Imperial tour : 12 days / 11 nights - From Marrakech

Itinerary details :

Day 1 : Arrival to Marrakech - Transfer to the hotel.

• Welcome to Morocco! Arrival to Menara airport in Marrakech where you will meet your driver. The driver will provide a brief review of your tour. Dinner & night at the hotel.




Day 2 : Marrakech City Tour

• After breakfast you will Enjoy the guided city tour of Marrakech. The morning begins with a visit to the magnificent Koutoubia Mosque as the landmark of Marrakech which has inspired other buildings such as the Giralda of Seville and the Hassan Tower of Rabat. Your next stop is the Bahia Palace, and the Saadian Tombs. The Saadian tombs in Marrakech date back from the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur. The tombs were discovered in 1917 and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. The mausoleum comprises the interments of about sixty members of the Saadian Dynasty that originated from the valley of the Draa River. After lunch break, You Continue to the world-famous Jemaa el Fna Square, which houses an array of food, snake charmers, local musicians, and fortune-tellers. There’s nowhere on Earth like the Jemaa el Fna, the square at the heart of old Marrakesh. You will also walk through the souks and view hundreds of handicrafts. Night with breakfast at the Riad/Hotel.




Day 3 : Marrakech - Ait benhadou Kasbah - Rose valley - Dades gorges

• After breakfast, we leave Marrakech venturing through the magnificent Atlas Mountains and the pass of Tichka (2260 m), offering an impressive landscape in the heart of the Atlas Mountain chain to Ouarzazate where many famous movies have been shot such Alexander the Great, The Mummy, The jewel of the Nile, Kingdom of heaven Etc...The scenery is absolutely stunning. We stop in the kasbah of Ait Benhaddou one of the most spectacular fortresses in the South of Morocco and a UNESCO world heritage site. Lunch in Ouarzazate as "The Hollywood of Africa". We continue our journey to the valley of Roses known for its annual festival during the roses harvest in May. Spend the night with dinner in Dades valley.




Day 4 : Dades gorges - Todra gorges - Erfoud - Merzouga - Erg Chebbi dunes

• After breakfast, we start our day with a drive towards the Todra Gorges where many of rock climbers come to enjoy their preferred sport. Later we continue our journey, following the ancient Bedouin trading routes parallel with the Middle Atlas, passing a series of the fortified villages with outstanding pre-Saharian architecture. The route to Erfoud is one of the most pleasing of all the Southern routes. The town is in a dry red built of desert and was built by the French as a central administration town. It is known for its rich black fossils marble. The stone is sculpted to bring the fossils into relief on everything from ashtrays to washbasins and more. We head down to the spectacular Merzouga dunes where sand dunes signify the start of the mighty Sahara Desert. We leave our vehicle and take a camel ride into the desert to a Berber camp. To seal this as an experience of a life time, why not surf the Sahara Desert and try sand Dunes Boarding! After dinner we gather round the fire and enjoy the desert night perhaps with traditional Berber drums.




Day 5 : Erg Chebbi Desert - Ziz valley - Midelt - Cedar Forest - Ifrane - Fez

• After a picturesque sunrise with breakfast at the camp, you will leave the desert riding the camels to Merzouga to venture into the Atlas Mountains heading a different part of Morocco. We cross the verdant oasis and magnificent Ziz Gorges carved through volcanic rock, and through the Tizi Ntalghamt Pass to Midelt passing millions of palm trees and fortified villages characterized by fascinating southern architecture. We stop for lunch in the small town of Midelt, a sleepy village flanked by the verdant beauty of the Middle Atlas Mountains, bursting with colorful minerals that mottle the mountainside in a blaze of ruby. Continue through the Middle Atlas mountain range and great forests of cedar trees, terraced farms and sienna mud-brick Berber villages via Ifran a charming ski resort and Azrou an important handicraft centre specialized in the work of cedar wood. Dinner and night in Fez.




