Day-to-day schedule
Day 1: Marrakech
Welcome to Morocco!
Your tour starts in Marrakech, where you can use your hotel room from check in time (12.00 hrs at noon) on day 1. Most of your travel companions will arrive later this first day, the exact time will be depending on their flight schedule. You will meet your English speaking tour leader at 8.00 hrs A.M. on day 2 in the lobby of your hotel but we recommend that you also try and make contact this evening, after 20.00 hrs.
Marrakech is unparalleled in the colourfulness of its population and markets. Until the 20th century, traders from the Sahara desert and the Sahel came here to trade camels, gold and slaves. World-renowned is the Djemaa el-Fna central square, full of fortune-tellers, storytellers and snake charmers. African acrobats perform daredevil feats to the rhythms of large drums. The old city walls of Marrakech are largely preserved, over the last eight centuries they have been continually strengthened and adjusted to the burgeoning size of the city. You can tour the walls in a horse-drawn carriage, which in this city is still a normal means of transport. The city walls conceal mosques, old palaces and sultans’ tombs like the Bahia palace, the residence of a grand vizier and a magnificent example of Andalusian-Moorish architecture. The quiet in the central courtyard with its fountains and mosaic floor and garden full of palms and orange trees contrasts sharply with the bustle of the surrounding kasbah.
Day 2: Marrakech
For those interested, a half-day’s excursion to see the most important monuments can be booked locally. Another option might be a full day excursion to visit Imlil, a village in the High Atlas, which has excellent walking. A local guide will accompany you and lunch is included. Another possibility is to attend a crash course in Moroccan cuisine, in a beautiful Riad. It takes half a day, and of course participants are invited to enjoy the self-prepared food afterwards.
Day 3: Marrakech
Our last day to enjoy this enchanting city before heading on our journey to the ksar or fortified city of Aït Benhaddou.
Day 4: Marrakech – Aït Benhaddou
Passing the 4000m high, snow dusted mountain peaks our long journey to Ait Benhaddou will take us through the green foothills of the High Atlas to the picturesque Berber village of Taddert. At a height of 1600m it is the perfect spot for a coffee break surrounded by fields, poplar and large walnut trees. Berber women work the fields and often bear tattoos as a sign of the tribe they belong to. The Tizi-n-Tichka pass lies at a height of 2260m and from here you have a wonderful view of the bare hills in the south signalling the desert – the only green that is to be seen lies along the riverbeds. In the course of the afternoon, one of the largest kasbah complexes in the country looms swathed in an atmosphere of total tranquillity. You will spend the night in an attractive Kasbah style hotel before travelling through the spectacular Atlas range to the kasbah of Aït Benhaddou.
Day 5: Aït Benhaddou – Merzouga
First we will pass through black, rocky, mountains, to the Draa River oasis, an area that resembles the Grand Canyon. In the oasis town of Agdz you can stop to take a look at the weekly market (depending on the day of the week), and spend some time in the company of the inhabitants of the remote villages. Berber women have heavy silver jewellery, face tattoos and will be selling their hand-woven carpets. After this we drive to the east past the Saghro mountain range, an area characterized by basalt columns, deep canyons and moonlike landscapes made up of craggy rocks, alternating with hidden streams and reservoirs. The deserted road passes straight through an impressive desert landscape to the green palm oasis of the Tafilalt. After Rissani, we reach the pink sand dunes of Merzouga, navigating a dirt road. We spend two nights (in July and August one night) at an auberge in traditional-style berber tents, right on the edge of the Dunes of Merzouga.
Those interested can go on a camel ride into the desert or you can take the camel into the Erg Chebbi, for a night under the stars! Although this is an optional part of the trip, for many people it is one of the highlights of their journey.
Day 6: Merzouga
East of Merzouga lie’s the Erg Chebbi, an area with sand dunes more than 90m high. Large parts of the Sahara are made up of such “wandering dunes” that continuously change shape as a consequence of the shifting of the fine sand. From the auberge, you can visit Erg Chebbi, which offers a magnificent palette of deep warm shades – from pink and red to ochre and gold.
N.B. During July and August we will spend only 1 night near Merzouga in the desert and stay longer at the beach at Essaouira.
Day 7: Merzouga – Todra Gorges
In the morning you will be travelling in the direction of Tineghir via Rissani and Erfoud, with its remarkable Haratin population. These traditionally dressed people migrated here long ago with the camel caravans. We travel along a series of small oases to the deepest river crevice in Morocco, the Gorge du Todra. At its narrowest section it is only ten metres wide but still hundreds of metres high.
Day 8: Todra Gorges
You have a free day, in Gorge du Todra. Those interested can go and visit the town of Tineghir and go on a fantastic walk through the green Todra Valley. We follow the river and irrigation canals, passing under the palm trees, along tracks crossing nursery gardens along villages swarming with children.
Day 9: Todra Gorges – Ouarzazate
Today we travel to Ouarzazate, for a visit to the kasbah of Taourirt, the birthplace of the last pasha of Marrakech. Our route goes through the green Dades Valley, also called ‘the land of 1000 kasbahs’.
