Day 1: Marrakech – Dades Gorges

(6 Hours drive)

Morning departure at 8 o’clock from your hotel or riad in Marrakech to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, you leave the main road and take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family. Each addition to the building now stands in ruins exposed to the wind and the rain, having been abandoned and plundered after the last Pasha died in 1956. Wait to be pleasantly surprised by the traditional interior decoration as you reach the farthest end of the Kasbah.

From here you drive along the beautiful and awe-inspiring Ounila Valley, full of bends in the roads, surprises at the hues of the rock and soil, Berber villages and gardens, as well as smaller Kasbahs. Almost at the end of the road, you reach Ait Ben Haddou, where you stop for a tasty lunch. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and is one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage sites, which you can visit after lunch.

The road passes Ouarzazate and continues to the Skoura Oasis, where olives, almonds, lucerne, barley, and fruit trees such as apples, apricots, figs, and pomegranates are grown. Here numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees, but you will visit a very famous kasbah, Kasbah Amredhil, which used to be depicted on the old 50-dirham banknote. It has been beautifully restored so is intact and well worth a visit. From here, the route goes through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see cosmetic articles locally made from the valley’s abundant roses. You stop in the Dades Valley in a hotel.

Accommodations details:

-Panorama / Babylone Dades / Xaluca-

Day 2: Dades Gorges -Merzouga

(4 Hours drive)

After breakfast, you will drive up the valley including some amazing stops to reach the Dades gorge, before continuing to Toudgha to the very different gorges there. Lunch will either be here in the gorges or later at the bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Ziz Valley, and the towns of Erfoud, famous for its fossil finds worked into beautiful artifacts, and Rissani, which is where the king’s family originates.

In the afternoon, after a welcoming glass of tea at your luxury desert camp, you can take a one to one & half-hour camel ride in the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m) and afterward there is dinner followed by an evening of Berber Music and drumming around a campfire and the night in a luxury comfortable tent at the foot of the dunes.

Accommodations details:

-The Luxury White Camp-

Day 3: Merzouga – Midelt – Fes

(7 Hours drive)

After breakfast, departure for Rissani and Erfoud, where there will be a stop to see how locally found fossils are worked into furniture and artifacts. It is a source of wonder to witness the sheer numbers and beauty of these fossils but feel assured, there is no obligation to buy any.

From there the road leads north to Er Rachidia and the Ziz Valley, remarkable for the extent of its palm trees and the volume of dates produced each year. Lunch is in Midelt, 1508m, called “the apple capital”, and set in the Middle Atlas at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. The town serves as the commercial agricultural center for the surrounding area and is also one of Morocco’s principal cities for the mining of several minerals, such as fluorite, vanadinite, quartz, and cerussite.

We cross the Tizi-n-Talremt pass, known as the “she-camel” pass, and reach Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes in the cedar forests looking out for titbits. We reach Fez at the end of the afternoon.

Accommodations details:

-Riad Sidrat or Yamanda-

Day 4: Fes – Sightseeing

(1 Hour drive)

Enjoy a full-day sightseeing tour in Fes, which is the oldest of Morocco’s four “Imperial Cities”. The medieval city of Fes El Bali or “Old Fes” remains complete and is unspoiled. During your tour of this part of the town, you can visit the exotic Bou Inania Medersa, the Medina, and the Kairaouine Mosque, where you may take photos of the wonderful courtyard from the main gate.

The university of the same name, founded by Fatima Al Fihri in 859, is said to be the oldest university in the world.

In the afternoon, you can visit Fes El Jdid, or “New Fes” and the Museum of Moroccan Arts. The night is spent in the riad

Accommodations details:

-Riad Sidrat or Yamanda-

Day 5: Fes – Volubilis – Chefchaouen

(4 Hours drive)

After breakfast in your Riad, you will drive through the Saiss Plain to the archaeological site of Volubilis, one of the richest and most important world heritage sites in Morocco. This site covers an area of 42 hectares and shows urban development on the frontiers of the Roman Empire. It has produced many art materials such as mosaics, marble, and bronze sculptures. This site is also considered important for several civilizations such as Libyan-Berber, Mauritanian, Roman, Christian, and Arabo-Islamic. It is a testament to their history, beliefs, and artistic works.
From here, we will cross the Rif mountains to Chefchaouen. Enjoy breathtaking views around every corner offered by the varied landscape of mountains alongside open fields.
When you arrive in Chefchaouen, the beauty of this beautiful city will amaze you. Dinner and accommodation in your Riad.

Accommodations details:

-Dar Echchaouen Maison d’hôtes & Riad-

Day 6: Chefchaouen – Casablanca

(5 Hours drive)

After breakfast in your Riad, get ready to enjoy the charming narrow streets of Chefchaouen with houses and artisan shops painted in different shades of blue and white, creating a wonderful image. A photo in front of one of your blue doors or walls is a perfect image for Instagram.
Apart from being the most photogenic destination in Morocco, Chefchaouen is also a calm, chilling, and relaxed city. Walk up and down the tangled streets of the Medina. The architecture of the latter shows an Andalusian influence. Enjoy a walk through its narrow blue streets, which also serve as a street market, displaying some of the best Moroccan handicrafts and leather goods, for which the city is best known.
Due to Chefchaouen’s relaxed atmosphere, which is hardly found in larger cities, you will enjoy leisurely strolling through the labyrinthine streets until you reach the busy Plaza Uta El Hammam, where the Kasbah is located. Then you will take a lunch break in one of the charming cafes in a blue alley.
Even though Chefchaouen is a small town, its chilling vibes, a strong sense of local community, and traditional lifestyle caught between the past and presents captivate your soul in a way that the city will forever be etched in your heart.
We will drive until the afternoon when your tour will end.

PS: This tour can also end in Marrakech at no extra charge.

(7 Hours drive)