Marrakech, desert and imperial cities in 7 days

Itinerary: Marrakech, desert and imperial cities in 7 days

1. 1

   Day 1 · Marrakech — Aït Ben Haddou — Dadès

   The High Atlas and the Tizi n'Tichka pass, a visit of Aït Ben Haddou, Skoura and the Valley of Roses. Arrival in the Dadès valley in the late afternoon and a night in a guesthouse.

   
2. 2

   Day 2 · Dadès — Todra — Merzouga

   Morning in the Dadès valley, with a stop on the Tamellalt hairpin road. Then Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where you walk through the canyon between walls almost 300 metres high. After lunch the road crosses Tinejdad, with its khettaras, and Erfoud, the fossil capital. Arrival at the dunes in the late afternoon. Sunset camel ride and a night at camp.

   
3. 3

   Day 3 · Merzouga — Midelt — Ifrane — Fez

   Sunrise on the dunes and breakfast, then we head north. The road climbs the Ziz valley, passes through the gorges and the Legionnaire's tunnel and reaches Midelt for lunch. In the afternoon the Middle Atlas: the Azrou cedar forest with its macaques and Ifrane, the town of red roofs. Arrival in Fez in the evening (about 8 hours with stops).

   
4. 4

   Day 4 · Fez with a guide

   A day devoted to the oldest city of imperial Morocco, with an official guide who knows it lane by lane. You enter on foot through Bab Boujloud and walk down the Talaa Kebira among communal bakeries, date sellers and slipper shops. We see the el-Attarine madrasa, the most refined in Fez, the Karaouiyine mosque from outside, home to one of the oldest universities in the world, and the tanneries from above. In the afternoon a weaving workshop where agave silk is worked and, at sunset, the Marinid Tombs viewpoint, from where you watch the whole medina light up.

   
5. 5

   Day 5 · Fez — Meknes — Volubilis — Rabat

   The Roman ruins of Volubilis with their mosaics, Moulay Idriss and Meknes with Bab Mansour. In the afternoon arrival in Rabat and a walk along the Bou Regreg river.

   
6. 6

   Day 6 · Rabat — Casablanca — Marrakech

   Morning in Rabat between the Kasbah of the Udayas and the Hassan Tower, then the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca. In the afternoon, the motorway to Marrakech, about three hours.

   
7. 7

   Day 7 · Marrakech

   A last morning with a local guide around the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the souks, with a break for orange juice in Jemaa el-Fna. Free afternoon for last-minute shopping. End of services or transfer to the airport.