17 Days from North to South Morocco Cultural Tour

Overview

This tour will make you surely change the meaning of travel, your mood and even your motivation. Imagine how happy you will be when you find out that you’ve discovered the entire Morocco in a certain days.

This North to South Morocco Cultural Tour will enable you to discover the entire Morocco and the must see sites and you’ll be driven through good roads and even off-roads. After you jump off from the ferry we’ll meet up to start at the famously decadent Tangier, with its Europe-facing Medina to the nearby Chefchaouen with its gorgeous blue-painted Medina. Head south to Fes and west to Rabat via Meknes.

From Rabat we will follow up the Atlantic Coast to Sidi Ifni where we wind eastward to Erg Chigaga, the largest desert in Morocco where you’ll surely choose to drift off to sleep while watching the twinkling stars in mid of an awesome stretch of golden sand sea after dinner. Wake by dawn to watch the sun starting its daily arc with a cool blue morning sky as it replaces the Sahara shadows just before becoming a glowing ball of fire.

Exit the desert northwest along a series of crumbling Kasbahs and Ksours line the road in the Sahara villages to the gigantic rock walls of Todgha Gorges. Arriving to Bin Elouidane via Imilchil and across the Middle Atlas Berber Villages. At your 14^th day tour you will head to Marrakech via the spectacular Cascades d’Ouzoud with their amphitheater of waterfalls falling into the pools in a lush valley that remains invisible till the last moment.

Note: Ideally arriving by ferry across the strait of Gibraltar to feel the thrill of crossing from Europe to Africa.

Highlights 

• Explore the gateway of Europe to Africa, from the Cap Spartel Lighthouse to the mythical Hercules Cave.
• Discover the enchanting blue-washed medina of Chefchaouen, nestled beneath the Rif Mountains.
• Immerse yourself in Fes’ ancient medina, the largest in the world, with a guided walk through its historic sites.
• Wander through the laid-back beach town of Essaouira, famous for its 15th-century ramparts and vibrant arts scene.
• Experience the serene beauty of the largest sand sea in Morocco, with a camel ride and star-gazing night.
• Enjoy a scenic hike to the spectacular waterfalls, with a chance to spot Barbary apes and explore Berber villages.

Itinerary 

Day 1 : Tangier Arrival

Welcom to Morocco!

Either you come by plane or by ferry you will find our shuttle with a card by your name waiting for you to drive you to your hotel.

Day 2 : Tangier City Tour

We start this tour from the gateway of Europe to Africa, Tangier named for the goddess Tinge, and the lover of Hercules, who mythically pulled Europe apart from Africa to form the Strait Gibraltar. A dramatic drive takes you through La Montagne over a pine-covered headland to the Cap Spartel Lighthouse that lies just 14km west of Tangier. 5km further you’ll get to Grottes d’Hercule where you’ll have much-photographed view from within the mythical dwelling cave of Hercules that resembles a map of Africa. Back to the Medina where you’ll spend a few hours Meandering down the alleyways, within its 15th century Portuguese fortress walls to visit the Kasbah Museum of Mediterranean Culture. Wander up St Andrew’s Church for a spot of gravestone reading, then take in the latest art exhibition at center culturel Ibn Khaldoun.

Day 3 : Tangier – Chefchaouen – Fes

Leaving the famously decadent Tangier, with its Europe-facing Medina and head into the Rif Mountains. European influence continues in Chefchaouen with its bright blue, Andalusian-tiled medina, with its grand red-hued Kasbah lording it over the Main square of Outa Hmam. Chefchaouen a city that perched beneath the raw peaks of the Rif Mountains. The « Blue Town » has a mystical blue-washed Medina, surely the prettiest and the smallest when compared to others in the country. The town remained isolated with the Andalusian character architecture. Chaouen is undoubtedly a place to enjoy exploring at random. Afternoon, you head to the Imperial city of Fes, it is more quintessentially Moroccan in its ancient Medina.

Day 4 : Fes cultural Walk and talk guided Medina tour

No need to panic! Your guide will ensure you see all the must-see sites. With your private Fes-born and bred guide, you’ll have the opportunity to discover the ancient breeding ground for scholars and artisans and explore the largest medina in the world. You’ll visit the America Fondouk, Nejjarines, the Tanneries, the Medersa (Theological College), and Karaouine, the first established university in the world. Your guide will illuminate many tales and 1200 years of history within this UNESCO-protected Medina.
After your medina tour, you have the option to extend your experience. Choose between indulging in a delicious homemade meal at Lalla Aicha’s place in Sefrou or pampering yourself with a traditional Moroccan Hammam Spa.

