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11 Days Morocco Tour

 

Morocco is a land of contrasts – where Africa meets Europe and the Middle East adds its own flavor. Considered a moderate Islamic state, Morocco opens its doors to everyone regardless of ethnicity, religion or political status. From ancient philosophers and scholars to Bob Marley and Jimmy Hendrix, Morocco has hosted many! If you´re looking for a colorful and diverse experience, this is the place. From the wild markets of Marrakech to the snowy peaks of the Atlas, the silence of the Sahara and pristine beaches of the Atlantic, Morocco is simply amazing. Our journey combines the best of everything – cities, villages, mountain, desert, music, food, shops and the coast, plus opportunities to do community services and some fun adventure activities along the way! Expect plenty of interaction with the friendly Berber tribes’ people of North Africa. Learn their unique drumming, practice the language and taste the delicious food. We´ll fill your week with a lifetime of memories and educational experiences that are second to none.

 

DAY 1 WELCOME TO MOROCCO – EXPLORE CASABLANCA (30 KM)

_{Welcome to Totally Morocco & Berber Adventure Travel experience 11 Days! On arrival at Casablanca Airport, you will be met by a Premium Morocco Tours representative and transferred to your hotel. While this is an arrival day and you may arrive at any time, please note that hotel rooms are generally only available after midday, and that there will a Welcome Meeting with your leader tonight. Transfer to a Hotel to spend the night.}

_{Accommodation : http://valdanfahotel.com/}  

_{Tour Highlights:}

_{Pick up at Casablanca Airport.}

_{Meals Included: Welcome Dinner}

DAY 2 CASABLANCA – RABAT – CHEFCHAOUEN (300 KM)

_{Morocco Premium Tours organizes authentic Tours from Casablanca with experienced drivers and guides to explore the best of Moroccan Culture, Sahara desert with authentic adventures along the way.}

_{Pick up at 8 :30am, Our tour will begin at Mohamed V airport in Casablanca.  We will visit the famous and the biggest Mosque in Africa, Hassan II, which was built between 1987 and 1993.  This will be a golden opportunity to see the skilful work of Moroccan artisans, revealing the richness and beauty of their handicraft.}

 

_{Your Totally Morocco Tour will make way to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, enjoy the charming garden of Challa, surrounded by walls and beautiful defensive gates, built between 1310 and 1330.  Later we will stop at Mohamed V Museum built in 1972, and we will visit the tombs of Moroccan kings Mohammed V, who died in 1962, Hassan II who died in 1999, the tomb of Moulay Abdullah the uncle of Mohammed VI and Hassan Tower which was built in 12th  century.}

_{Oudaya Kasbah which was built in 12th century and served as a military base for the Almorabits army in their defense against the Spanish army.  The roof of the Kasbah allows a stunning view of the surrounding area.  You will also get to see the 240 km long Abi-Regrag river, located in western Morocco between Rabat and Sala.}

_{After Lunch, We will then drive to Chafchaouen through the cities of Knitra and El Ghareb, a very agrecultural and farming zone, stopping in Ouazzane, passing by spectacular scenery with cedar, oak and almond trees. we will arrive to Chefchaouen in the afternoon.}

_{Accommodation : http://www.darechchaouen.com/eng/}      

_{Tour Highlights:}

_{Visit to Hassan 2 Mosque}

_{Rabat – Guided Walking Tour / Chella, Oudaya, Hassan Tower}

_{Included Meals : Breakfast / Dinner}

_{Enjoy a panoramic view of Chefchaouen. explore and tour Chefchaouen, the blue-washed town (old medina) by foot along with your guide who will share stories of Chefchaouen’s history.}

_{Start your tour with the kasbah museum in the medina. The kasbah of Chefchaouen belongs to the early 18th century, and was built by the legendary ruler Moulay Ismail. It is fairly simple without architectural surprises however it is surrounded by gardens on the interior and exterior. Inside the Kasbah, you can visit the ethnographic museum containing antique weapons, musical instruments, and photographs of the old town.}

_{Step onto the museum’s roof and take pictures of a panoramic view of the Hispanic flavored town lined with blue and white washed houses, tiny balconies, tiled roofs and patios embellished with citrus trees. Next, visit the cobbled main square, Plaza Uta el- Hammam and where the striking 15th century Grand Mosque sits. The Mosque and its nearby buildings were built by Jewish refugees, who alongside Muslims escaped the Spanish persecution to Chefchaouen. Until the Spanish arrived in the 1920’s the town remained isolated and with the exception of three western men who snuck in.}

