Morocco Cities, Arts, Culture & Sahara Desert experience 8 Days

Imperial Cities Arts, Culture & Sahara Desert experience Travel 8 Days

Day 1 / Date: 

Casablanca

Meals included: dinner

Welcome to Morocco!

On arrival to Casablanca airport, you will be transferred to your accommodation.

After, have a guided tour of Hassan II Mosque, the second largest in Africa, with a two hundred meters minaret, the tallest in the world. Sitting on a rocky edge of the Atlantic. The Mosque is looming from a far distance in the city and accommodate 25,000 worshipers. It took 1400 master local craftsmen to make this extraordinary proud structure.

 please note that hotel rooms are generally only available after midday, and that there will a Welcome Meeting with your leader tonight at 6pm – check with hotel reception to confirm the time.

 Tonight, join your group for welcome dinner in a beautiful restaurant in the heart of Casablanca, in a traditional Moroccan setting and get served a local and modern cuisines.

 Group Arrival Transfer

• Included

 

Included Activities

• Welcome meeting
• Welcome dinner

 

 Accommodation

Hotel Val Anfa

 

Day 2 / Date: 

Fes

Meals included: breakfast,

 We will make our way to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, enjoy the charming garden of Challa, surrounded by walls and beautiful defensive gates, built between 1310 and 1330.  Later we will stop at Mohamed V Museum built in 1972, and we will visit the tombs of Moroccan kings Mohammed V, who died in 1962, Hassan II who died in 1999, the tomb of Moulay Abdullah the uncle of Mohammed VI and Hassan Tower which was built in 12th  century.

Oudaya Kasbah which was built in 12th century and served as a military base for the Almorabits army in their defense against the Spanish army.  The roof of the Kasbah allows a stunning view of the surrounding area. You will also get to see the 240 km long Abi-Regrag river, located in western Morocco between Rabat and Sala.

After Lunch, We will then drive

Afterwards Drive to the nearby archeological site of Volubilis, a Roman ruin once was ancient capital of the

kingdom of Mauretania during the 3rd century BC. Stroll among rundown massive columns, remains of altars and temples with splendid mosaics, and triumphal archs, and walls with Roman paintings illustrating Greek and Roman gods.

Optional if time permits, depart for Meknes, visit Bab El Mansour gate was completed by Moulay Ismail’s son, Moulay Abdallah, in 1732. Stop next at Hri Souani, which is a complex of three different buildings built for granaries and stables. This amazing site has been used as a scene for many films, the most famous of which is probably “The Last Temptation of Christ” in 1988 by Martin Scorsese. Explore the delightful streets, Continue on to Fes, arriving by evening (approximately 1.5 hours), the spiritual heart of Morocco

 continue to Fes the finest medieval city in the Arab world, an ancient Imperial capital for centuries, and a former Morocco`s intellectual and spiritual heart.

 Included Activities

• Rabat Guided Tour
• Guided tour of Volubilis

 Accommodation

Riad Al Makan / Palais Houyam

 

Day 3 / Date:

Fes

Meals included: breakfast,

 At 9am, Enjoy the guided city tour of Fes. Begin with the entrance to the largest royal palace in Morocco. Continue with a panoramic view of the ancient medina. Enjoy an authentic experience at the traditional ceramic crafts village of Fes after that. Your next stop is Fes El Bali, the ancient town or Medina, which is a medieval part of Fes that has not changed for centuries. Optional lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the famous Al-Karaouine mosque, built by Fatima Al Fihria in 857. Al-Karaouine mosque became home to the University of Al-Karaouine, which is the first university in the world and the world’s foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium. The university was built by Fatima Al Fihria in 859, and, since then, it has become one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world. In the medina, visit also a Merdersa, which is a Coranic school. Complete the city tour of Fes with the leather Souq and the oldest Leather Tannery in the world. The tannery dates back at least nine centuries.

Fes is the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco; vibrant, noisy, fascinating and overwhelming – a visual and pungent feast for the senses. It is made up of three distinct ‘cities’, or quarters, and you will stay in elegant, riad-style accommodation on the edge of the huge, well-preserved medieval old city – the mother of all medinas. Today head into the old city, known locally as Fes el Bali, arguably the world’s most fascinating and confounding old city. Medieval Fes was one of the world’s great centres of education and culture, both Islamic and Jewish. Its religious institutions and libraries are legendary, its mosques of great renown. Walk through the twisting streets and alleyways, passing donkeys piled high with goods, and explore the specialty sections that divide the souk. Filled with historic khans, medresses and dye-pits, stalls loaded with fruits, herbs and soups, and where the squawk of chickens, smell of spice and sound of hammering of copper fills the air, it’s not hard to imagine yourself back in the Middle Ages. Spend the day exploring the old city, visiting, Mederassa Bou Inania, the tanneries and the splendid Funduk Nejjarine, a beautifully restored 18th century inn

Balance of the day is at leisure.

