Description :
10 DAYS IMPERIAL CITIES AND SOUTH OF MOROCCO
Itinerary :
DAY 1
Marrakech
Arrival in the Imperial city of Marrakech. Spanish help and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and overnight In Marrakech.
DAY 2
Marrakech
Half board at the hotel breakfast and dinner included. Visit of the city of Marrakech, the “South Gate”. The tour begins with the Menara Gardens; The Garden was established in the 12th century as an orchard of palm, olive and fruit trees. It has a formal pool overlooked by a pavilion (minzah) previously used by the sultan and his family. You will discover the majestic minaret of the Koutoubia, the Saadiens tombs. The visit will end at the Jamaa El Fna (People’s Assembly),Unesco declared the Djemaa El Fna a ‘Masterpiece of World Heritage’ in 2001 for bringing urban legends and oral history to life nightly. In the morning, each day, the local merchants bring their carts to the square to hawk their goods. The first to arrive are often the vendors of water and fresh squeezed orange juice, a local specialty as outside the walls of Marrakesh there are vast orange orchards. This becomes particularly a fascinating universe at nightfall, when the square is lit by a thousand lights and everything seems magical.
DAY 3
Marrakech - Settat - Casablanca
Breakfast. Free time in the morning in Marrakech. In the afternoon head towards Settat via Casablanca. When you think of Casablanca,the first thing that comes into mind isthe legendary film with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman. But Casablanca is an architectural gem, when the French created their plan for Casablanca they wanted the city to embody the best of modern Western architecture and traditional Moroccan design. The result is a style called “architecture mauresque”, blending the facades of French Art Deco with Islamic arches and tile work. Casablanca’s post office, palace of justice and Al-Maghrib Bank are all beautiful examples, best explored on a walking tour of the city center. According to the eminent historian Jean-Louis Cohen. “Casablanca was the most creative of all the cities of France’s empire,” Casablanca has more art deco building than Miami Beach.You will have dinner and an overnight stay at the hotel in Casablanca.
DAY 4
Casablanca - Rabat - Mekinez - Fez
Breakfast and visit of the city starting with the boulevard de la Corniche; Lined with restaurants, ice cream parlors, and shisha lounges, The Corniche offers a respite from a buzzing city. We will drive the coastal road to Anfa, the route will take us past the Great Mosque of Hassan II. The most representative monument of the twentieth century. You can also visit the inside of it. Then we will take you to the imperial city of Rabat: capital of the Kingdom of Morocco since 1912. Its visit will begin with the Royal Palace. “Dar el Makhzen” with its great mosque built by the “men in Fez”. Laterwill visit, the Kasbah of Oudayas, you will enjoy a beautiful panoramic view on the estuary of the Bouregreg river. Then we will stop at the Mausoleum Mohamed V. Next door to it, the Unfinished Mosque Hassan Tower. We will cross the fertile valleys to Meknes. Visit the Meknes Imperial starting with its walls, its magnificent doors such as Bab el Mansur. Then, the Agdal pond. The tour ends at the mausoleum of Moulay- Ismail mosque beautifully ornamented with, stucco, stone and fine porcelain. After a short drivewe will arriveto the spiritual city of the Imperial city of Fes where you will have dinner and stay overnight.
DAY 5
Fes
Half board at the hotel including breakfast and dinner. Day trip to Fes, the city has one of the best conserved historic towns of the Arab-Muslim world. The oldest walled part of the city, Fes El-Bali, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Fes can be traced to the Al Quaraouyine, which was founded here in 859 by a woman, and is the first continuously operating degree-awarding university in the world. Enter through the archways of the stunning Bab Boujloud (Blue Gate) and you’ll get a sense of what lies ahead in the 19th-century medina. We will begin our walking tour starting from Dar el-Makhzen (royal palace) with its impressive gold doors where the artisans work all the copper of the city of Fez. The Andalusian Mosque dating back to 860. Entry is not permitted to non-Muslims. See the fountains including the Nejjarine Fountain, the Medersas (Koranic schools) founded as early as the 13th century. The Batha Palace is now a museum of arts and Moroccan traditions. Next, the Chouwara tanneries, the Souks including Souk Attarine, one of the liveliest in the city. After, see Bab Boujloud with its green and blue ceramics.
