Fez to Marrakech Atlas, Kasbah & Camels Trip

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Fez to Marrakech Atlas, Kasbah & Camels Trip.

This authentic intimate Morocco tour from Fez to Marrakech Atlas, Kasbah & Camels Trip provides a journey of a lifetime through one of the best, diverse and unbelievably beautiful parts of Morocco. Starting in Fez and finishing in Marrakech, we explore some of the most scenic places in Morocco ‘ Atlas Mountains & Sahara Desert. We navigate routes that are embedded into Moroccan History and Berber Culture: we follow the Ziz valley River as we leave Fes Medina, make our way to the Majestic Sahara Desert and Rocky Atlas Mountains before following the Caravan Trade Routes to Todra gorge and Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. Along the way, you will experience distinctly Moroccan activities that will deepen your understanding of southern Moroccan berber culture, nature and landscape. Be sure to pack your binoculars for this real life experience tour!

Day 1 / Date: —
Fes
Meals included: breakfast,

Meet at your hotel in Casablanca, We will make our way to Rabat, the capital of Morocco, enjoy the charming garden of Challa, surrounded by walls and beautiful defensive gates, built between 1310 and 1330, and we will visit the tombs of Moroccan kings Mohammed V, who died in 1962, Hassan II who died in 1999, the tomb of Moulay Abdullah the uncle of Mohammed VI and Hassan Tower which was built in 12th century.
Oudaya Kasbah which was built in 12th century and served as a military base for the Almorabits army in their defense against the Spanish army. The roof of the Kasbah allows a stunning view of the surrounding area. You will also get to see the 240 km long Abi-Regrag river, located in western Morocco between Rabat and Sala.

continue to Fes the finest medieval city in the Arab world, an ancient Imperial capital for centuries, and a former Morocco`s intellectual and spiritual heart.

At 3pm, Enjoy the guided city tour of Fes. Begin with the entrance to the largest royal palace in Morocco. Continue with a panoramic view of the ancient medina. Enjoy an authentic experience at the traditional ceramic crafts village of Fes after that. Your next stop is Fes El Bali, the ancient town or Medina, which is a medieval part of Fes that has not changed for centuries. Optional lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the famous Al-Karaouine mosque, built by Fatima Al Fihria in 857. Al-Karaouine mosque became home to the University of Al-Karaouine, which is the first university in the world and the world’s foremost center of learning at the beginning of the second millennium. The university was built by Fatima Al Fihria in 859, and, since then, it has become one of the leading spiritual and educational centers of the Muslim world. In the medina, visit also a Merdersa, which is a Coranic school. Complete the city tour of Fes with the leather Souq and the oldest Leather Tannery in the world. The tannery dates back at least nine centuries.
Balance of the day is at leisure.

Included Activities
• Guided tour of Fes old medina
• Funduk Nejjarine visit
• Tannery visit
• Jewish Quarter

Accommodation
Riad Al Makan / Palais Houyam

Day 2 / Date: —
Merzouga
Meals included: breakfast, dinner

Meet at your hotel in Fes at 7am and embark on long drive, The day has come to go on a desert adventure to cross off Merzouga from your bucket list. Merzouga is the rocky desert plateau that give way to a vast stretched sea of sandy hills, the far-flung Erg Chebbi.
In the way we will pass through the most modern and clean city in the country Ifran. This Berber name of Ifran means caves and it is nicknamed in Morocco as a little Switzerland since it is a very green town and is a ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco because of its high altitude at 1665 meters. Ifran is very known as well by The Brotherhood private university, established in 1997 by The king of Morocco Hassan II and the king of Saudi Arabia Fahd. Where all classes are taught in English, it is an international university. Lunch will be scheduled in a Berber village called Midelt which is situated on the foothills of the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. From vast plateau we start crossing up those tough mountains which are still settled by a big Berber community. The landscapes here includes palm tree oases at Jbel Ayachi (at 3747 m) before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone passing first by Errachidia and Erfoud, which is famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries. Fossils are a major industry in Erfoud, some 350 million years ago the region around Erfoud was a part of the huge ocean. Heading up to the red colored sand sea dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga via Rissani, the hometown of the Alaouist dynasty, where Moulay Ali sheriff started to unify Morocco under his red flag in the beginning of the 17th century. From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the huge sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon. We meet our camel men, embark on a 1hour camel ride into the desert to spend a wonderful night enjoying these dramatic dunes, wonderful skies and stars at night, you may get involved in some drumming arround the fire with the berbers tonight, dinner in the campsite. Car : 7 hours

The golden magical dunes regularly moving by wind blows across wide part of north Africa including Algerian border nearby. On arrival check in to your riad, enjoy sunset drink and relax admiring the sunset over the dunes.

