During 11 days Morocco guided desert and imperial cities tour including Essaouira Mogador from Marrakech, you will appreciate the multiple beauties of Morocco from the North to the South and from the West to the East. At first glance, you can admire the impressive architecture of the land of the great South, on the slopes of the Mountains and the verdant oases; you will be taken by the impressive gorges of the Atlas and the austere beauty of the desert areas. Then you will cross the Middle Atlas and its overhanging massifs and you will discover one after the other, the imperial cities of Morocco, witnesses of the splendor of the Royal dynasties. Finally, you will go down the coast and discover Essaouira. To end in beauty with the South Pearl: Marrakech.
Reception at the airport of Marrakech by the local representative and assistance in the formalities of arrival and routing of luggage by carriers to the bus provided for the circuit. Transfer to the hotel selected for the night; introduction of the guide and the circuit team as well as the program. Dinner and overnight at the hotel. Meals: D
After your breakfast, you leave for the visit of the city of Marrakech. Founded in the 11th century by the Almoravid Sultan Youssef Ben Tachafine, Marrakesh becomes the capital of the Kingdom; it will give its name to Morocco and is enriched with great constructions before knowing, under the Alawites, a more secondary role. Called "the Red City" or "the Pearl of the South", Marrakech is a fascinating city. It enchants visitors with its contrasting colors: ocher earth color of its homes, green of the innumerable palm trees, and white snow-capped mountains of the Atlas, as well as its remarkable monuments and huge shady gardens.
Berbers and Arabs meet there, the nomads and mountaineers converge there, the goods are overflowing, the craftsmanship shines there, below palaces, casinos, hotels and golfs which make it an essential complement to a stay of great quality. Marrakech is indeed the capital of southern Morocco! Visit the main monuments of the city: the gardens of Menara, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace, the Baadia Palace, the souks and the medina. This evening, you head for a food testing. You will test some Moroccan donuts with some tea, some nuts, olives, roasted lamp, you end your testing food at the main and great square of Jemaa el Fna one of the largest public spaces in the world and unique to Marrakech.
Meals: B, D
At 8:00 AM pick up and departure from Marrakech, crossing the High Atlas by the Tizi Tichka pass (2,260m altitude). You will pass through interesting villages until you reach the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1987), a fortified enclosure within a walled town that you will surely recognize, since this citadel has been the setting for such famous films as Gladiator, the kingdom of heaven…. After the visit of this kasbah, you will pass through Ouarzazate and the impressive palm grove of Skoura until you reach the Dades Valley. Meals: B, D
After breakfast you will pass through the Valley of Dades and Todra Gorge, in a wild environment, populated by Berber villages. Visit to the plantation of Tinherir palm. You continue to Merzouga where you will find your camels and leave during a camel trip of about an hour and a half / two until you reach a tent camp in the Berber style. You will appreciate the sheer beauty of the landscape, sitting on a campfire on an unforgettable night under the starry sky. Dinner and night in the tent camp. Meals: B, D
After admiring the sunrise over the dunes, you will return on camel back to a hotel in Merzouga where you can have breakfast and a shower. Then, the day will be dedicated to the discovery of the Merzouga region: the area where the fossils of the natural desert are found, the village of Tissrdmin where many films have been filmed, the desert with its black volcanic stones and a visit to a family nomadic. Then you will visit the town of Kamlia, famous for its inhabitants of Africa and Black for its music. Back to Merzouga you can enjoy a free afternoon. Meals: B, D
After being returned to Merzouga you can have breakfast and a shower once in a while. You will start your journey towards Rissani, which was the former economic capital of Morocco and the starting point of the caravans in the desert. You will visit the mosque and the market and then continue through the valley of Ziz dotted with palms to the beginning of the Atlas Mountains. You stop at Zaida for a home hosted lunch. You will be welcomed by a berber family for a delicious food. Then continue to the Middle Atlas with its cedar forests. You will go to Azrou, a craft center specializing in wood working cedar and Ifrane, a small European style, until you reach Fes in the late afternoon, the intellectual and historical capital of Morocco, divided into 3 parts: Fes el bali (the old town), Fes Jdid which dates back to 14th century and where the Jewish quarter is located, the new part built during the French protectorate. Fes has a beautiful medina with its doors and its impressive walls, palaces ... Meals: B, L, D
The day would be dedicated to visit the spiritual capital of the Kingdom: Fez, one of the most prestigious cities of Islam awaits the visitor, sure to dazzle forever!
