Magic of Morocco

(small group departure)

			Reservations - All our holidays are tailor-made so please feel free to request any combination of hotels, riads or tours for your own holiday. The minimum reservation for our accommodation only service is 3 nights in total, although not necessarily at same property. We also offer a select number of small group departures. Simply contact us by phone or email or complete one of our enquiry forms. Why Rediscover? - All our reservations staff have worked in Morocco (or visited extensively) and will be more than happy to offer advice and suggestions on any of our featured destinations, tours and properties. Prices - our prices are similar to or quite often cheaper than our internet competitors or booking directly and significantly cheaper than those producing expensive brochures whilst our service, knowledge and after sales care is second to none. Security - Rediscover the World is a member of the TTA (T6816), we also hold our own ATOL bond (T7172). We therefore provide full financial security and assistance should any part of your holiday not happen entirely to plan. If you were to assemble your holiday yourself you may not have this sort of protection.

Morocco Rediscovered is offering a popular small-group tour with an English-speaking guide which covers the main places of interest across Morocco. Morocco's Imperial Cities, Atlas Mountains and desert areas are comprehensively covered and are conducted in English language only (by a fully qualified National Guide) in air-conditioned mini-bus transport staying primarily at 4* hotels. As this tour will be a small group (no more than 15 persons) it will allow you to take the tour more at your pace, for example making stops for photographs and extending meal breaks, etc.

Here is the breakdown of the itinerary, details confirming what is included are at the bottom of this page.

10 DAYS / 10 NIGHTS

Day 1   CASABLANCA (or Marrakech)

You will be met on arrival at Casablanca airport (or Marrakech) and transferred to your hotel. After checking in, and depending on your time of arrival, you have the remainder of the day free in this bustling commercial capital of the Kingdom of Morocco before returning to your hotel for dinner and a briefing meeting with your guide for the tour.

Day 2  Casablanca – Rabat – Volubilis

After breakfast we visit the impressive Hassan II Mosque which sits overlooking the Atlantic; the largest Mosque outside of Mecca.

A short drive for 1½ hours alongside the Atlantic Ocean to Rabat, here to visit the main monuments, including the Hassan Tower and the Mohamed V Mausoleum where Hassan II is also buried alongside his father; the Kasbah of the Oudayas and the Oudaya Gate. We stop for a light lunch at Le Restaurant Saadi before setting out on our 3 hours drive eastwards across the plains to Volubilis. Our hotel for the night is the delightful Volubilis Inn in a peaceful setting overlooking the ruins; dinner at the hotel.

The wonderful Roman ruins at Volubilis - the Volubilis of really ancient olive presses, mansions, incredible mosaics, monumental arches and Corinthian columns where you’ll have a real sense of Roman lifestyle and of that of a subsequent medieval Berber town. The site boasts the Mansion containing the mosaic of the Labours of Hercules, the Baths of Gallienus and Baths of Forum with their fragmentary mosaics; the House of Orpheus and its Dolphin mosaic and Orpheus Myth; the Cortege of Venus many of whose mosaics we may only see from the outside yet will get to see the medallions of Bacchus, Diana and the Abduction of Hylas; the Gordian Palace with its bath house and pooled courtyards; the House of the Wild Beast, the House of Nymphs, the House of the Seasons, the House of Flavius Germanus, the Knights House with an incomplete mosaic of Dionysus Discovering Ariadne Asleep, the Triumphal Arch, the Capitol and the House of Ephebus with its pictorial mosaics, especially that of Bacchus being drawn in a Chariot by Panthers. 

NB. A FULL VISIT TO THE SITE OF VOLUBILIS SHOULD TAKE PLACE ON DAY 2 DEPENDING UPON THE TIME AVAILABLE; OTHERWISE DAY 3 WILL BEGIN DIRECTLY WITH THE VISIT.

Day 3    VOLUBILIS - MOULAY IDRISS - MEKNES - FEZ

We leave Volubilis behind to drive alongside the dark, outlaying ridges of the Zerhoun Hills to stop for a visit of the town of Moulay Idriss, the holiest Islamic town in the kingdom of Morocco, where thousands of Moroccan faithful come on pilgrimage (moussem) every August to pray at the tomb of this descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Arriving at the elongated square we see above us the green-tiled pyramids of the Zaouia with its two conical quarters on either side and stroll amidst the labyrinth of alleyways before leaving for the Imperial City rebuilt by Moulay Ismail.

