bou Inania the Medersa Nejjarine, one of the most beautiful Koranic schools in Fes, dating back to the 14th century, decorated with carved cedar panels and delicate mosaics. Stop for lunch in the medina and explore historic mosques, picturesque gates, and cultural presentations in traditional Moroccan ceramic/tile (jelliz), textile items, and the city’s distinctive and colorful leather tanneries. Stop for dinner on your own and return to your riad for the night.

Day 4: Fes – Midelt

Depart for Midelt, situated in the high plains surrounding the Mlouya River, between the Middle and High Atlas Mountain ranges. Visit the Roman ruins of Voulibilis, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site and filming location for Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ.  Spread out across several acres, the ruins reveal the transformation of the Roman Empire Carthaginian settlement into a typical Roman city devoted to the Roman gods. Continue through the Middle Atlas Mountains, the Berber villages of Ifran (the “Switzerland of Morocco”), Immouzar Kandar, and the Berber market town of Azrou. Stop for lunch and cross the cedar forests near Ifran and Imouzar with century-old trees and delight in feeding the Barbary macaques of Gibraltar that thrive in the nearby groves of cedar trees. Stop for a walk in the Rif Mountains and continue to your guesthouse in Midelt and relax before dinner and the night.

Day 5: Midelt – Merzouga

Ddepart to Merzouga via the village of Er Rachidia and Erfoud, through Tizi Ntalghomt and the Ziz Valley. Stop in Er Rachidia for a couscous presentation, which has been a part of Moroccan tradition for centuries, followed by local music and couscous lunch, one of Morocco’s most ancient and famous cities, known as the date capital of Morocco. Visit the ancient and now-dry khettara (aqueducts) near Er Rachidia, part of the nearly 300 km of subsurface irrigation channels excavated beginning in the 14th century and operational until the 1970’s.  Continue to Merzouga and meet your cameleers who will guide you to your desert camp for sunset over the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Enjoy a desert dinner followed by traditional Saharan music around the campfire and night in luxury tents.

Day 6: Merzouga – Dades Gorge

After watching sunrise over the dunes, and a desert breakfast, depart for Bloulame Dades via the village of Rissani, crossing the vast palm oasis of Tafilalet with many ksours. Experience landscapes alternating between huge desert plateaus and oases, such as those of Goulmima. Have a cultural geologic presentation on pre-Cambrian life through the fossils of Morocco. Visit the ancient and now-dry khettara (aqueducts) near Er Rachidia, part of the nearly 300 km of subsurface irrigation channels excavated beginning in the 14th century and operational until the 1970’s. Stop for lunch in Tinghir and visit the traditional adobe architecture of the ancient Jewish quarter of Tinghir and the magnificent Tinejdad palm grove, which stretches 30 miles.  Continue to walk in the impressive valley of Todra Gorge and continue to your guesthouse arriving in the late afternoon and relax before dinner and the night.

Day 7: Dades Gorge – Marrakech

Depart early morning for Marrakech and pass through the home of Morocco’s Rose Festival, El Kelâa M’Gouna (commonly referred to as the Valley of Roses). Continue along the road of many kasbahs and on to visit the stunning Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Stop for lunch and continue through the beautiful Ounila Valley, a part of the main caravan route from sub-Saharan Africa to Marrakech, and the narrow river valley connecting Ait Ben Haddou and Telouet where you will visit one of the most extraordinary sights of the High Atlas Mountains, the famous Kasbah Telouet. Built in 1860, it is one of the former residences of Pacha Glaoui and perhaps with the best examples of Islamic architecture in Morocco. Cross over the High Atlas Mountain pass of Tizi-n-Tichka and arrive in Marrakech at your guesthouse in the afternoon before dinner and the night.

Day 8: Marrakech Behind the Doors Culture Tour

After breakfast, visit Jardins Marjorelle, built by the painter Jacques Marjorelle, and the former home of Yves Saint Laurent and its spectacular Berber Museum. Visit Bahia Palace and other sites to learn about Moorish architecture. Set off to explore the local culture via a tour of the daily life of Moroccan people through a “behind the doors” culture tour in the medina: a visit to a communal bakery, a walk through a local food market, and a visit to a traditional hammam and fondouk, an historic trading place for merchants from across North Africa. Stop for lunch and then to the recently renovated Medersa Ben Youssef, the largest Medersa in Morocco dating back to the founding of Morocco 1,000 years ago. Take in the sites at Djemma el Fna, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which for centuries has been an incredible world of native theater: snakes, musicians, dancers, storytellers, and fortune-tellers. Stop for dinner on your own and return to your riad for the night.

Day 9: Marrakech – Casablanca

Depart for Casablanca and explore the most emblematic points of Casablanca: the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest mosque in the world including a minaret 690 feet high and one the few mosques open to non-Muslims. Visit the district of Habous quarter including Mahkama du Pacha, the former home of the Pacha now an administrative building, and the Royal Palace. Stop for lunch on the Boulevard de la Corniche and take a walking tour of Mohamed V and United Nations Squares. Dinner on your own and return to your guesthouse for the night.

Day 10: Casablanca Departure

After breakfast, transfer to the Casablanca Airport for your return flight to wherever your next destination may be.

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