2057 - Tour 6 nights Ville Imperiales et Sud Sahara

Description

Description

7 day / 6 night tour of Southern Morocco and the Imperial Cities. Departure and Arrival in Marrakech.
Depending on the number of participants forming your group, we will put at your disposal either a car or a minibus; one of our expert drivers will accompany you throughout the seven day tour. Should you desire it, with a small supplement, the driver may come greet you at the airport or come pick you up at your hotel, as well as leave you there at the end of the wonderful days spent in Morocco.
Our agency, responsible for the organisation of these tours, is in Marrakech and we may therefore provide tailored tours and itineraries as well.
The prices are inclusive of: car or minibus for the whole duration of the tour, car insurance, gas, driver, the hotels (in rooms with private bathrooms), one night camping in the desert in a Berber tent, the dromedaries, the breakfasts, some dinners (in Ouarzazate, Tinghir and Merzouga). The prices do not include lunches, beverages and tickets to the monuments nor the official guide in the imperial cities (however we do believe one to be necessary exclusively in the somewhat labyrinthine Medina of Fes).

Foreign Languages Spoken by the driver: French.
There are also drivers who speak English, if you need them, please specified it on the booking form.

Programme:

Day 1 (220 Km) Marrakech - Aït benhaddou - Ouarzazate
Departure in the morning from Marrakech in the direction of Ouarzazate, an ancient garrison town. Along the way you may admire the Tizi n'Tichka hill and its suspended villages. The road leading to the pass (2260m.) offers a unique opportunity see the Berber villages as they uniquely blend into the rocky landscape of the slope. Different stops are envisioned in the most suggestive points along the route and at its summit. Lunch break and then tour of the Aït Benhaddou Casbah, one of the marvels included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Stroll along the Uadi. Tour (on request) of the cinematographic establishments followed by that of the Taourirt Casbah in Ouarzazate. Dinner and overnight stay in Ouarzazate (2 star hotel with swimming pool).

Day 2 (230 Km) Ouarzazate - Dadès Gorge - Todghra Gorge
The tour will then take you to the Valley of the Roses and of the thousand Casbahs, Kelâa M' Gouna, capital of the Rose, and then to the Valley of the Dadès and its famous "monkey fingers". Walk along the gorge and return towards Boulmane Dadès in direction of Tinghir, through the pre-desertic planes. Dinner and overnight stay in the Todghra o the Tinghir ravines (depending on the season) after having crossed part of the palm grove.

Day 3 (200 Km) Tinghir - Tinjdad - Merzouga
The day will begin with a walk in the palm grove and in the Todghra ravines where you will be able to admire the extraordinary 300 m cliffs and the impressive natural canyons in red and ochre earth. Departure for Erfoud, Tafilalet and the pre-Saharan oases, cradle of the Alaouite dynasty, current Moroccan royal family. Once in Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) we will leave the vehicle and head, riding dromedaries, into the red dunes of the desert. After approximately a two hour ride we will reach the centre of this beautiful portion of Erg and our camp site which is protected by a large dune. The climb of this dune can be quite tiring but the sunset seen from its summit makes it well worth the fatigue. Only a few kilometres from the Algerian border, surrounded, almost embraced, by nature, the atmosphere at the camp site is almost magical. We will dine beneath the Berber tent, talk in front of the warm campfire while millions of stars shine far above our heads. The night will be spent in a Berber tent.

Day 4 (500 Km) Merzouga - Alnif - Draa Valley - Fes
Long but particularly beautiful day. Sunrise in the desert and return, always by dromedary, to Merzouga where we will have breakfast in a Casbah and where those who wish to may take a hot shower. We will then leave and go towards Erfoud, through Rissani, city tied to the Alaouite dinasty and where a donkey market is held every week. There will then be a stop in the blue springs of Meski, where the "Blue People" of the Sahara (the Tuareg) used to stop. We will then pass through Errachidia, through the Ziz ravines and the "légionnaire" tunnel thus passing through a series of fortified villages with pre-Saharan architecture. As we continue ascending the Atlas we will pass through Midelt, Azrou and the cedar forests. If we are fortunate, we may also see some monkeys. We will then reach Ifrane (nicknamed Little Switzerland) and begin the descent towards Fes which we should reach in the late afternoon. Dinner and overnight stay in Fes.

Day 5 Fes
Tour, by foot, of the city and of its Medina. Built in the 8th Century it is Morocco's most ancient Medinas and remains, still today, one of its most suggestive ones. Characteristic are the narrow alleys always bustling with people, the refinement of the craftwork, the sumptuous mosques, the libraries and Qur'anic schools (Madrasahs) and the gigantic doors which separate it from the new city. An official tour guide may be hired (optional). Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 6 (90 Km) Fes - Volubilis - Moulay Idriss - Meknes
Departure, after breakfast, for Volubilis, the biggest and best preserved ancient Roman city of Morocco. Its ruins are on a hill in the middle of fertile plains. Visit of the site and then departure for the very close by Moulay Idriss, village with white houses and important place of pilgrimage. We will then head for Meknes (known as the Versailles of Morocco), ancient Alaouite capital at the foot of the Middle Atlas. Visit of the city and its main monuments. An official tour guide may be hired (optional). Dinner and overnight stay in Meknes.

Day 7 (440 Km) Meknes - Beni Mellal - Marrakech
After breakfast, departure for Azrou. We will, once again, cross the Atlas and reach the altitude of 1200 m. We will then turn for Beni Mellal and, in the end, reach Marrakech in the afternoon. End of the tour.

Prices per person in B&B/half-board (dinners are included in Ouarzazate, Tinghir and Merzouga).