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North to the Desert

15 days in the desert

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Day 1
Tanger – Chefchaouen

Welcome at the airport of Tanger. We will start our journey by visiting the Rif and we will arrive to Chefchaouen in the afternoon. Chefchaouen is a Berber city. Its name means “the horns”. It is located in a beautiful area where the white color of the houses arranged in different levels contrasts with the green field bathed by the Lau River. Overnight in a Riad.

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Day 2
Chefchaouen – Fes

Breakfast. Visit to the town. Departure for Fez, a beautiful city founded in the 8th century.

Fez is the oldest imperial city in Morocco.
Its medina takes us back to the 13th century.
There we can see the craftsmen grouped on the streets carrying out activities that remind us of the ancient guilds and living together with the peasants who have come here to escape the drought of the latest years.
Overnight in a Riad with charm in the medina.

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Day 3
Fez – Volúbulis – Meknes – Azrou (medio Atlas)

In the morning we will visit the city of Fez. Its architecture, its fascinating medina and its magnificent historical monuments turn Fez into the cultural capital of Morocco.
After lunch we will take an asphalt road to go to the Roman ruins of Volúbilis.
Tour around the Roman city and arrival at Meknes.
Visit to the city (Mulay ISMAIL tomb, el-Hedim Square, Bab MANSOUR) and transfer to the Azrou town located in Middle Atlas.
Dinner in a Riad.

Day 4
Azrou (medio Atlas) – Errachidia – Merzouga

We will leave AZROU and go to Merzouga. We will cross the cedar trees forest, the port of MIDELT, the ERRACHIDIA dam, the magnificent view of the ZIZ Valley, the city of ERFOUD (the door to the desert). We will watch the sunset on the top of the BORJ d’EST, where we can admire a wonderful landscape over the city of ERFOUD. Afterwards, we will continue travelling by track at night until we get to the ERG CHEBBI (Merzouga) dunes. Overnight in a Riad on the foot of the dunes. Riad Madu.

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Day 5
Erg Chebbi (Merzouga)

After breakfast we will go along the dunes by track and we will see the 2 oasis of Merzouga, the nomads in haimas, the KHAMLIA town (a town of black people), the MIFISS mines, the desert plateaus and the TISSARDMINE oasis.
We will be back at the hostel at around 3.00 p.m. Later, we will go to the dunes riding dromedaries and we will watch the sunset.
We will sleep in a wild oasis located in the heart of the dunes.¡Noche mágica!

Day 6
Erg Chebbi (Merzouga) – Taouz – Rissani – Merzouga

After returning from the desert we will take the track to TAOUZ to discover the prehistoric engravings. Later we will go to RISSANI, the ancient Siljimassa, an important center in convoy routes that traded salt and slaves in Mali and Niger. We will visit its famous gate, the ancient palaces and the souk. At noon we will have the specialty of the city: Saharan pizza. After lunch we will visit the quarry of fossils and we will return to the Riad.

Day 7
Merzouga – Gargantas del Todra – Gargantas del Dades

We will depart from the dunes towards ERFOUD to get to TINERHIR where we will visit the “fougartas” (an old sewer system from the 15th century) and the Tinhgir palm grove. We will arrive at the Todra Gorge and have lunch there. After lunch we will cross the city and the BOUMALNE DADES Valley until we get to the Dades Gorges where, over time, the river has eroded the rocks to shape a very peculiar landscape. Overnight in Riad.

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Día 8
Gargantas del Dades – Boutaghrart – Skoura – Ouarzazate

We will leave in the morning travelling by track towards the Valley of Roses and the magnificent Berber town of Boutghrart where we will drink tea with a family. We will keep on the track by the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs. This stage is out of the regular route. We will make several stopovers in interesting sites like kasbahs, panoramic views, valleys, nomads in caves, etc. We will arrive at Skoura town where we will abandon the track and take the road to the city of Ouarzazate, famous for its film studios.
Overnight in a Riad.

Day 9
Ouarzazate – Telouet – Marrakech

We will visit the famous Ait Benhaddou kasbah where films like Laurence of Arabia, The Mommy, etc. have been filmed. Afterwards, we will cross the mountain to discover the TELOUET Kasbah. In the afternoon we will return to Marrakech by the TIZI N’ TICHKA port (2260 m high), one of the most beautiful ports in Morocco with wonderful landscapes. Overnight in a Riad.

Day 10
Marrakech

Visit to Marrakech city, center of Morocco, with its old city (Medina), its main historical monuments (tombs and mosques), its kasbahs, its famous Jemaa El fna Square… We will realize that Morocco is the capital of tourism due to the high number of foreign and national visitors we will find on the streets. Overnight in the same Riad.

Day 11
Marrakech – Essaouira

In the morning we will visit the modern side of Marrakech and after eating we will depart for the small fishing town of Essaouira. It is located in the southern coast and has more than 11 km of beaches. Overnight in a Riad.

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Día 12
Essaouira

In the city we can visit many places such as the museum of wooden arts and crafts located in the ancient palace, the old watch tower and the Skala of the port where we can contemplate the coast, the islands and the whole city. We can also visit the Gate of Marina that communicates the port with the city or go to the fish auction in the port.

The narrow streets of the medina are an interesting shop window for the work of jewelers, goldsmiths and cedar and ebony marquetry craftsmen who are settled in underground workshops of the bastions of the city. On top of such bastions we can still see some Spanish cannons from the 16th and 17th centuries. Overnight in a Riad.

Day 13
Essaouira – Safi – Rabat

Breakfast and departure for Rabat, administrative and political capital of the country. We will walk around the diplomatic quarter, the Royal Palace, the Mohamed V Mausoleum and the Hassan Tower. Overnight in a Riad.

Day 14
Rabat– Larache – Asilah

After breakfast we will continue our route through the coastline to go to Asilah, a jewel of Moorish architecture. Asilah is a small city and a fishing port that developed under the Spanish protectorate.
It is surrounded by ocher-colored walls of the Portuguese wall. The houses have doors and windows painted in blue, green and yellow thus contrasting with the white color in their walls. Overnight in a Riad.

Day 15
Asilah – Tánger – Algeciras

Breakfast and transfer to the airport of Tanger to board the ferry to Algeciras.