Day 10: Ouarzazate – Taroudant
Between the High Atlas and the Anti Atlas lies the old, extinguished volcano Jbel Siroua which peaks at 3304m. The bare mountain range is impressive, thanks to its wide panorama and craggy rock formations. In summer the area comes to life, when the desert nomads flee the heat of the Sahara and come to graze their sheep here. In October the pistils of the costly saffron crocus are harvested, as they flower in great numbers. Crossing the southerly slopes of this bizarre volcano country for six hours, we reach Taroudant. Your day is free to explore Taroudant, the fifth royal city of Morocco which has a markedly provincial character, in the centre of a fertile agricultural region, which produces vegetables, fruit and olives. Produce is carried on the back of donkeys, camels and handcarts. The city’s picturesque souks are too small to lose your way in, and a visit is highly recommended. Taroudant was renowned for its Berber silver, local leather production and Touareg handicrafts, this link with the Sahara peoples still exists and dates from the time of the Sa’ad Sultans who founded Taroudant. The central square has a multitude of cafés that offer shade and the chance to watch life go by.
Day 11: Taroudant
When going shopping in Taroudant, bear in mind that the Berber market in Taroudant is called Jnane al-Jaami and here you can buy spices and dried fruits but mostly household goods and clothes. The Arab souk, however, specializes in handicrafts such as wrought iron, pottery, terracotta, brass and copper, leather and carpets/rugs and also jewellery.
Day 12: Taroudant – Essaouira
Essaouira is the most picturesque and relaxed coastal town along Morocco’s Atlantic coast. The town lies on a rocky base surrounded by low shrubs and woods, projecting into the ocean. An isolated spot battered by high foamy waves the whole year round, it’s often called ‘the windy city’ and famous for windsurfing. The old citadel of Essaouira is entirely surrounded by city walls, the tall houses towering above them– whitewashed and often with their doors painted a fresh blue. The medina is quite orderly, with the alleys laid out in a rectangular pattern.
N.B. During July and August we will spend only 1 night near Merzouga in the desert and stay longer at the beach at Essaouira.
Day 13: Essaouira
Essaouira also boasts a wide and long beach south of the citadel, where you can enjoy a leisurely ‘café au lait’; stroll along the sandy expanse or through the alleys of the attractive market. In the evening, there is fresh fish to savour in the many restaurants.
Day 14: Essaouira – Casablanca
Today we drive along the coast to Casablanca, the commercial centre of Morocco with its Art Deco and Neo-moorish buildings. We spend our last evening here, where you can pick up some last minute souvenirs or just relax and take in the atmosphere of this cosmopolitan and exotic city.
Time permitting, you may like to visit the Hassan II Mosque, the second largest in the world and the only working mosque in Morocco that can be visited by non-Muslims. You can only enter the mosque with an organised tour which is run at the mosque daily (Except Fridays) at 0900, 1000, 11,00 and 1400 and costs 120dh per person.
Day 15: Casablanca
The last day of your tour. The tour leader and the rest of the group will normally depart early in the morning but you can use your hotel room in Casablanca until check out time (most times at 12.00 hrs noon). We wish you a comfortable journey home and are sure you will take with you some wonderful memories of this Morocco.
Your personal ‘my.shoestring’ page on our website is the perfect way to make contact with other travellers before and after your trip. You can read and create journals from trips and upload your photos onto the photo gallery. Visit my shoestring today.
When booking your tour, please check to see whether you need any post-tour nights, bearing in mind that accommodation for the night of the final day of the tour (day 15) is not included.
Difficulty Information
This trip is in category B
The level of our trips varies. The experience of the level of a trip is also different from person to person. In order to give an indication of the level of a trip, we have developed the following rating system:
Category A: Light travel for everyone to do. Short distances, good hotels, travel at a slow pace.
Category B: For everyone to do as well. Sometimes long distances. Good hotels and camping facilities, sometimes an adventurous overnight experience, travel at a normal pace.
Category C: Good to do for anyone who prepares themself well and is flexible. There are tougher parts of the journey, such as longer distances or walking tours. Several nights can be spent in basic accommodation.
Category D: A relatively difficult journey, travelling long distances, often primitive accommodation or tents, and challenging walking tours.
This 15-day trip belongs in category B. Everybody who is fit can participate. However, the trip has a reasonably high pace; in a short period of time we will visit many different places. The road system in this part of the country is pretty good, as are the means of transport and most hotels so, that the longer stretches do not have to be too exhausting. A flexible and positive attitude is important, more than physical fitness.
Nature of the trip
This active tour through the exotic southern part of Morocco is a journey of exploration through high mountains, desert and heavenly green oases. Few people realize that a few hour’s flying distance from London such impressive landscapes can be found with a population that lives by such age-old customs. This journey takes you across mountain passes, along craggy rock formations and impressive kasbahs. This is the traditional architecture of the region, which in Biblical times was the standard for an area extending to Persia, and now can only be found in Yemen and Morocco. We visit traditional weekly markets where Berber people flock together. You can explore the old medinas of Marrakech and Taroudant. In the labyrinths of oriental sultan cities you can wander through colourful markets. Take a look in the old harem of a grand vizier or the magnificently decorated tombs of the sultans who once held sway here. There is time to stroll around the date palm oases and in the mountains. On top of it all, you can go on a camel ride through the desert. We conclude the trip with a few days at the seaside.