Included Activities
• Dinner under stars if weather allow it
• Astronomy experience
• Camel Ride
• Sleeping in the tents
Accommodation
Luxury desert Camp

Day 3 / Date: —
Dades Valley
Meals included: breakfast, dinner

Visiting Errisani and the Mausoleum of the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, Moulay Ali Chrif in the 17th century. This silent town was the ancient capital of Tafilalet and its location as a crossroads between north and south brought the city to an important status of a former major caravan center. Up to now Rissani remains a major commercial center in the region, with a large souk, particularly lively today on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday. It was noted for its leather and goat skin trading in ancient ages.
we will then visit the underground irrigation channels used by the nomads to irrigate theire oasis of palms and henna during the drought times, we will visit the oasis Museum to discover the Saharan Heritege and Berber culture.
1 hour drive from here to the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges are situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of the Colorado, with its high plateau, its gorges and great canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4000 m, with Jbel Saghro 2500 m and Jbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated by Berbers. Here you can enjoy a hike among those fabulous canyons.
We pass a town called Boumalen situated on the edge of Dades valley which rises in the High Atlas Mountains, giving life to a huge Berber community by its rich agriculture. Along this valley another valley called valley of roses appearing with the green colors of its Alfalfa plants, olive trees, fig trees and grapes. This valley gives birth to a rose from which locals produces different cosmetic products like soap, perfumes and skin creams. Locals here celebrate this rose by organizing a national festival each end of April, overnight in Dades valley.

Included Activities
• Visit Date Markets
• Irrigation Channels – Khattara
• Visit Oasis museum
• Todra Valley walking Tour

Accommodation
Maison d’hote la valee des Figues / Chez Ichou

Day 4 / Date: —
Marrakech
Meals included: breakfast, dinner

From the the dades valley we go along the road of 1000 Kasbahs, since there are enormous Kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of those old fortified houses are restored but unfortunately a lot of them are ruins.
Getting to Ouarzazate (Hollywood of Africa, Noiselessly town, The door of the desert), is a city situated in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. It is mainly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known. One of those building is Taourirt Kasbah diverted in 17th century.
Why this town is nicknamed as Hollywood of Africa? Simply because it has been noted as a film-making location, with Morocco’s biggest studios inviting many international film companies to shoot their movies like: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997) and Babel (2005).
We start our day visiting the fortified city of Aït Benhaddou, built in the 11th century. Once up on a time this Kasbah was the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. It is situated on a hill along the Ounila River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damage during each rainstorm and windstorms. Most of the town’s inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, around five families are still living within this Kasbah.
Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Gladiator (2000) and Alexander (2004). From this beautiful fortified house we head west to the city of Marrakech. It is called the “Homeland of God in Berber”. The ramparts of the town are nearly 30 kilometers long, continue to Marrakech, via the windy high Atlas mountains, arrive in the afternoon, visit to the Jamaa Lafna square.free time.

Included Activities
• Kasbah Ait Benhaddou visit
• Moroccan tea time at Tawesna association
• Visit to Ouarzazate Studios

Accommodation
Hotel 3 Palmiers

Day 5 / Date: —
Marrakech
Meals included: breakfast,

Enjoy a guided city tour of Marrakech, Paris of the Sahara as Winston Churchill once described it. Stop first at the Koutoubia Mosque, which is an old monument built under the reign of the Almohad Caliph Yaqub al-Mansur (1184 to 1199). This monument inspired other buildings such as the Giralda in Seville in Spain and the Hassan Tower in Rabat. Stop next at the Bahia Palace. This Palace was built in the late 19th century and was intended to capture the essence of the Islamic and Moroccan style. Visit Madrasa Ben Youssef after that. This Coranic school is named after the Almoravid Sultan Ali Ibn Yusuf (reigned 1106–1142). Madrasa Ben Youssef is the largest in all of Morocco. Stop next at the Saadian tombs, which is a site that dates back to the time of the sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (1578-1603). The tombs were discovered in 1917 and were restored by the Beaux-arts service. Optional lunch at a local restaurant. Continue the tour with the world famous Jema El Fna Square where you will enjoy amazing performance of traditional activities by storytellers, snake charmers, peddlers of traditional medicines. Your last stop is the bustling souks in the old medina.
Free afternoon in Marrakech at leisure.

Included Activities
• Marrakech Guided Tour
• Jamaa Lafna

Accommodation
Hotel 3 Palmiers

Optional Activities
Luxury Spa Hammam & Massage – MAD450
Hot air Balloon – MAD2500
Cooking class – MAD450

Day 06 / Date: —
Departure
Meals included: breakfast

There are no activities planned for the final day of your Fez to Marrakech Atlas, Kasbah & Camels Trip 3-6days, Transfer to the airport.

Airport Departure Transfer