On, now, to the Imperial City of Meknes (a UNESCO World Heritage Site). Here we shall walk around the small city and visit the easily most beautiful Bab, or gateway, in all of the Maghreb -the Bab Mansour. From here to the El Heri es-Souani - the granary of huge vaulted structures and stables built by Moulay Ismail’s soldiers next to a pool fed by underground channels that brought fresh water all the way from the distant Middle Atlas Mountains; the Moulay Ismail Mausoleum and the Place el-Hedim to see the famous State-owned stallion stables of Haras where these Arabo-Berber horses are bred. Time for lunch at the Belle Vue Restaurant before leaving Meknes to arrive in our hotel at Fez. We make for the impressive Dar el Makhzen and a 15 minute stop at the Royal Palace with its magnificent seven bronze gates. From here we walk to and through the Mellah (old Jewish quarter) with its intense atmosphere and fine examples of Mauro-Hispanic architecture. Following this we drive to the Borj Sud, here to take in the panoramic view of the Medina. the drama, scope and beauty of our visit forever indelibly imprinted in our memory. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 4    FEZ

After breakfast we have a full morning in Fez to explore the best living example of a medieval Arab city in the World and the religious capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. Off now down to start our walking tour of the labyrinth of the ancient Fes Medina (a UNESCO World Heritage Site); of the colourful es-Sebbaghine with its Street of the Dyers; of the brass workers at es-Seffarine, of the aromas of the Souq el-Atterine area of spices and groceries; of the impressive al-Quarawiyyin Mosque and University, the el-Atterine Medersa; the Kissaria and the Draz, where you’ll see materials being woven the traditional way on really old-fashioned looms; the renowned Tanneries on the bank of the Oued Fes and the delightful el-Nejjarine Square with its fountain and caravanserai, the perfumes and beauty products at the Souq el-Henna and thence on to the potteries. After a lunch in an old palace in the Medina we leave from the Bab Boujloud and arrive back at our hotel.

Afternoon and eveing free to explore further, to relax and to sample one of the local restaurants.

Day 5   FEZ - AZROU - MIDELT - ZIZ GORGES - ER RACHIDIA – ERFOUD.

After an early breakfast we now set off south to the Sahara. This will be all of a 6½ hour drive, with “comfort stops” and many photo opportunities. After some 30 minutes, we arrive at the small 1920s French-built hill station of Immouzèr du Kandar (1220m). Here we may pause by the kasbah for a look at the little Medina and take in the pleasant Saiss Plateau and now-distant Fez. We continue on to the squeaky-clean Moroccan pseudo-Swiss town of Ifrane (1650m), with its slanted, russet-tiled roofs hidden amidst a forest of cedar, which cannot grow below 1600m. Ifrane is mainly a winter ski resort – and a summer hideaway for rich Moroccans wishing to escape the hustle and heat of the large cities.

      

We now drive through to the first real town in the Middle Atlas - Azrou - which in the local Tamazight (Berber) dialect means “rock,” for next to the mosque is the massive outcrop from which this town takes its name. Azrou was for a long time a strategic settlement established to effect some form of control of the independent mountain Berber peoples. We continue on now through the forests with a brief stop to be amused the antics of the Barabry Apes, then to emerge at the Oued Gigou Valley and on through the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n’Zad (2178m). Down now through a bleak plain of scrub and desert to the Berber mountain town of Midelt, where we’ll stop for a light lunch at the El Ayachi Restaurant, the massive Jbel Ayachi (3722m) rising sheer and stark before us. Midelt is so far inland that its microclimate is one of extremes: bitterly cold in winter and very hot in summer.

Our route takes us on through striking countryside, marking the change from mountains to desert. This region was once notorious for raids on caravans by the nomadic Aït Haddidou tribe, who were not pacified by the French until the mid-1930s. Now through a lower Pass (Tizi) of the High Atlas - the Pass of the She-Camel - Tizi n’Talrehmt (1907m), on across a deserted plain through the town of Aït Messaoud, passing a French Foreign Legion fort with all the reminders of Beau Geste and then to the first southern ksar of Aït Kherrou, a river palmeraie (oasis) at the entrance to a small gorge. From here on in, ksours (forts) start to dot the countryside as we carry on down alongside the River Ziz (the Berber name meaning Gazelle).

