10-Day Morocco Itinerary from Marrakech: Desert, Imperial Cities & Atlas Mountains Tour

Welcome to Morocco! Upon arrival to Marrakech you will meet your driver and transferred to your hotel for the check in. The driver will provide a short overview of your entire trip in Morocco. The rest of the day is at leisure. It’s possible you’ll like to begin your exploration of this exceptional and vibrant city, or chill out in your lodge and uncover its facilities. Spend the overnight with dinner in a Riad or hotel.

After breakfast, you will be escorted by a local tour guide to explore the city of Marrakech. You will visit the main historical monuments including: the gorgeous Bahia palace built in 19th century, the Saadian tombs a 17th century Royal necropolis, the Koranic School of Ben Youssef, and the Koutoubia mosque built in 12th century. You will also visit the famous Souks; a great place for shopping where you can buy presents for your family, friends or yourselves. Relax in the Majorelle Gardens, a peaceful space in the New Town with exotic botanical plants brought from all over the world. You will finish your tour in the main square of Djemaa Lefna with its story tellers, snake charmers, musicians, acrobats and open air food stalls. You will also have free time to enjoy a soft drink in one of the cafes where you can get amazing panoramic views across the square. The rest of the day is at leisure with overnight at the Riad or hotel.

After breakfast, we leave Marrakech venturing through the magnificent Atlas Mountains offering an impressive landscape in the heart of the Atlas Mountain chain to Ouarzazate where many famous movies have been shot such Alexander the Great, The Mummy, The jewel of the Nile, Kingdom of heaven Etc…The scenery is absolutely stunning. We stop to visit the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou one of the most spectacular fortresses in the South of Morocco and a UNESCO world heritage site. You will have lunch in Ouarzazate as “The Hollywood of Africa”. We continue our journey to Roses valley known for its annual festival during the roses harvest in May. Spend the night with dinner in Dades valley.

After breakfast, we start our day with a drive towards the Todra Gorges where many of rock climbers come to enjoy their preferred sport. Later we continue our journey, following the ancient Bedouin trading routes parallel with the Middle Atlas, passing a series of the fortified villages with outstanding pre-Saharan architecture. The route to Erfoud is one of the most pleasing of all the Southern routes. The town is in a dry red built of desert and was built by the French as a central administration town. It is known for its rich black fossils marble. The stone is sculpted to bring the fossils into relief on everything from ashtrays to washbasins and more. We head down to the spectacular Merzouga dunes where sand dunes signify the start of the mighty Sahara Desert. We leave our vehicle and take a camel ride into the desert to a Berber camp. To seal this as an experience of a life time, why not surf the Sahara Desert and try sand Dunes Boarding! After dinner we gather round the fire and enjoy the desert night perhaps with traditional Berber drums.

After a picturesque sunrise with breakfast at the camp, you will leave the desert riding the camels to Merzouga to venture into the Atlas Mountains heading a different part of Morocco. We cross the verdant oasis and magnificent Ziz Gorges carved through volcanic rock and through the Tizi Ntalghamt Pass to Midelt passing millions of palm trees and fortified villages characterized by fascinating southern architecture. We stop for lunch in the small town of Midelt, a sleepy village flanked by the verdant beauty of the Middle Atlas Mountains, bursting with colorful minerals that mottle the mountainside in a blaze of ruby. Continue through the Middle Atlas mountain range and great forests of cedar trees, terraced farms and sienna mud-brick Berber villages via Ifran a charming ski resort and Azrou an important handicraft centre specialized in the work of cedar wood. We reach Fez for the overnight with dinner in a Riad or hotel.

After breakfast, you will meet your private tour guide to enjoy a guided city tour to explore the first imperial city of Morocco, Fes; this UNESCO World Heritage Site was founded in the 9th century, and is home to the world’s oldest university. The first stop of the morning is a visit to the entrance of the largest royal palace in Morocco. Afterwards, we will drive for a wonderful panoramic views of the whole medina from the southern tower of Fes, visit a pottery co-operative where tiles and Moroccan mosaic are made. We will visit the tanneries, to watch the locals working with the skins of animals such as goat, camel and cow. We will explore a Medrassa (Koranic school), the Nejjarine fountain, the Moulay Idriss mausoleum, and the Karaouine Mosque University. Enjoy a Moroccan lunch at a traditional restaurant in the Medina. Afterwards, continue to explore the medina and its narrow alleys house hundreds of merchants and craftsmen selling a range of products such as dates, fish, spices, copper urns and musical instruments. Spend the rest of the day at leisure with the night at the Riad or hotel.

After breakfast, drive from Rabat to Casablanca for a sightseeing of the city that includes the impressive Mosque of Hassan II, opened in 1993. It can accommodate 25,000 worshippers and is one of the only religious sites open to non-Muslims by the beautiful Corniche seaside. Take a moment to catch your breath and to admire the serenity of the Atlantic Ocean. Continue on a short drive through the residential areas of Casablanca to the city center to visit the Mohamed V Square, the Habous quarter and the Notre Dame de Lourdes Cathedral. After lunch, we will leave to the second imperial city Marrakesh for the night with dinner at the hotel or Riad.

After breakfast we’ll head for a day trip to the fresh and artistic coastal city of Essaouira as one of the loveliest cities in Morocco and also a multicultural artistic center, which has captivated people like Jimi Hendrix, Orson Welles and Bob Marley. With a fresh ocean breeze permanently invading all the corners of its medina, the city of Essaouira stands out for its urban life and culture. Essaouira is also highlighted for its gastronomy based of fresh fish and in the use of Argan oil. Essaouira’s Medina was built in the 18th century. Nowadays the city is a World Heritage Site protected by UNESCO and is the favorite place for most Moroccan artists and musicians. The city is also the stage of the famous music festival Gnawa, an old spiritual art form of North-African Islamism. You will make your way back to Marrakech for the overnight with breakfast at your hotel or Riad. There is the possibility of spending the night in Essaouira in case your flight is on the afternoon.