Morocco Spanning The Imperial Cities

Morocco Spanning The Imperial Cities ...Morocco holidays

Marrakesh –Ouarzazate Morning departure at 8 o’clock from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, you leave the main road and take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family, and which now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country, following the departure of the French. From there you continue for lunch at Ait Ben Haddou along the newly asphalted connecting road. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which we visit after lunch. After visiting the Kasbah, you continue to see another famous one of the area, Kasbah Tifoultoute. In Ouarzazate you spend the night in a riad.


Ouarzazate – Toudgha Gorges After breakfast, you set out towards the Dades Gorge, passing the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May,. Here we stop to see the cosmetic articles which are made locally from the valley’s abundant flowers. These products are well-known throughout Morocco and are highly valued. From here, you take an off-road route to have a better impression of the landscape. Along the way, you will stop at caves, used by whichever Berber nomads happen to pass and claim residence there. We will have a glass of tea with them before continuing to the Dades Gorge for lunch. The trip continues a short distance to Tinghir and the very different Toudgha gorges, where you spend the night in a hotel or Kasbah.


Toudgha – Merzouga After breakfast, there are opportunities to walk, either along the river through the gardens or up the road on the other side of the gorges. Lunch will either be here or later at the bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Oasis of Tafilalet near Erfoud, famous for its Date Festival, and Rissani, which is the seat of the Alaouite family of the present king of Morocco. At the bivouac you are welcomed with a glass of tea before taking a camel ride to watch the sunset from the top of the dunes. Later there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.


Merzouga After breakfast, you take the camels, either riding or walking behind, as they carry everything needed to cook your lunch, which will be prepared out in the dunes by your camel man. You’ll walk about three hours in the morning, followed by another three in the afternoon returning to the bivouac for dinner and the night.


Merzouga – Fes After breakfast, departure for Rissani and Erfoud, where there will be a stop to see how locally found fossils are worked into furniture and artefacts. From there the road leads north to Er Rachidia and the Ziz Valley, remarkable for the extent of its palm trees. Lunch is in Midelt, which is called “the apple capital”, in the Middle Atlas and at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. We cross the Tizi-n-Talremt pass and reach Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes looking out for tidbits. We reach Fes at the end of the afternoon.








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Dunes, lakes, waterfalls in morocco

Dunes, lakes, waterfalls in morocco


Marrakesh –Ouarzazate Morning departure at 8 o’clock from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, you leave the main road and take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the Glaoui family, and which now stands in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country, following the departure of the French. From there you continue for lunch at Ait Ben Haddou along the newly asphalted connecting road. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and is a UNESCO World Heritage site, which we visit after lunch. After visiting the Kasbah, you continue to see another famous one of the area, Kasbah Tifoultoute. In Ouarzazate you spend the night in a riad.


 Ouarzazate – Toudgha Gorges After breakfast, you set out towards the Dades Gorge, passing the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May,. Here we stop to see the cosmetic articles which are made locally from the valley’s abundant flowers. These products are well-known throughout Morocco and are highly valued. From here, you take an off-road route to have a better impression of the landscape. Along the way, you will stop at caves, used by whichever Berber nomads happen to pass and claim residence there. We will have a glass of tea with them before continuing to the Dades Gorge for lunch. The trip continues a short distance to Tinghir and the very different Toudgha gorges, where you spend the night in a hotel or Kasbah.


Toudgha – Merzouga After breakfast, there are opportunities to walk, either along the river through the gardens or up the road on the other side of the gorges. Lunch will either be here or later at the bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Oasis of Tafilalet near Erfoud, famous for its Date Festival, and Rissani, which is the seat of the Alaouite family of the present king of Morocco. At the bivouac you are welcomed with a glass of tea before taking a camel ride to watch the sunset from the top of the dunes. Later there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.


Merzouga – Kasba Tadla, founded by Sultan Moulay Ismaïl in 1687. After breakfast, departure for Rissani and Erfoud, where there will be a stop to see how locally found fossils are worked into furniture and artefacts. From there the road leads north to Er Rachidia and the Ziz Valley, remarkable for the extent of its palm trees. Lunch is in Midelt, which is called “the apple capital”, in the Middle Atlas and at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. From Midelt we continue north as far as Zeïda and then turn west across the Middle Atlas until we join the Fes – Marrakesh road. In Kasba Tadla (Tadla meaning a bouquet of wheat in Amazigh) which lies on the left bank of the Oum Er Rabia river, we stay the night in a riad!


In Beni Mellal you visit the Ain Asserdoun waterfalls which provide drinking water and are a source of irrigation for the surrounding villages of Ouled Ayad, Ouled Drid, Mghi among others. Asserdoun means “mule” in Amazigh! Back in the High Atlas you visit the lovely lake of Ben El Ouidane where the mountains come down to the water! Here you can take a walk to enjoy the peace and the green of the area and watch any fiosherman trying his luck! Later you continue to the Ouzoud Waterfalls which constitute one of the most spectacular natural beauty spots in Morocco. The surrounding countryside offers red cliffs, oleander and doves. If you are lucky you will catch a glimpse of some Barbary apes. A short walk will bring you to the top of the falls from where you can see the river stretching away from the magnificent falls. Another three hours drive will bring you back to your riad in Marrakesh.



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holidays in Zagora and Erg Cheggag of morocco

holidays in  Zagora and Erg Cheggag of morocco

 Marrakesh – Dades Morning departure at 8 o’clock from your hotel or riad in Marrakesh to cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, the highest pass in Africa, you reach Ouarzazate, the largest town in the area, and continue through the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, the route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see cosmetic articles locally-made from the valley’s abundant roses. You stop in the Dades gorge in a guest house for the night.


 Dades Gorges – Zagora After breakfast, we go south, through the Saghro mountain range to the village of N’Qob for lunch. From here our route takes us to the Dra’a Valley, which we join at Tansikht and where we turn south to Zagora. The road follows the ancient caravan route between the Dra’a River and the mountains and gives a view of the gardens and kasbahs in the valley. In Zagora we stop for dinner and a night’s rest in a hotel/riad.


 Zagora – Cheggaga dunes The next morning we continue to M’hamid and Erg Lihoudi, where there is an opportunity for a camel ride of about one and a half hours. Lunch is in M’hamid itself after which we make our way across another 60km through the varying features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oases, to the Erg Cheggaga dunes. These are the greatest dunes in Morocco and are approximately 300m high and 35km long. These dunes afford a wonderful view of the setting sun, before returning to the bivouac at the foot of the dunes for dinner and a night’s rest.


Cheggaga dunes – Agdez After breakfast, the road crosses another 90km of desert, passing Lake Iriqui and the mountains as well as fossils, for enthusiasts. The first village beyond the desert, Foum Zguid, is the place for lunch and a refreshing shower. The return to the Dra’a Valley is off-road until we reach the valley itself. Here outside the town of Agdez stands the oldest local kasbah, “Kasbah Tamnougalte”. It is here in this historic setting that you spend the night.


Agdez – Marrakesh After breakfast, we leave for Ouarzazate across the mountain pass of Tizi-n-Tinfifite (1660m) and continue to visit the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou. This site has frequently been used as the background for some memorable scenes in many film masterpieces, such as "Lawrence of Arabia" and "The Gladiator". We visit the Kasbah and have lunch before driving on to Kasbah Telouet, the palatial residence of the one-time Pasha of Marrakesh, Thami Glaoui. It now stands in ruins after he fled the country following the departure of the French. After visiting the Kasbah, we drive across the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and back to Marrakesh, which we reach by the early evening.







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