DAY 6
Fez - Ifran - Middle Atlas - Merzouga
After the breakfast the departure of the hotel will be at 8:30 am heading south and crossing the mountain of the Middle Atlas. Arrivals in the famed cedar forests inhabited by endangered Barbary ape (although it’s a monkey not an ape) inhabits the cedar forests of Morocco. Cedar trees typically only grow at over 1600-1700m, so you find the Cedars and their monkeys in the Middle Atlas, Rif and High Atlas.We will take a short break to observe the wild life and enjoy the nature. We will drive through the Middle Atlas, its green valleys and it s panoramas of mountains.
We will stop for lunch in a Berber village, most of the day will be spent winding your way through the beautiful forests, springs, jagged rock faces, and Berber villages as you cross the Atlas Mountains and begin to descend towards the Sahara Desert, to arrive at the dunes of Merzouga. Camels will be awaiting us to start our journey through the desert. You will enjoy a magnificent sunset behind the dunes of the Merzouga. You will arrive to the center of the dunes to settle in your tent and enjoy a walk afterwards in the sand dunes.A dinner will be awaiting you in the camp site accompanied with Berber music.
We will stop for lunch in a Berber village, most of the day will be spent winding your way through the beautiful forests, springs, jagged rock faces, and Berber villages as you cross the Atlas Mountains and begin to descend towards the Sahara Desert, to arrive at the dunes of Merzouga. Camels will be awaiting us to start our journey through the desert. You will enjoy a magnificent sunset behind the dunes of the Merzouga. You will arrive to the center of the dunes to settle in your tent and enjoy a walk afterwards in the sand dunes.A dinner will be awaiting you in the camp site accompanied with Berber music.
DAY 7
Merzouga - Gorges Of Todra - Route Of The Kasbahs – Ouarzazate
Breakfast at the hotel. You can check with your guide if you want to watch the sunrise on the dunes before heading to the “The Todra Gorges”: is recognized around the world as one of the most spectacular canyons.The Todra and Dades Rivers have carved out cliff-sided canyons on their final 25-mile stretch through the mountains, leaving behind this series of reliefs and etches in the rock. After that we will take the “Route des Kasbahs”, each of those kasbahs is constructed in the rammed-earth method of building known as pisé. But, fragile though they might sound to the untrained ear, these fortresses have stood since the days when camel caravans plodded out of the desert bearing gold from sub-Saharan West Africa and Sudan. Then we will arrive to Ouarzazate, visit “Kasbah Taourirt” that was at a time the residence of the Pacha of Marrakech, it is built in adobe with crenellated towers, you will visit The old quarters of Glaoui “Pacha” who was also called the lord of the Atlas. Dinner and overnight in Ouarzazate.
DAY 8
Ouarzazate - Marrakech
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive through the mountains of the Atlas through the pass of N’Tichka, about 3000 m. high, return trip to Marrakech. Arrival at noon. Free time in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight in Marrakech.
DAY 9
Marrakech
Half board at the hotel. Free time to enjoy one of the most beautiful cities in the days of the world. You can Take an optional day trip to Ourika, or simply enjoy the red city. It’s almost impossible to walk through Marrakech for more than five minutes without finding some architectural wonder to marvel at. From the exquisite gardens to the intricately carved archways to the ornate mosques, this is a city that displays its history in its man-made environment. The Medina in particular is a sight to behold: designated a UNESCO World Heritage Centre it’s a wonderful mix of Amazigh, Arabic and Moorish architecture.Marrakech is a magnet for fashion buffs, Jean Paul Gaultier, Serge Lutens, the Hermès family, the Bransons, the Bulgaris — every stylish globe¬trotter seems to have a place in Morocco these days. The renowned fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent first visited Marrakech in 1966 and said “Marrakech taught me color,before Marrakech, everything was black.” Now a museum dedicated to the fashion house has opened in the city that had such a strong influence on him, enjoy a visit to the museum and the Jardin Majorelle. You can also simply stroll through the city and enjoy great shops and restaurants.
DAY 10
Marrakech - Menara Airport
Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to Marrakech airport. End of our services
Previous
Next
- Number of Days : 10 Days
- Departure : Marrakech
- Destination : IMPERIAL CITIES AND SOUTH OF MOROCCO