If the new city, built under the protectorate by the French is uninteresting, the two old cities, Fez El-Bali (Fez the old) founded at the end of the seventh century by Idriss I, and Fes El-Jedid (Fez new) founded by the Merinids five centuries later, are however unforgettable.
Today, you will have a guided visit at 9:00 Am in the medina of Fez. To begin with the southern tower and the fortress of 16th century face to face with northern one, a panoramic view over the medieval city. You will visit an enjoyable cooperative of pottery. It will enhance your knowledge about the making of Moroccan mosaic “zellige” and the blue pottery of Fez. You will travel in time back to the medieval period of the city where people still work in small narrow streets, several tiny stalls of all kinds of traditional crafts, and donkeys loaded with supplies are going up and down in the streets of the medina. You will feel no sense of direction and time halts for a while. The medina of Fez is rich of its Islamic monuments: the fascinating old mosques, the University of El-Karaouiyine and its libraries. All These elements made Fez the intellectual and cultural capital of the country
Meals: B,
After breakfast, you leave to ancient site of Volubilis - the capital of the Roman province of Mauritania Tingitana. The detailed mosaics here are still intact and the site gives a good idea of the layout of provincial settlements. Then, continue to the city of Meknes, once the heart of the Moroccan Sultanate. Built by the tyrant, Moulay Ismail, the city was once filled with palace and grand gateways and although much of Ismail's capital has crumbled to dust, it still exudes a sense of its former regal grandeur. In the company of a guide, you will visit the old granary of Heri es-Souni and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail himself. You will be invited by a family in Meknes for a home hosted lunch. In the afternoon proceed to Rabat. Meals: B, L, D
After breakfast, you leave for the visit of the political capital of the Kingdom of Morocco: Rabat, like many other cities in the country has a rich history. Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Almohades, Merinids and Andalusian pirates succeeded each other in this city located on the edge of the estuary of Bou Regreg.
The capital of the Kingdom offers visitors a number of strolls around the Atlantic Ocean. The many buildings it contains are all testimonials that say a lot about its authenticity and Rabat proudly displays its finery in the elite of the great imperial cities.
From the plateau of the former semaphore, tourists and residents of Rabat will be dazzled by this magnificent landscape that is nothing other than the huge waltz of the boats on the mouth of the river to get lost sometimes in the 'ocean. Visit of the Royal Palace, the Mohamed V Mausoleum and the Kasbahs of Oudayas and Chellah. Late morning, you leave for Casablanca, economic capital of the country. Exterior visit of the Hassan II mosque, the Ain Diab corniche and the city center before taking the road to Marrakech through Settat. Arrival in Marrakech at the end of the day.
Meals: B, D
After breakfast, you drive west to Essaouira; known by the previous name of Mogador Mogador in Portuguese, it is a Moroccan port city located on the west coast of the Atlantic, north of Cape Sim It is the capital of the province, in the region of Marrakech -Tensift-Al Haouz. With nearly 70,000 inhabitants, its medina or old town has been clarified by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site since 2001.
On arrival in the city, you can do a free ride in the Medina of Essaouira, visit the port, and then enjoy a lunch of fresh fish on the grill in the local restaurants of the port. If you wish you can hire a local guide who will make a tour of the City.
The local economy revolves around fishing, wood, textiles and food, trade and handicraft products, marquetry and jewelry in particular. Essaouira is typical of many small fortified Moroccan municipalities. In the past it was considered one of the most essential ports in Morocco, and still in a certain way. Essaouira is a world heritage city
Meals: B, D