On now through the town of Rich, once an important fort during the era of the French Protectorate, on and through the Tunnel Du Légionnaire, built by the French to have ease of rapid access to the rebellious southern tribe of the Aït Atta. Appearing before us will be a scenic highlight of the really dramatic and majestic canyon of the Ziz Gorges, massive erosions of rock carving a passage through the mountains dominating startlingly green oases and ochre-coloured ksours. We emerge from the Gorges close to the Barrage (Dam) Hassan Addakhil to continue on to the French-built garrison town of Er Rachidia (previously known as Ksar es’ Souq, after their Foreign Legion fort). This pleasant garrison town, alive in the evening with students from the University and Lycée, is still maintained after independence to forestall any further territorial claims from Algeria. Onwards still through the small palm grove at Meski, watered by a natural spring - the famous picture postcard image of La Source Bleue - and the final sector of the Oued Ziz. We cross an arid reddish belt of desert to drop, suddenly, into the valley and the Tizimi Palmeraie and the French-built town of Erfoud which will give you your first impression of the over-powering proximity of the Sahara. Dinner and overnight accommodation in Erfoud.

Day 6   ERFOUD - ERG CHEBBI MEHAREE AND BIVOUAC.  

A relaxing morning following yesterday's long journey through two mountain ranges and numerous gorges.

Our next stretch is to Merzouga where we stop for a welcome cup of tea amid the sands and surrounding date palm trees before setting off on our dromedaries, one person per camel, for some 3 hours across a sea of golden dunes. This is the only ‘true’ desert area of the kingdom of Morocco and an area where meteorites continue to be found, as were crocodile teeth, shark, pterosaur and spinosaurus fossils.  We arrive at our carpeted Berber Nomadic camp in a small oasis seemingly in the middle of nowhere to witness Nature’s incredible light show of sunset over ever-changing colours of dunes. Our tagine dinner is prepared and, after dessert, tea or coffee, we can dance along to a Desert Berber folklore group and to sing and chat to our heart’s content under the star-filled heavens.

Day 7    ERG CHEBBI - MERZOUGA - ERFOUD - TINEGHIR - BOUMALNE de DADES.

Our last brilliant sunrise, equal almost to last night’s unforgettable sunset, our Bedouin breakfast of tea, ‘sand’ bread, jam and cheese tucked away, our dromedaries having been saddled up for the return stage, we set off back across the plain for our final Meharée of some 2½ hours to the Auberge Du Sud, where we’ll take a shower before boarding our vehicle which now takes us back up to Erfoud, then westwards to the oasis town of Tinejdad and the start of the Route of 1000 Kasbahs in the Dadès Valley.

We check in to our kasbah-style hotel in the small town of Tineghir, located at the mouth of the fabulous Todra Gorges and overlooked by a Glaoui Kasbah. Now we set out up the Oued Todra for some 15 km into the deepest, narrowest and most spectacular part of these further wonders of Mother Nature. After leaving our vehicle we walk into the gorge for a light lunch in the Restaurant Les Roches, tucked tightly up against the sheer cliff face and more exploring of this remarkable canyon before returning for our evening meal and a good night’s sleep, just a little further to the west in Boumalne de Dades.

Day 8       BOUMALNE de DADES - KELAA DES M'GOUNA - SKOURA - OUARZAZATE

Bright and early after breakfast we set off today along the Route of 1000 Kasbahs from the small town of Boumalne du Dadès situated at the mouth of the Dadès Gorge. Here we venture up between the wide, high limestone cliffs with their strangely-shaped erosions and green vegetation, ksours, kasbahs and pisé houses ranging in colours from dark red to greenish black and startling lime-white, passing the Glaoui kasbah at Aït Youl as far as a group of ksours at Aït Arbi built against a volcanic twist in the rocks.

We return to the mouth of the Gorge and the Kasbah Tizzarouine for a light lunch before continuing westwards via Qlâa’t Des M’gouna (Citadel of the M’gouna Tribe) where thousands of small, pink roses, first planted by French settlers, are grown to make the rose oil essence - “Eau de Rose” - so beloved of the Berber people, on through to the Kasbahs at Skoura and Amerhidl before carrying on, after a total of around 170km., to the new (1920s) once-garrison town of the French Protectorate - Ouarzazate - for our dinner and overnight accommodation. The late afternoon is free for you to roam around the town which was, in the late 1980s, a bit of a tourist boom town; perhaps, if you have not had your fill of kasbahs, you could pay a visit to the Kasbah of Taourirt, or probably to the Atlas Film Studios (where, everyone will tell you, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Alexander, The Jewel of The Nile and many other Hollywood films were shot.)

Day 9    OUARZAZATE – AÏT BEN HADDOU – MARRAKECH.

