Casablanca, the blue north and Sahara in 9 days

Itinerary: Casablanca, the blue north and Sahara in 9 days

1. 1

   Day 1 · Casablanca — Rabat — Chefchaouen

   Morning at the Hassan II Mosque, then an hour's drive to Rabat for the Kasbah of the Udayas. In the afternoon we climb towards the Rif and reach Chefchaouen at sunset, when the blue houses take on a violet light.

   
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   Day 2 · Chefchaouen — Volubilis — Meknes — Fez

   Morning in Chefchaouen and departure south. Volubilis welcomes us with its columns among the olive trees and mosaics still in place; a few minutes away is Moulay Idriss, the holy town. In the afternoon, Meknes: the Bab Mansour gate, el-Hedim square and the enormous stables of Sultan Moulay Ismail. Arrival in Fez in the evening.

   
3. 3

   Day 3 · Fez with a guide

   The Fez medina isn't visited, it's crossed: with the official guide we start at the top and walk slowly down towards the river. Along the way we stop where the craftsmen work: some carve cedar, some glaze zellige tiles, some dye wool. We visit the Bou Inania madrasa and the Nejjarine fountain, and climb to the terrace overlooking the Chouara tanneries, in use for almost a thousand years. After lunch, the Mellah, the old Jewish quarter with its wooden balconies, and the great gate of the royal palace with its seven golden doors.

   
4. 4

   Day 4 · Fez — Ifrane — Midelt — Merzouga

   A long driving day, but with scenery that changes hour by hour. We climb through the forests of the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, the 'Switzerland of Morocco', and cross the Azrou cedar forest with its macaques. The Midelt plateau is famous for apples and minerals; here we stop for lunch. In the afternoon the Ziz gorges and the long palm grove of Errachidia and Erfoud take us to the desert. The last kilometres and the orange dunes of Erg Chebbi appear. Night in a hotel at the foot of the dunes.

   
5. 5

   Day 5 · Day in the desert

   If you like, get up for sunrise on the dunes; then breakfast and off by 4x4 around the desert. We visit a nomad family who offers us tea in their tent, the village of Khamlia, where families of sub-Saharan origin have passed down Gnawa music for generations, and the old lead mines. After rain there's also Lake Dayet Srji with its flamingos. Lunch in Rissani with medfouna, the stuffed bread baked under the sand. In the late afternoon you ride a camel to the camp: sunset from the dune, tajine for dinner and drums around the fire, and a night under a sky full of stars.

   
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   Day 6 · Merzouga — Todra — Dadès

   Sunrise on Erg Chebbi is worth the early start: the dunes turn from grey to pink to orange in a few minutes. Breakfast at camp and departure west through Erfoud and Jorf, among mud-brick ksars and date fields. Lunch in Tinghir overlooking the palm grove, then a walk in the Todra Gorge, where climbers scale the walls and Berber women cross the stream with their goats. A last hour's drive to the Dadès valley, among abandoned kasbahs and the famous winding road of Tamellalt.

   
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   Day 7 · Dadès — Skoura — Aït Ben Haddou

   A morning along the road of a thousand kasbahs. The Valley of Roses offers scents and little shops of rose products; Skoura, a walk among palms, barley fields and irrigation channels to the Amridil kasbah. A short stop in Ouarzazate and then Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO ksar where Gladiator and Game of Thrones were filmed. You cross the river and climb the earthen lanes to the top for sunset. Night at Aït Ben Haddou.

   
8. 8

   Day 8 · Aït Ben Haddou — Marrakech

   Early risers can see the ksar in the first light, when the village is still empty. Then we climb the High Atlas: hairpin bends, Berber villages of red earth clinging to the slopes and the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres. On the way down we stop at an argan cooperative and at a viewpoint over the valley. Arrival in Marrakech in the early afternoon (about 4 hours).

   
9. 9

   Day 9 · Marrakech — Casablanca

   A morning with a local guide in Marrakech: the Koutoubia, the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the dyers' and spice souks. After lunch, the motorway to Casablanca, about three hours, and transfer to the airport or hotel.