 Included Activities

• Guided tour of Fes old medina
• Funduk Nejjarine visit
• Tannery visit
• Jewish Quarter

 

Accommodation

Riad Al Makan / Palais Houyam

 

Day 4 / Date:

Merzouga

Meals included: breakfast, dinner

 

Meet at your hotel in Fes at 7am and embark on long drive, The day has come to go on a desert adventure to cross off Merzouga from your bucket list. Merzouga is the rocky desert plateau that give way to a vast stretched sea of sandy hills, the far-flung Erg Chebbi.

 In the way we will pass through the most modern and clean city in the country Ifran. This Berber name of Ifran means caves and it is nicknamed in Morocco as a little Switzerland since it is a very green town and is a ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco because of its high altitude at 1665 meters. Ifran is very known as well by The Brotherhood private university, established in 1997 by The king of Morocco Hassan II and the king of Saudi Arabia Fahd. Where all classes are taught in English, it is an international university. Lunch will be scheduled in a Berber village called Midelt which is situated on the foothills of the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. From vast plateau we start crossing up those tough mountains which are still settled by a big Berber community. The landscapes here includes palm tree oases at Jbel Ayachi (at 3747 m) before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone passing first by Errachidia and Erfoud, which is famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries. Fossils are a major industry in Erfoud, some 350 million years ago the region around Erfoud was a part of the huge ocean. Heading up to the red colored sand sea dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga via Rissani, the hometown of the Alaouist dynasty, where Moulay Ali sheriff started to unify Morocco under his red flag in the beginning of the 17th century. From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the huge sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon. We meet our camel men, embark on a 1hour camel ride into the desert to spend a wonderful night enjoying these dramatic dunes, wonderful skies and stars at night, you may get involved in some drumming arround the fire with the berbers tonight, dinner in the campsite. Car : 7 hours

The golden magical dunes regularly moving by wind blows across wide part of north Africa including Algerian border nearby. On arrival check in to your riad, enjoy sunset drink and relax admiring the sunset over the dunes.

 Included Activities

• Dinner under stars if weather allow it
• Astronomy experience
• Camel Ride
• Sleeping in the tents

Accommodation

Luxury desert Camp

 

Day 5 / Date: 

Dades Valley

Meals included: breakfast, dinner

 Visiting Errisani and the Mausoleum of the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, Moulay Ali Chrif in the 17th century. This silent town was the ancient capital of Tafilalet and its location as a crossroads between north and south brought the city to an important status of a former major caravan center. Up to now Rissani remains a major commercial center in the region, with a large souk, particularly lively today on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday. It was noted for its leather and goat skin trading in ancient ages.

we will then visit the underground irrigation channels used by the nomads to irrigate theire oasis of palms and henna during the drought times, we will visit the oasis Museum to discover the Saharan Heritege and Berber culture.

1 hour drive from here to the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges are situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of the Colorado, with its high plateau, its gorges and great canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4000 m, with Jbel Saghro 2500 m and Jbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated by Berbers. Here you can enjoy a hike among those fabulous canyons.

We pass a town called Boumalen situated on the edge of Dades valley which rises in the High Atlas Mountains, giving life to a huge Berber community by its rich agriculture. Along this valley another valley called valley of roses appearing with the green colors of its Alfalfa plants, olive trees, fig trees and grapes. This valley gives birth to a rose from which locals produces different cosmetic products like soap, perfumes and skin creams. Locals here celebrate this rose by organizing a national festival each end of April, overnight in Dades valley.

 Included Activities

• Visit Date Markets
• Irrigation Channels – Khattara
• Visit Oasis museum
• Todra Valley walking Tour

 Accommodation

Maison d’hote la valee des Figues / Chez Ichou

 

Day 6 / Date: 

Marrakech

Meals included: breakfast, dinner

 From the the dades valley we go along the road of 1000 Kasbahs, since there are enormous Kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of those old fortified houses are restored but unfortunately a lot of them are ruins.

Getting to Ouarzazate (Hollywood of Africa, Noiselessly town, The door of the desert), is a city situated in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. It is mainly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known. One of those building is Taourirt Kasbah diverted in 17th century.

Why this town is nicknamed as Hollywood of Africa? Simply because it has been noted as a film-making location, with Morocco’s biggest studios inviting many international film companies to shoot their movies like: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997) and Babel (2005).

We start our day visiting the fortified city of Aït Benhaddou, built in the 11th century. Once up on a time this Kasbah was the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. It is situated on a hill along the Ounila River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damage during each rainstorm and windstorms. Most of the town’s inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, around five families are still living within this Kasbah.

Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Gladiator (2000) and Alexander (2004). From this beautiful fortified house we head west to the city of Marrakech. It is called the “Homeland of God in Berber”. The ramparts of the town are nearly 30 kilometers long, continue to Marrakech, via the windy high Atlas mountains, arrive in the afternoon, visit to the Jamaa Lafna square.free time.