Refreshed, breakfasted and raring to go, we now set forth towards the north alongside the Oued Ouarzazate via the Assif Ounila Valley to the magnificently exotic kasbah and ksour of Aït Ben Haddou, declared, and rightly so, a World Heritage Site. Here we alight from our vehicle to visit these various kasbahs, so closely-knit that they appear to be one complete building, backed up against the looming mountain in a stretch of unforgiving hammada. The thick, high, sheer, elaborately decorated pisé walls, stepped-up housing, turreted, crenellated ramparts, balustrades and arched ‘babs’ are a sight not to be missed. One of the more spectacular sights in the Atlas ranges, set upon a rock above a reed-strewn assif, commanding the area for miles around, this kasbah controlled the route to Marrakech until the French blasted a road through the Tizi n’Tichka in the late 1920s.

From here we set off up into the High Atlas Mountains and the exhilarating hairpin bends to the top of the Tizi n’Tichka (2260m) and slightly beyond to the dramatic Kasbah of Telouet where we stop for a light lunch with a vista dominated by peaks of some 2500m. Onwards, now, via Aït Ourir Taddert (1650m) and down across the Glaoua Plains to our hotel in Marrakech.

Later in the afternoon after check-in, we shall visit the famous Djmaa El Fna Square with its myriad of street performers - soothsayers, story tellers, tooth pullers, snake-charmers and many, many more, returning to our hotel, tired after yet another exciting day, for our evening meal and soft bed.    

Day 10    MARRAKECH.

This morning, after breakfast, we shall take a ride in a calèche around the magnificent ramparts of this Imperial City, quite the best introduction to this Garden City. Now, with the touch of a journey back into time and, we shall visit the dramatic Almohad Koutoubia Minaret and the lavishly-decorated 16th century Saadien Tombs - some dating from the middle 1550s; the 14th century Ben Youssef Medersa - one of the most beautiful buildings in Marrakech, the 12th century Menara Gardens and thence through the labyrinth of narrow alleyways making up the renowned cool, colourful and aromatic Souqs of Marrakech - the Dyers’ Souq being the last to be visited - finishing our guided visit in the Djemaa El Fna Square (the ‘Assembly of the Dead’), where, until the 19th century, the severed heads of criminals were traditionally displayed.

Now we see again stalls of goods, from fruit to alarm clocks; snake charmers and water sellers; fortune tellers and public scribes; tumblers and Nakkachat - women with syringes full of henna - soothsayers and gnaoua musicians.

Lunch and aftenoon free

Last evening in Morocco

As an excellent finale to any stay in Marrakech we visit Chez Ali for a truly a 1001 Nights’ experience. The journey this evening will take you out of the heat of the city on a road through palm groves, where twinkling lights beckon us out of the darkness to a magnificent spectacle. Reclining on plump cushions in one of the Chieftain’s tents, or in the kasbah, as the evening progresses, various folklore groups pass through the nomad tents singing and dancing to their throbbing music.

The highlight comes at the end of your meal, accompanied by performances of Moroccan dances and songs, when you are invited to witness charging robed warriors on horseback in a display of their old tribal power as, standing in their stirrups, they shout and fire off their muskets and muzzle-loaders, bringing their horses to a sudden halt before you. Above you, in the night sky, Sheherazade and her Prince fly to the heavens on their magic carpet ride whilst fireworks light the sky as your evening of magical splendour comes to an end.

... and overnight at your Marrakech hotel.

Final Day      MARRAKECH - CASABLANCA - Home

After breakfast and in accordance with your flight schedule home (check-out from your hotel can be up to midday) you will be transferred to Casablanca’s Mohammed V International airport (or Marrakech Airport) in time for you flight home, taking with you some incredible memories of this land so full of remarkable contrasts and very friendly people.

Extension to tour in Essaouira or High Atlas - contact us for further details and a quote on your preferred hotel.

PRICE INCLUDES:

PRICE DOES NOT INCLUDE:

Medical or accident insurance outside of the vehicle. Gratuities to guide and driver. Any expenditure of a personal nature. Bottled or gaseous water en-route, nor anything not specifically mentioned in the itinerary.

IT IS RECOMMENDED YOU BRING:

Good footwear; layers to allow for changes in temperature; day pack; hygienic ‘wipes;’ camera and ziplock bags for your sensitive lenses; sunglasses, sunscreen.

Rediscover the World reserves the right to amend the itineraries should it be necessary following any changes in the physical or political landscape of the areas concerned.

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