_{After exploring the medina, have lunch at one of the local restaurants.}

_{Try fresh goat cheese salad, a local Rif specialty, chicken pastilla or a lamb tajine with prunes. For dessert sit outside by the mulberry trees of Plaza Uta el- Hammam and enjoy local sweets from one of the cafes or browse the small shops famous for selling woven rugs, blankets and woolen goods.}

_{After lunch go for a guided hike in the close-by green hillsides. In the evening it is possible to relax in hammam, a Moroccan spa experience. For dinner, you will dine at the Restaurant Tissemlal, a beautifully decorated old house with a French-Moroccan set menu.}

_{Dinner & Spend the night at a charming Riad in Chefchaouen.}

_{Tour Highlights :}

 _{Chefchaouen – Guided Walking Tour}

_{Meals Included : Breakfast}

DAY 3: CHEFCHAOUEN – VOLUBILIS – FES (240 KM)

_{Today at 10am we leave Chaouen and Descend from the hills and travel south through the centre of the peninsula towards the sacred pilgrimage town of Moulay Idriss (approximately 3 hours). From here it’s a short journey out to the World Heritage site of Volubilis. The remains of this Roman city make an undeniably impressive sight as they come into view on the edge of a long, high plateau. Take a tour around the arches, basilicas, and superb mosaics along the Decumanus Maximus, depart for Meknes, visit Bab El Mansour gate was completed by Moulay Ismail’s son, Moulay Abdallah, in 1732. Stop next at Hri Souani, which is a complex of three different buildings built for granaries and stables. This amazing site has been used as a scene for many films, the most famous of which is probably “The Last Temptation of Christ” in 1988 by Martin Scorsese. Explore the delightful streets, Continue on to Fes, arriving by evening (approximately 1.5 hours), the spiritual heart of Morocco. Car : 4 hours – Walk : 1:30 hours /}

_{Accommodation : Riad Al Makan}

_{Tour Highlights:  Free time in Chefchaouen – Guided walking Tour Volubilis Ruins}

_{Included Meals : Breakfast}

 

DAY 4: FES SIGHTSEEING WITH LOCAL GUIDE

_{Day 4 of your Totally Morocco & Berber Adventure Travel experience 11 Days, Enjoy the guided city tour of Fes. Begin with the entrance to the largest royal palace in Morocco. Continue with a panoramic view of the ancient medina. Enjoy an authentic experience at the traditional ceramic crafts village of Fes after that. Your next stop is Fes El Bali, the ancient town or Medina, which is a medieval part of Fes that has not changed for centuries. Optional lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the famous Al-Karaouine mosque, built by Fatima Al Fihria in 857. Al-Karaouine mosque became home to the University of Al-Karaouine, which is the first university in the world and the world’s foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium. The university was built by Fatima Al Fihria in 859, and, since then, it has become one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world. In the medina, visit also a Merdersa, which is a Coranic school. Complete the city tour of Fes with the leather Souq and the oldest Leather Tannery in the world. The tannery dates back at least nine centuries.}

_{Fes is the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco; vibrant, noisy, fascinating and overwhelming – a visual and pungent feast for the senses. It is made up of three distinct ‘cities’, or quarters, and you will stay in elegant, riad-style accommodation on the edge of the huge, well-preserved medieval old city – the mother of all medinas. Today head into the old city, known locally as Fes el Bali, arguably the world’s most fascinating and confounding old city. Medieval Fes was one of the world’s great centres of education and culture, both Islamic and Jewish. Its religious institutions and libraries are legendary, its mosques of great renown. Walk through the twisting streets and alleyways, passing donkeys piled high with goods, and explore the specialty sections that divide the souk. Filled with historic khans, medresses and dye-pits, stalls loaded with fruits, herbs and soups, and where the squawk of chickens, smell of spice and sound of hammering of copper fills the air, it’s not hard to imagine yourself back in the Middle Ages. Spend the day exploring the old city, visiting, Mederassa Bou Inania, the tanneries and the splendid Funduk Nejjarine, a beautifully restored 18th century inn.}

_{Tour Highlights:  Guided walking Tour Fes}

_{Cooking Course.}

_{Tanneries, Potter & Ceramic Workshop}

_{Meals included :  Breakfast}

 

DAY 5: FES – MIDELT – ZIZ VALLEY – ERFOUD – MERZOUGA  (580 KM)

_{Meet at your hotel in Fes at 8am and embark on long driving day, where we will meet different colors of the kingdom by leaving the old Moroccan city of Fes.}

