Kashbahs & Oasis, Morocco

Day 1: Arrive Marrakech

Welcome to Morocco. Upon arrival, you will be welcomed by your Sky Vacations ambassador who will assist you with transfer to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure to unwind. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

Day 2: Marrakech City Tour

This morning after breakfast at your hotel, it’s time to unearth the secrets of Marrakech, beginning in the medina, the old walled section of town and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This thousand-year-old city was long a political, economic and cultural center. Marvel at its architectural jewels, including the soaring Koutoubia minaret.

Continue to the Bahia Palace, an exemplary specimen of privileged life in the 19th century. Your next stop is at the Tiskiwin Museum (Maison Tiskiwin), which houses an impressive collection of North African arts and crafts. The museum, which was founded by a Dutch anthropologist, is organized into geographically themed exhibits, with each room focusing on artifacts from different towns and regions along the ancient trade route from Marrakech to Timbuktu. The works on display include exquisite hand-woven carpets and textiles, traditional Berber clothing and jewelry, intricate basketwork and tribal handicrafts. Later you visit Djemaa el-Fna, Marrakech’s main square, which is filled with orange juice stalls and vendors, along with fire-eaters, mime artists, snake-charmers and street musicians performing at every turn. You may also take the opportunity to explore the city’s fabled, labyrinthine souks, their bustling alleyways brimming with all manner of wares. Following your visit, return to your hotel. The remainder of the day is at leisure, a perfect opportunity to freshen up and get ready for a dinner in a local restaurant. Return to your hotel and overnight.

Day 3: Marrakech – Skoura – Dades

As you leave Marrakech this morning, the distant haze begins to resolve itself into a jagged mountain range – the High Atlas Mountains, jutting abruptly from the plain. Our route follows the same one caravans used centuries ago, to bring into Marrakech gold and precious wood from the other side of the ocean of sand, the Sahara. Beautiful scenery and small villages built in tiers succeed among oak trees, walnut groves and snow patches before arriving at the Tizi n Tichka pass, at 2260 meters high. Once over the pass a totally different picture is unveiled: the lunar landscape of the Anti-Atlas. Later, skirt past Ouarzazate and stop for a lunch (own expense). Past Ouarzazate, our trip tour reaches yet another lush area, nested between the deserted crest and the desolate plateaus: Skoura palm grove. Then, our trip reaches Kelaa des Mgouna, famous for the nearby Valley of Roses and ‘Rose Festival’, where at the end of a 3 day celebration usually held in May, a local girl is crowned ‘Rose Queen’. The most looked after product is eau-de-rose and two factories in the area distil and export the product. The process uses approximately three thousand kilograms of rose petals to extract a liter of rose oil. Further on, Boulmane Dades follows, the starting point to explore the spectacular Dades Gorge, a lush carpet set against the massive rocks. This evening enjoy dinner at your hotel.

Day 4: Dades – Tinghir -Merzouga

We’re back on the road this morning with our first stop Tinerhir (Tinghir). With its extensive palm grove, the ksours built into the rocky hills above it and its mysterious decaying Jewish quarter. Tinghir has been for generations a stop for nomadic Berber tribes travelling from the mountains north of it towards the desert during the winter months. A rather inconspicuous hidden gem is the 19th century adobe mosque nested within the old crumbling ksour, a heaven for photography enthusiasts. Todra Gorges, lie only 15 km from Tinghir, presenting an arresting spectacle with its crystal clear river emerging from it, its huge walls changing color to magical effect as the day unfolds. Its 300 meters ( 1000 feet ) high walls are home to more than 150 bolted routes and at any time of day you can catch a glimpse of someone rock climbing his way up the gigantic walls. Before reaching Merzouga where the tarmac ends, we pass Erfoud and Rissani. In Erfoud we may stop for a visit at Musee des Oasis if time allows. Rissani used to serve as last stop on the great caravan routes south and gold and slave auctions were taking place here as late as 1800’s. Before it, the caravan trade and the most important city in Morocco was Sijilmassa, the ruins of which lie opposite Rissani. From its gates, Ibn Battuta and Leo Africanus left Morocco to embark on their illustrious journeys across the Sahara into African countries. Soon after we reach Merzouga and in the distance you glimpse the first leviathans of sand forming the Sahara: the dunes of Erg Chebbi. Serf the sandy sea on a powerful 4 WD Land Rover to the desert camp. Dinner and overnight under Berber tent.

Day 5: Merzouga – Alnif – Tazarine – Zagora

Enjoy a sunrise camel ride along the golden sand dunes in Merzouga this morning. Return to your Riad for breakfast before transferring to Zagora via the Amazigh villages of Alnif and Tazarine. The road to Tazzarine sees almost no traffic, providing a scenic link between Tafilalet and Draa Valley. Aside from the landscape, fossils and prehistoric rock carvings are this region’s main attraction. The scenery grows wilder as you approach Tazzarine, set in a grassy oasis surrounded by bare mountains. Continue to Zagora. Famous for its largest palm valley in Morocco. Dinner and overnight in your hotel.

Day 6: Zagora – Agdez – Ouarzazate

After breakfast, enjoy the tour of Zagora including some of the oldest villages in Morocco. Stop by Tamegroute to visit the village’s famous library, which houses ancient Koranic scripts dating back to the 12th century. Visit the pottery section of Tamgroute then transfer to Ouarzazate along the Draa valley. After lunch at Agdez (optional), continue the trip to Ouarzazate for dinner and overnight.

Day 7: Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech

Begin the day by exploring Ouarzazate, a city originally built as a French garrison in the 1920s. Today, the city is a regional trade center, known for its pottery and carpets. See the Taourirt Kasbah, which now consists of simple clay houses and crenellated towers that are beautifully decorated with geometric motifs. On the way, optional visit to the Film studios. Continue to elaborate Aït Benhaddou, dubbed a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home of the region’s most exotic Kasbahs, where structures all but defy the laws of gravity as they perch upon the steep slope. Some of these buildings have been featured in films, including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator. You journey over the High Atlas Mountains, observing everyday life in remote rural towns, to the fascinating city of Marrakech. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 8: Depart Marrakech

After breakfast, you will be transferred to the airport for your onward journey.