From Casablanca: three weeks in Morocco

Itinerary: From Casablanca: three weeks in Morocco

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   Day 1 · Casablanca — Rabat

   Visit of the Hassan II Mosque, with its 210-metre minaret and its prayer hall overlooking the ocean: it's one of the few mosques in Morocco open to non-Muslims. A walk on the corniche and in the Habous quarter, then an hour's drive to Rabat. Afternoon in the capital: the Kasbah of the Udayas with its white and blue houses above the river, the Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V with its guards in full dress uniform.

   
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   Day 2 · Rabat — Asilah — Tangier

   Two hours on the motorway north to Asilah, with its Portuguese walls and murals. Fish lunch and then Tangier, the city on the Strait of Gibraltar, which we reach for sunset.

   
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   Day 3 · Tangier

   A day in Tangier. We start with the kasbah, at the top of the medina, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. Then the Grand Socco, the Petit Socco where writers and musicians sat in the 1950s, and Café Hafa on the cliffs for a mint tea. In the afternoon Cape Spartel, where the Mediterranean meets the Atlantic, and the Caves of Hercules with their Africa-shaped opening.

   
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   Day 4 · Tangier — Tetouan — Chefchaouen

   We leave Tangier heading east and in an hour we're in Tetouan, the 'white dove': its Andalusian medina is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with the craftsmen's quarters still divided by trade. After lunch the road climbs into the green mountains of the Rif, among olive groves and villages with tiled roofs. We reach Chefchaouen in the afternoon, just in time for a first stroll among the blue houses and sunset from the Spanish mosque.

   
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   Day 5 · Chefchaouen and Akchour

   A day between nature and the blue city. In the morning an excursion to the Akchour waterfalls: you walk along the Farda river among rocks, little bridges and natural pools where you can swim in summer. Lunch with tajine at one of the small restaurants along the trail. In the afternoon, back in Chefchaouen, free time in the lanes: the kasbah, the Ras el-Maa spring and Outa el-Hammam square for a tea.

   
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   Day 6 · Chefchaouen — Volubilis — Meknes

   Last breakfast on the terrace in Chefchaouen and departure south through the Rif hills. At midday Volubilis, the most important Roman city in Morocco: you walk past the Arch of Caracalla, the forum and the houses with the mosaics of Orpheus and the labours of Hercules. Nearby is Moulay Idriss, the white holy town on two hills. In the afternoon arrival in Meknes, the capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail. Night in Meknes.

   
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   Day 7 · Meknes — Fez

   A morning in Meknes, the city of Moulay Ismail, the sultan who wanted to make it the Versailles of Morocco: the Bab Mansour gate, the mausoleum, the royal stables and the granary with its towering vaults. Lunch in el-Hedim square and a short transfer to Fez, an hour away. Free afternoon in the medina.

   
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   Day 8 · Fez with a guide

   A day to understand why Fez is considered the spiritual capital of Morocco. The guide takes you through the madrasas, the Koranic schools with courtyards of marble and cedar, and tells you the story of the Karaouiyine, founded in 859 by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri. You walk through the craft souks, climb onto the terraces to see the tanneries and taste sfenj, the street doughnut. In the afternoon we visit the Dar Batha palace or the Jnan Sbil garden, a green oasis on the edge of the medina.

   
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   Day 9 · Fez — Midelt — Merzouga

   We leave Fez early and climb into the Middle Atlas: Ifrane with its mountain houses, the ancient cedars of Azrou where the macaques live and the Midelt plateau, dominated by Jebel Ayachi. After lunch the road drops into the Ziz gorges and runs along an endless palm grove to Erfoud. The last kilometres towards the Erg Chebbi dunes, which suddenly appear on the horizon. Night at the foot of the dunes.

   
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    Day 10 · Day in the desert

    An unhurried day on Erg Chebbi. In the morning our driver takes you by 4x4 where tourists don't usually go: a camp of nomads who raise dromedaries, the remains of an old ksar, fields of black stones that look like another planet. In Khamlia you listen to the Gnawa musicians and drink tea in their home. Lunch with medfouna in Rissani and an hour's rest in the shade. Then the caravan: an hour by camel through the dunes to the camp as the sun goes down. Dinner, drums and a sky with more stars than you've ever seen.

    
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    Day 11 · Merzouga — N'Kob — Zagora

    Sunrise on the dunes and departure west on one of the most beautiful and least travelled roads in the country. In Alnif we stop with the trilobite fossil hunters, then cross the Jebel Saghro plateau, among volcanic rocks, nomadic shepherds and earthen villages. Lunch in N'Kob, the village of forty kasbahs. In the afternoon we drop into the Draa valley down to Zagora.

    
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    Day 12 · Zagora

    A quiet day in the Draa valley. In the morning Tamegroute, with its green pottery and Koranic library, then a walk through the palm grove among channels and vegetable gardens in the shade of the palms. A restful afternoon and sunset on the small dunes of Tinfou.

    
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    Day 13 · Zagora — Agdz — Ouarzazate — Skoura

    We drive up the Draa valley with stops at the ksars and the Agdz viewpoint, then Ouarzazate and the Skoura palm grove, where we sleep in a guesthouse among the palms.

    
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    Day 14 · Skoura — Dadès — Todra — Dadès

    The Valley of Roses in the morning, then Tinghir and a long walk in the Todra Gorge. In the afternoon we return to the Dadès valley for the night.

    
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    Day 15 · Dadès — Aït Ben Haddou

    The Valley of Roses, the Skoura palm grove and Ouarzazate. Afternoon at Aït Ben Haddou with the climb to the granary. Night at Aït Ben Haddou.

    
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    Day 16 · Aït Ben Haddou — Imlil

    The Tizi n'Tichka pass and the descent towards Marrakech, then a detour south to Asni and Imlil, a mountain village at the foot of Toubkal. A sunset walk among the terraced fields. Night in a mountain lodge.

    
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    Day 17 · Imlil — Marrakech

    A last morning walk among walnut and apple trees, with Toubkal in the background, and tea in a village home. Then we drive down to Asni and Marrakech, about an hour and a half away.

    
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    Day 18 · Marrakech with a guide

    Marrakech on foot with a local guide. We start from the Koutoubia and its surrounding gardens, then the kasbah with the Saadian Tombs and the El Badi Palace, huge and in ruins, where storks nest on the walls. A break for orange juice and then the Bahia Palace, with its courtyards and painted cedar ceilings. The afternoon is devoted to the souks: spices, lanterns, leather, carpets and the dyers with their coloured skeins hanging in the sun. Free evening in Jemaa el-Fna.

    
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    Day 19 · Marrakech — Ouzoud — Marrakech

    A day trip to the Ouzoud waterfalls, about three hours' drive through olive groves and hills. The trail goes down among olive trees and water mills to the foot of the 110-metre falls; you can take a boat ride under the spray and meet the macaques. Lunch overlooking the falls and back to Marrakech in the evening.

    
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    Day 20 · Marrakech — Essaouira

    About three hours' drive to the Atlantic, with a stop at an argan cooperative where women process the fruit as they always have. Essaouira greets you with the wind and the cry of the seagulls: it's the most relaxed town in Morocco. A free afternoon among the art galleries, the thuya wood workshops and the harbour, where at sunset you choose the fresh catch and have it grilled on the spot.

    
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    Day 21 · Essaouira — Casablanca

    A morning at Essaouira harbour for a last coffee by the sea, then about five hours' drive north along the coast, through Safi and El Jadida. Arrival in Casablanca in the afternoon and transfer to the airport or hotel.