 _{In the way we will pass through the most modern and clean city in the country Ifran. This Berber name of Ifran means caves and it is nicknamed in Morocco as a little Switzerland since it is a very green town and is a ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco because of its high altitude at 1665 meters. Ifran is very known as well by The Brotherhood private university, established in 1997 by The king of Morocco Hassan II and the king of Saudi Arabia Fahd. Where all classes are taught in English, it is an international university. Lunch will be scheduled in a Berber village called Midelt which is situated on the foothills of the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. From vast plateau we start crossing up those tough mountains which are still settled by a big Berber community. The landscapes here includes palm tree oases at Jbel Ayachi (at 3747 m) before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone passing first by Errachidia and Erfoud, which is famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries. Fossils are a major industry in Erfoud, some 350 million years ago the region around Erfoud was a part of the huge ocean. Heading up to the red colored sand sea dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga via Rissani, the hometown of the Alaouist dynasty, where Moulay Ali sheriff started to unify Morocco under his red flag in the beginning of the 17th century. From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the huge sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon. We meet our camel men, embark on a 1hour camel ride into the desert to spend a wonderful night enjoying these dramatic dunes, wonderful skies and stars at night, you may get involved in some drumming arround the fire with the berbers tonight, dinner in the campsite. Car : 7 hours –} 

_{Accommodation : www.bivouac-azawad.com}

_{Tour Highlights:}

_{Macaque monkeys – Wildlife in Azrou forests}

_Photography

_{Camel Trek, Overnight in Desert camp ( private bathroom and shower )}

_{Included Meals: Breakfast / Dinner}

 

DAY 6: MERZOUGA – – TODGHA GORGES – DADES – OUARZAZATE

_{9am departure from your camp, we will stop to visit the Khatarat water channels, underground irrigation system, the we continue 120 km from Merzouga, the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges are situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of the Colorado, with its high plateau, its gorges and great canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4000 m, with Jbel Saghro 2500 m and Jbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated by Berbers. Here you can enjoy a hike among those fabulous canyons.}

_{From the great valley of Todgha we go along the road of 1000 kasbahs, since there are enormous Kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of those old fortified houses are restored but unfortunately a lot of them are ruins. We drive up to visit the Dades gorge & valley, and we head to the Berber family for Lunch, cooking course, a walk to discover the valley and spend some time wit the Berbers before we head to}

_{Dades valley which rises in the High Atlas Mountains, giving life to a huge Berber community by its rich agriculture. Along this valley another valley called valley of roses appearing with the green colors of its Alfalfa plants, olive trees, fig trees and grapes. This valley gives birth to a rose from which locals produces different cosmetic products like soap, perfumes and skin creams. Locals here celebrate this rose by organizing a national festival eachend of April. Getting to Ouarzazate (Hollywood of Africa, Noiselessly town, The door of the desert), is a city situated in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. It is mainly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known. One of those building is Taourirt Kasbah diverted in 17th century.}

_{Accommodation : http://www.darchamaa.com  www.riadtama.com} 

_Activities

_{Visit to Todgha gorge}

_{Visit Skoura}

_{Visit Cinema Museum or STUDIOS}

_{Meals Included : Breakfast / Dinner}

DAY 7:  AIT BENAHDDOU – ESSAOUIRA ( 300 KM )

_{We start our day visiting the fortified city of Aït Benhaddou, built in the 11th century. Once up on a time this Kasbah was the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. It is situated on a hill along the Ounila River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damage during each rainstorm and windstorms. Most of the town’s inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, around five families are still living within this Kasbah.}

_{Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Gladiator (2000) and Alexander (2004). From this beautiful fortified house,}

_{Transfer to Essaouira, which is another charming town in Morocco. Essaouira is a relatively small, easily navigable beach city. Essaouira has got a distinct multicultural feel, resulting from the large Portuguese, French, and Jewish populations that once called it home. Its mild climate and expansive stretches of ocean sand also place it among Morocco’s top beach towns. Essaouira’s walled medina was added to UNESCO’s World Heritage list in 2001. Its well-preserved, late-18th-century fortified layout is a prime example of European military architecture in North Africa.}

_{For the visitor, the mellow atmosphere, narrow winding streets lined with colourful shops, whitewashed houses and heavy old wooden doors make it a wonderful place to stroll.}