 Included Activities

• Kasbah Ait Benhaddou visit
• Moroccan tea time at Tawesna association
• Visit to Ouarzazate Studios

 Accommodation

Hotel 3 Palmiers

 

 Day 7 / Date:

Marrakech

Meals included: breakfast,

 Enjoy a guided city tour of Marrakech, Paris of the Sahara as Winston Churchill once described it. Stop first at the Koutoubia Mosque, which is an old monument built under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184 to 1199). This monument inspired other buildings such as the Giralda in Seville in Spain and the Hassan Tower in Rabat. Stop next at the Bahia Palace. This Palace was built in the late 19th century and was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. Visit Madrasa Ben Youssef after that. This Coranic school is named after the Almoravid Sultan Ali Ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142). Madrasa Ben Youssef is the largest in all of Morocco. Stop next at the Saadian tombs, which is a site that dates back to the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were discovered in 1917 and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. Optional lunch at a local restaurant. Continue the tour with the world famous Jema El Fna Square where you will enjoy amazing performance of traditional activities by storytellers, snake charmers, peddlers of traditional medicines. Your last stop is the bustling souks in the old medina.

Free afternoon in Marrakech at leisure.

 Included Activities

• Marrakech Guided Tour
• Jamaa Lafna

 Accommodation

Hotel 3 Palmiers

 Optional Activities

Luxury Spa Hammam & Massage – MAD450

Hot air Balloon – MAD2500

Cooking class – MAD450

 

 Day 08 / Date:

Departure

Meals included: breakfast

There are no activities planned for the final day, Transfer to the airport.

 Airport Departure Transfer

Morocco Cities, Arts, Culture & Sahara Desert experience 8 Days

The Best of Morocco.

Morocco Cities, Arts, Culture & Sahara Desert experience 8 Days, offer fabulous experiences in Morocco´s most attractive zones: from The most vibrant cities and Medinas, Architectural tours, Food and Wine Tours, Roman Ruins archeological sites, Culture of the Berbers, Moroccan History, Luxury hotels and Riads, the High Atlas Mountains; The rural villages of the countryside and the Sahara Desert itself. There is also one very unique stay in the Sahara dunes where we travel in and out by camel and stay in a Bedouin style camp.

We invite you to join a life enhancing journeys visiting Morocco landscapes in comfort on our Morocco Cities, Arts, Culture & Sahara Desert experience 8 Day – leading to the most charming, historical Medinas and Monuments in Morocco, from Hassan 2 Mosque in Casablanca, through the Blue City of Chefchaouen and the archaeological Roman town of Volubilis, breaking the journey at Fez, Morocco’s most inspiring Medina, travel to the famous Erg Chebbi dunes where we’ll travel on camel back and spend a night under the stars in a Bedouin camp. Consider this a personal reward for your efforts!

Highlights

• – View the stunning contrast of Morocco
• – Deep Introduction to Culture, Nature, Life Philosophy
• – Enjoy authentic Berber’s hospitality
• – Taste delicious traditional Berber food
• – Explore one of Morocco Beautiful deserts
• – Ride in a 4×4 in Sahara & Atlas Mountains
• – Spend three full days seeing the best of what Sahara has to offer

Essential Information:

Why Us?:

– Your hotel Pick-up, so you spend the maximum time exploring real & Authentic, Sahara Desert & Atlas Mountains, Private tour at your own pace

– Top Rated tour, with 5 star customer feedback and a Excellence reviews from Trip Advisor

– One guide that is with you from the moment you arrive in Morocco until you leave, taking care of your entire trip.

Visited Places

• Rabat & Casablanca
• Fes Medina
• Meknes
• Volubilis
• Tizi n’Tichka Pass
• Ait Benhaddou Kasbah
• Ouarzazate
• Dades & Todra gorge & Valley
• Valley of roses & Ziz Valley
• Errissani Traditional Markets
• High Atlas Mountains
• Berber villages
• Sahara Desert
• Atlantic ocean

Travel Experience

• Moroccan Culture & People, Food & History
• Berber Culture
• Camel trekking
• Berber music and animation
• Sleeping in desert camp

Travel Preparation:

The list below is a suggestion of what you might find useful to take on this trip. It is not an exhaustive packing list. If you need further advice, please contact us or consult your nearest outdoor store.

Clothing & Footwear:

• Comfortable walking clothes that are suitable for layering
• Fleece jacket/warm jumper
• Lightweight raincoat/windbreaker
• Comfortable shoes for walking
• Sandals/flip-flops
• Synthetic/woollen socks
• Hat
• Swimsuit
• Sarong/scarf/loose cotton trousers that can easily be pulled on over shorts to cover shoulders/legs when walking through villages

Equipment:

• Day pack
• Beach towel
• Water bottle/hydration bladder
• Water purification pen/tablets
• Sunglasses
• Head torch
• Camera, memory card and charger
• Spare batteries
• Personal items (including hand sanitiser, lip balm, microfibre towel, sunscreen, toilet paper, toiletries, wet wipes etc)
• Medicine and copy of doctor’s prescription which states medication and quantity carried
• Personal first aid kit (including blister tape, insect repellant, oral rehydration salts, plasters, tweezers, diarrhoea tablets etc)
• Rubbish bag