Imperial Cities and the Sahara Desert from Marrakech 11 Days

We will start early in the morning from the Riad. We will cross the High Atlas mountain range, admiring its beautiful landscapes. We drive to the Kasbah of the Pasha Glaoui (guided tour). We will have lunch on site at a local restaurant where you can eat the best tagine with almonds, walnuts, dates and figs. It will start again on a course, a weather beaten by the ancient caravans, then to reach the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou who has been a setting for international films such as “Babel” and “Gladiator.” Visit of the kasbah. We’ll get to Ouarzazate Riad accommodation in and overnight.

We leave the valley to reach the road to Skoura of a Thousand Kasbahs (visit the Kasbah of Amredhyle). Valley of the Roses (M ‘gouna). Driving along a stretch of dirt road to get to the caves inhabited, we will stop by a local family who will show us his hospitality by offering a cup of tea ‘. We will resume the path towards the Dades Valley, we will have lunch along the way and cross Boumalne up to the Todra Valley where we stay the night

We will start right after breakfast, to admire the evocative lighting that illuminate the morning the valley of Todra. We stop at Tinerhir where to expect there will be a local guide who will accompany you on a walk in the valley. We will leave the guide and we drive to Erfoud. Lunch on the way. After lunch we will resume the journey to arrive in time for the sunset in the beautiful dunes of Erg Chebbi. Arrived in Merzouga, we will find the men of the desert who will welcome us with a welcome tea before starting riding the camels to cross the dunes, watch the sunset and get to the bivouac. Typical dinner, musical entertainment and then enjoy the sky full of stars.

Before dawn the cammeliere will accompany you on the highest dunes to share with you the excitement of the birth of the day. Back at camp will have breakfast and on the backs of camels will return to the hotel, where you can take a hot shower and prepare for departure. The first stage of this new Day will be the village of KHAMLIA inhabited by the Gnawa people who will entertain you with their music and their dances. We will continue to Taouz where we can admire the ancient rock carvings and the river Oued Ziz, all travel along a portion of the track “Paris-Dakar”. On the way we will find small remote villages in the desert. We will have lunch at a family of Ouzina. We will pass through the gate (Mharech) who years ago was crossed by caravans that moved to Morocco, and we’ll see Rheris the dry lake Maaider. Overnight in Mharch.

Today we will start to Zagora through the track “Paris-Dakar”, which winds through the desert highlands, giving surreal scenarios. These rocks that seem to lean on one another by a divine plan, manage to give us a thrill date of silence, peace and simplicity. Here, in the wilderness of Hamada, Bedouin nomads living in tents. We will try to make you understand how these people manage to survive among these rocks and desert. In the late afternoon you will arrive at the largest valley in Morocco, the Draa Valley. Overnight at hotel.

We leave to the discovery of a lost treasure in the village of Tamgroute Zaouïa where we will also visit the ancient Koranic library and the underground Kasbah “Ait Isfoul” this village is also known for the craftsmanship of ceramics. We will resume the journey to Mhamid (the door of the desert) and have lunch on site. In the afternoon we drive to the road SANDY to delve more Salvaggio in the desert in southern Morocco and before arriving in the dunes of Erg Chegaga cross the desert rock to admire an oasis in the mountains of Jbel Bani. We will arrive on the dunes at sunset and sleeping in a tent.

We will have to wake up early if you want to see the beautiful lights that give life in the desert at dawn. After breakfast, depart towards Foum Zguid, cross the dry lake Iriqui and high deserts with acacia trees, (Picnic in an ‘oasis). Next stop will be the village of Taznakht, famous for the production of Berber carpets (opportunity to visit the cooperative of women working in the frame) and, subsequently, Taliouine and its valley of saffron. The Riad where we spend the night enjoying a wonderful view over a valley of almond trees.

After breakfast we depart for the ancient capital of the region of Sous (Taroudant) surrounded by walls of clay-colored copper 5 km long (La Ceinture de Rempart) and olive groves and orchards. We will visit its beautiful Souks, Souk in Arabic handicrafts, where you can buy leather, jewelry, rugs and pottery, the Berber market, where it is found primarily food, spices and vegetables as well as textiles and other non-food merchandise. We will have lunch on site and in the afternoon we will continue towards Tiout, a valley of palms hidden inside the mountain range of ‘Anti-Atlas. Night in Riad.

After breakfast we headed on the Atlantic coast through the small villages of the “Souss” (the name with which they are identified the inhabitants of the area). We will arrive in Agadir, founded by Portuguese sailors in 1505, devastated by two major earthquakes, in 1912 and in February 1960 it was rebuilt by the sea. We will taste a lunch of fish in a typical seaside town with white houses and fishermen. Admiring the coast will come to Essauira, a city that was once populated mostly by Jews enjoy exploring the Mellah district, where they were businesses and orificerie. This city, as well as being heritage site and one of the most fascinating of all Morocco, is very well known for the Festival of Gnawa music which is held in the month of June: this month the city is populated by music fans and artists from all parts of the world to dance under the hot sky of Morocco. Accommodation in Riad.

This day will be dedicated to the discovery of the charming medina Essauira the UNESCO. The Kasbah, the fortified citadel defending the harbor, is a structure protected by crenellated walls on which are the cannons of the Spanish seventeenth and eighteenth centuries facing the ocean. You will have lunch at the port and to follow, in the afternoon, transient in the streets where there are laboratories of marquetry is ebony and cedar. To see the Sidi Mohammed ben Abdallah Museum dedicated to the arts and regional traditions with an exhibition of musical instruments, jewelry, carpets, weapons, paintings on wood and even reproductions of drawings, made ​​with henna, that Moroccans use during the ceremonies and festivals. Do not forget to make me a walk on the marina. Night in Riad.

After breakfast we will leave Essauira, and the road that will lead us to Marrakech, we will admire the cultivation of argan trees (you can stop at a cooperative of argan oil: the women who work there to show curious tourists and oil processing products that extract, beauty products and for cooking) will have lunch in Marrakech and the afternoon will be free for shopping, relaxation and entertainment. Accommodation for the night in Riad.