Morocco 9 Days Tour from Tanger to Marrakech

After breakfast, you will leave Fes travelling towards Merzouga via Midelt and the Ziz valley. Today you will travel via the Ifrane city, a beautiful mountain village, named the Switzerland of Morocco. Here you will also stop at the cedar forest on the middle Atlas Mountains. During this journey you’ll experience glimpses of the Middle Atlas and Higher Atlas mountains and stopping at Azrou, a Berber village in the middle of the famous cedar forest – the largest one in Morocco – where you will have the opportunity to see the Barbary apes. After that, your journey continues to Midelt along the magnificent hills and mountains of the Atlas. After lunch in Midelt, you’ll be travelling through the fascinating Tiz Ntalghamt pass and the spectacular Ziz Gorge, taking in views of the High Atlas plateau, seeing how the scenery changes to reveal hints of the desert as you approach the province of the south-east Errachidia city. Afterwards, you’ll travel along the fantastic Ziz Valley, stopping for panoramic views along the way to Erfoud and Rissani. Arriving in Merzouga in the afternoon you’ll be welcomed with a glass of mint tea. Then take camel ride in the dunes of Sahara Desert of Merzouga to reach the camp where you will have the night.

Today you will have to wake up very early in the morning to see what will may be the best sunrise of your life. You will set over the Sand Dunes of Sahara of Erg Chebbi to watch wonderful sunrise. After watching the sunrise you will go down to the Camp for breakfast. Then you’ll peacefully camel-trek back to the village of Merzouga. While enjoying morning camel ride you couldn’t fail to appreciate the unique beauty of the spectacular Erg Chebbi sand dunes – changing with the light as the day progresses.

Once you arrive the village of Merzouga, you will meet the driver again to continue the tour to Dades. You will have optional stop in  Rissani to visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ali chref, the founder of the Alaouit dynasty, and then you will continue to Arfoud to visit the fossilized marble factory before continuing to the Todra valley, where you will have lunch. Once in Todra you can highlight a half-hour walk to see the gorges calmly and you will be guided through the palm grove and the Jewish quarter. Todra gorges is the highest, narrowest gorges in Morocco. The Todra River has formed a gorge of enormous vertical walls of great beauty; it is a climber’s paradise and a unique place.

In the evening we will drive through the Dades Valley, where you’ll see the majestic sand castles and the amazing rock formations known as “monkey toes”. Overnight accommodation will be in a fancy guest house overlooking the Dades Valley.

After breakfast in your accommodation, you will start travelling through the Dades Valley towards Ouarzazate and then to Marrakech. The road through Dades Valley is called the way of the thousand Kasbahs – providing numerous opportunities to take some of your best photographic shots of the trip. You will stop at Kalaat M’Gouna -the centre of rose’s valley-, where you will have the option to visit the cooperative for the roses, to purchase the rosewater, which will make your linen smell good a long time after your trip is over. Continue to Marrakech via the Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. Built by Et Hami El Glaoui, one of the last Berber chieftains during the 19th century, now the Kasbah is a house of many Glaoui people. Your journey will continue through the majestic Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2260 m) over the High Atlas Mountains, where you will have the opportunity to explore the process of producing the Argan oil- existing only in morocco – by Berber women in their cooperative, before arriving at your overnight accommodation in Marrakech.

After breakfast in your Hotel/Riad, you can start to explor Marrakech; «the red city of Morocco”. You will visit the most important sites of historical and cultural interest, including the Majorelle Gardens, the Koutoubia Tower, the Saadian tombs, the Bahia Palace and main square place Ljamaa Lfna. After Lunch at a restaurant near the square, you will walk through the souks and view hundreds of handicrafts. On the afternoon, you will have some free time to wonder by yourself the other parts of the city.

Marrakech nicknamed the “Red City” for its old red sandstone city walls and buildings. It has Berber rather than Arab roots and was an important trading capital for tribes of the Atlas mountains. Orient yourself around Marrakech’s bustling Jemaa el-Fna Square: the souks are to the north, the Koutoubia Mosque and Gardens to the west and the kasbah area with the Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace, and El Badi Palace are to the south. In the new city, you will find the Majorelle Gardens.

Indulge your senses as you explore the complicated labyrinth of souks, tucked behind ordinary restaurants and shops. Check out Souk el Attarin, Souk Chouari, and Souk Smata for a selection of spices, woodwork, and babouche (traditional Moroccan slippers). Visit Souk of Tanneries or the dyers’ souk to see how cloth and yarn are dyed using traditional methods. Next, admire the fine example of Moroccan Islamic architecture of the Ben Youssef Madrasa, a 16th-century Koranic school, and note the ornate detail of its interior: carved cedar ceilings, sculpted plaster, and zellij tiling.