Day 6 : Fez City Tour

• Enjoy a guided city tour to Explore dramatically the first imperial city of Morocco, Fes; this UNESCO World Heritage Site was founded in the 9th century, and is home to the world's oldest university. The first stop of the morning is a visit to the entrance of the largest royal palace in Morocco. We will also visit the medieval Medina with its Medersas (religious Islamic universities) Attarine and Bou Anania, the Nejjarine fountain, the Moulay Idriss mausoleum, and the Karaouine Mosque University. Enjoy a Moroccan lunch at a traditional restaurant in the Medina. Afterwards, continue to explore the medina and Its narrow alleys house hundreds of merchants and craftsmen selling a range of products such as dates, fish, spices, copper urns and musical instruments. Night with breakfast at the Riad/Hotel.




Day 7 : Fez - Volubilis - Meknes - Rabat

• Today we leave Fez after breakfast to discover the Imperial city of Meknes known as the “Moroccan Versailles.” Meknes was founded in the 17th century by King Moulay Ismail. It is famous for its 25-mile-long walls , and then you will set out to the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis . You will spend a good time to explore the 2000-year-old ruins - getting a picture of life during the Roman Empire. Then travel to Rabat, where you’ll enjoy an afternoon city tour of this diplomatic and administrative capital, visit the main sites like Royal Palace and the ancient ruins of Chellah, the Oudaya Kasbah, and the Hassan Tower. Dinner and night at the Riad/Hotel.




Day 8 : Rabat - Casablanca - El Jadida - Essaouira

• After breakfast, drive from Rabat to Casablanca for a sightseeing tour that includes the impressive Mosque of Hassan II, opened in 1993, and second only in size to the great mosque at Mecca. It can accommodate 25,000 worshippers and is one of the only religious sites open to non-Muslims by the beautiful Corniche seaside. Then, we depart from Casablanca towards El Jadida, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a former Portuguese colony with its fortified medina lying adjacent to the harbour. We Continue down the picturesque coastal road and you will come to Oualidia, a serene fishing village spread along the southern shores of a natural seawater lagoon, flanked by a Kasbah built in 1634 by Sultan el Oualidia. Enjoy lunch while watching the constantly changing coastal views. Beaches offer fine sand, safe surfing and windsurfing or take a ride in small fishing boat. Arrival to the city of Essaouira, with its stone ramparts and mass of whitewashed houses, overlook the azure Atlantic Ocean. The tranquility of Essaouira belies its rich history and the many international influences that have permeated this ancient trading and fishing port. Dinner and night at the hotel.




Day 9 : Essaouira Relaxing day

• Today is at leisure to explore the medina. You will have the opportunity to see the Mellah, the former Jewish quarter and The Medina as a UNESCO World Heritage Site with beautiful arts and crafts to be found, including objects carved out of local Thuya wood. You will enjoy a mint tea in one of the local cafés and explore the Atlantic-facing sandy beach. Night with breakfast at the Riad/Hotel.




Day 10 : Essaouira - Atlas Mountains & Berber life

• Today departure from Essaouira towards the High Atlas Mountains where Asni weekly market every Saturday then to Imlil (1740m), set in the top level foothills of the High Atlas mountains, a main trailhead with paths branching out in all directions. Upon arrival, we leave the car with a welcome glass of mint tea in the village where you meet a local guide prior to setting out for a walking tour. The tour starts south to the Berber village of Aroumd passing the jagged Western High Atlas peaks of the Toubkal Massif overlooking ancient irrigated terraced fields of barley, corn and vegetables and always surrounded by almond and walnut trees. We thence carry on for another Half an Hour to get to our lunch which will be served among a Berber family in the village of Achayn prior to setting off back down the other side of the valley back to Imlil for the night with dinner in a typical Berber family house.




Day 11 : Atlas Mountains Explore

• After breakfast, enjoy the sunshine on the flourished valleys & the marvelous typical Berber villages, You leave Imlil for a real discovery of the surroundings Berber villages and local people meeting. After few hours hiking, Stop for our field picnic lunch under walnut groves and relax near the river. The walking tour goes further with a spectacular view over Imlil valley & Toubkal Summit. Dinner and night in the typical Berber style house.




Day 12 : Atlas Mountains - Back to Marrakech airport

• Transfer to Marrakech Menara airport for your return flight with plenty of tales of Arabian and Berber days and nights.

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