_{In Essaouira, several small art galleries are found all over the town. Since 1998 Essaouira is getting known by its Gnaoua Festival of World Music, normally it is scheduled in the last week of June. It brings artists from all over the world. Although focused on Gnaoua music, it includes rock, jazz and reggae. In the early 1952 the film director and actor Orson Welles made his movie Othello. Now there is a square named Orson Welles.}

_{Accommodation http://www.riad-maisondusud.com/}

_{Activities :}

_{Visit Ait Ben Haddou kasbah}

_{Vist Argan Co-operative}

_{Free time to Explore Essaouira}

_{Meals included : Breakfast}

 

DAY 08:  ESSAOUIRA – MARRAKECH (170 KM )

_{Morning explorative journey of the city. You’ll visit the Skala Fortress; see Thuya wood carved by artisans; walk through the alleys of the medina and view hundreds of handicrafts. Today you will have lunch in a Moroccan way, bought fishes ‘cooked to order’. On the afternoon, you will have some free time to wonder around, go to the beach and enjoy your space. Essaouira is also referred to as The “City of the wind” and it attracts surfers from all over the world.  Essaouira knew many civilisations – including the Portuguese occupation, which affects much of its architecture – however, it remains a small village with much history. Because of its size and its characteristic blue doors and washed walls, it is also regarded as Morocco’s “Jewel of the Atlantics”. There is an annual festival of “Gnawa music”, where many musical groups come from different parts of Africa and the world. Usually it starts in the second week of June.}

_{we drive to Marrakech, Along the half way between Essaouira and Marrakesh you will see enormous Argan tree on both sides of the road. These Argan trees are frequently climbed by goats. Argan oil is produced by several women’s cooperatives and it is used to prepare couscous, salads. Moreover it was traditionally used as a treatment for skin diseases before being founded as good enough for cosmetics by Europeans manufacturers. Still stop by one of these cooperatives is worthy to see how Berber women squeezed the Argan fruits between hands to extract this precious oil. We arrive to our hotel in Marrakesh and if time permit we go out for a walk.}

_{Free afternoon in Marrakech, free time for Massage Spa, Shoppoing souvenirs. visit the Souks jamaa lafna square by night.}

_{Accommodation : http://www.riadnesma.com/}

_{Meals Included : Breakfast}

 

DAY 09:   MARRAKESH GUIDED CITY TOUR

_{A Full guided tour will be scheduled to discover Marrakesh which is known as the “Red City”. Marrakesh is the most important former imperial city in Morocco’s history, it is situated near the foothills of the snow-capped Atlas Mountain. Like all the old cities, Marrakech comprises both an old fortified city The Medina and an very modern city called Gueliz built during the French occupation. Marrakesh has the largest traditional market (souk) in Morocco and also has one of the busiest squares in Africa and the world, Djemaa el Fna. The square is full of story-tellers, water sellers, dancers, snakes charmers and musicians. During the night the square turns into a huge open-air restaurant.}

_{During our visit we will see The Koutoubia Mosque, built in the 12th century in the reign of Almoravid Dynasty. We will go among narrow streets and allies in ancient city. We pass by “seven saints” during the reign of Moulay Ismail, the festival of the seven saints was founded to the request of the Sultan. The tombs of several renowned figures were moved to Marrakesh to attract pilgrims. Marrakesh was dominated in the first half of the 20th century by T’hami El Glaoui, “Lord of the Atlas”, and Pasha of Marrakesh. Still there is a house called Dar Pacha El Glaoui from where he used to rule the whole southern part of Morocco.}

_{Tour Highlights: Guided walking Tour of Marrakech}

_{Majorel Gardens}

_{Bahia Palace}

_Souks

_{Jamaa lfna & Koutoubia}

_{Coranic medrassa ben youssef}

_{Meals Included : Breakfast}

DAY 10: FREE DAY IN MARRAKECH

_{Free day and Last day of your Totally Morocco & Berber Adventure Travel experience 11 Days, free time for Massage Spa, Shoppoing souvenirs. Last chance to visit the Souks and Marrakech Attraction before your Holiday ends afetr a memorable experience.}

_{Activities : FREE DAY AT LEISURE}

_{Meals Included : Breakfast}

_{DAY 11 : AIRPORT TRANSFER}

_{According to your flight details, we will assist and transfer your to the aiprot of casablanca, and thank you for visiting Morocco and for choosing Premium Tours and our top rated Totally Morocco & Berber Adventure Travel experience 11 Days as your trusted travel company for your Morocco Holidays.}

 

_{Totally Morocco Pick Up : Pick up at Casablanca airport / Drop Off : Drop off Airport /}