9 days/8 nights: ‘The Imperial City of Marrakech and the highlights of southern Morocco’

Overnight stay in a riad in the medina with breakfast.

After breakfast, we begin our city tour. Due to its numerous unique historical buildings, Marrakech, one of Morocco’s four royal cities, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The old town in particular has many unique sights and buildings to offer. Famous is the Square of the Hanged, the Djema al Fnaa, the city’s medieval market square, where even today you can still observe the colourful hustle and bustle of the traders, the typical oriental storytellers and the mysterious snake charmers. The souk, with its smells, colours and sounds, is a first immersion into 1001 Nights. No less famous are the gardens, such as the Jardin Majorelle. This beautiful botanical garden was created by Yves Saint Laurent and is home to many plants and flowers from all five continents of the world. Overnight stay in a riad.

After breakfast at your riad, we will start our desert tour. The journey takes us over the High Atlas and the 2,260-metre-high Tizi-n-Tichka Pass with its breathtaking views. The steep road, lined with oak forests and nut trees, leads past the mud and stone houses of the Berber villages and rushing mountain streams.  Once we have crossed the pass, the steep road descends into the almost moon-like landscape of the Anti-Atlas and we reach our first destination, the Kasbah of Telouet;  along the former caravan route, this was the seat of power of the El Glaoui family, hence sometimes also called the Palace of the Glaoui (you can visit the Kasbah if you wish). We continue to Ait Benhaddou, a kasbah built of mud bricks. Protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it is considered the most beautiful and famous kasbah in Morocco and has served as the backdrop for films such as ‘Lawrence of Arabia’, ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ and ‘Gladiator’. After the tour and lunch break, the journey continues through date palm oases and past beautiful old kasbahs that have given this region its name – to the Valley of 1000 Kasbahs, where you can visit the Kasbah Amridil. Via Skoura and Kelaa M’Gouna, we then head to the impressive Dades Gorge. Dinner and overnight stay at the Riad.

After a hearty breakfast our journey takes into the Jebel Saghro Mountain range.  By way of the Tizi n’Tazazert pass.  This ancient pass reaches an altitude of 2,283 meters and offers the finest views of Jebel Saghro.  Our guides know all the best look out spots to take in these spectacular rock formations.  On our descent brings us to the Tagourt Plateau and its one of a kind pyramid-like Tazlout rock formation.  Passing through the Acca n’Akhbache and Bab n’Ali gorges before we reach the lush Draa Valley.   This river basin spanning between Ouarzazate and M’Hamid is home to millions of date palms in season between September and December.  A short distance down the road we enter the Zagora and Tamegroute region.  This area is known for producing some of the best hand crafted pottery in all of Morocco. From here we follow the highway to the end and the desert outpost of M’Hamid. This is where most of our guides were born and feel at home once the pavement ends. We travel through 50km of desert landscape passing along hand made “roads” that are centuries old. Passing through a traditional watering, the Iriki Oasis before passing through the Iriki salt flats and in the Erg Chigaga desert. This amazing series of golden desert dunes stretches for 40 km reaching a maximum height of 300 metres. Our Sahara Feeling camp is nestled within these timeless sand dunes.. The evening will be spent in camp enjoying first class Sahrawi hospitality. Complete with the traditional mint tea ritual, nomadic dinner and music topped off with a bonfire under the open sky.

If you sleep in the desert, make sure you get up early to admire the golden light of dawn as it illuminates the sand dunes. After breakfast, we set out on our trek with the dromedaries to the dunes of Erg Chigaga. After 2 – 3 hours of travelling, we reach a famous tamarind tree, under whose shade the guides cook a lunch of kebabs and fresh bread baked in the sand in the traditional nomad style. We go back to our camp, where you can admire a breathtaking sunset among the dunes while awaiting dinner. Dinner and overnight accommodation in a Berber tent.

After breakfast, we continue on our journey by jeep along the old track of the Paris-Dakar rally, reaching the dried up salt lake of Iriki. We pass below the fossil mountain and finally leave the desert behind and reach Tazenakht, a famous carpet manufacturing centre. We stop in Tazenakht for lunch and we head towards Taroudant. Dinner and overnight accommodation in a typical Riad in Taroudant.

After breakfast in the garden of our Riad, we pay a visit to the attractive town of Taroudant, with its walls and medina with its souk. We resume our journey to the Atlantic Ocean, and head along the coast to the north until we reach Essaouira. Overnight accommodation in a riad in the medina of Essaouira.

After breakfast, we’ll have time to visit the beautiful town of Essaouira, on the Atlantic Ocean, a destination rich in charm and fascination. Among its attractions are the fish market and harbour, with the small fishing vessels which bring the fresh fish and all the abundance of the Atlantic to the land. The ancient fortifications, ramparts and, above all, the imposing medina, which was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2001, are unforgettable sights. As we walk the narrow lanes of the medina, we can admire the picturesque white houses with blue doors and window frames and the many shops and cafes. In the afternoon, we return to Marrakesh. Overnight in the Riad.