Day 5 : Fes – Meknes – Rabat – Casablanca

We leave the mazing Medina of Fes with its mysteries and secrets of the 9000 alleyways head west to Casablanca. We stop over first for the imperial city of Meknes, we start discovering it from the famed gate Bab El Mansour, Dar Jamai Palace and Museum, the royal stables, Hedim square and Moulay Ismail tomb. Through the narrow lanes to the Mellah where the Jewish families used to live. After Meknes, Rabat the administrative capital will be waiting for you, salute the soldier-knights riding horses in front of the gate to the monumental Hassan tower with the pillared stumps of its mosque being all that remains from the earthquake of 1755. There is also the near-by Mausoleum of the royal family. Take the high-way to Casablanca the economic capital of Morocco, after one-hour-long drive (if time allows) You might like to figure out some of its sights, the architectural masterpiece, Hassan II Mosque that completed in the 90s, overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and has a retractable roof to let in sunlight, and one of few mosque the non-Muslim are accorded the rare opportunity to enter.

Day 6 : Casablanca – Eljadida – Safi – Essaouira

Around 8am you’ll head southwest of Casablanca to the 15 century Portuguese fortified city of Mazagan known now as El-Jadida, nicknamed « the Deauville of Morocco » its Portuguese structures, fortified ramparts and a system of defense surrounding the Medina which advances out into the sea, all evoke the city’s past history. (Listed as World Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO), an ancient coastal town impressive testimony of Portuguese architecture. When you leave El-Jadida your road takes you to Safi, the Sardines and Pottery town, most of its old medina was built by the Portuguese in the 16th century. From Safi to the most laid-back beach city in Morocco. Essaouira is more than just a town is a muse, it’s Jimi Hendrix inspiration site, a source of undying inspiration.

Day 7 : Essaouira Medina Tour

Today you’ll have much time to explore Jimi Hendrix’s town, after having your breakfast you’re free to roam in the city that was once and still a haven for hippie backpackers and Gnawa musicians. You can book a local guide, if not you can start your visit by the ramparts a series of forts that were built in the 15th century around the Medina of Mogador. Inside the Medina you’ll have the chance to visit The Mellah (former Jewish quarter), the Morocco’s 3rd fishing port where you can have a delicious fish meal. For the sports-oriented travelers, Essaouira is a place to some fine wind and kitesurfing schools.

Day 8 : Essaouira – Agadir – Tiznit – Sidi Ifni

An early-morning start is recommended for this day. Set your compass for south through the Atlantic Ocean with its white good beaches. You stop for the visit of Agadir, the city that was completely rebuilt following a devastating earthquake in 1960, with its busy port and beach resort sprawling beneath its Kasbah. Later on, you continue to join the rich and lush lands. The birds national reserve park of Souss-Massa. Mirleft still a nice little place to hole up for a cup of mint tea. You continue onward to the most romantic Art Deco military town ever built on cliff top site. A real Santa Cruz del Mar Pequeno « Holy Cross of the Small Sea » that build in 1930.

Day 9 : Sidi Ifni – Tafraoute

From Sidi Ifni you head to a village nestled in the gorgeous Ameln Valley and locked in a muscular, red-granite mountains and some rock carvings. Tafrouate the stoned-built villages with around five thousand hardy souls, Tafrouate still one of the must-see relaxed destinations in the country of red and green flag. It worthy a walk around to see curious rock formations such as Napoleon’s Hat or the Pierres Pients, Painted blue and pink by a Belgium artist.

Day 10 : Tafrouate – Akka/Tata

Leave the village that surrounded by a wind-eroded, jagged panorama of red-granite tors and craggy brown cliffs and rocks through a flyblown roadside town abutted named Akka or oasis « dates », in Berber Language where, are much in evidence. Arrive to Oum El Alek where more rock carvings. Then to Tata, which roughly means « take a break » in Berber Language, to really take a break to recall those days of Saharan caravans, as do the turban-wrapped men sipping tea in the shade. You’ll explore the palmeraie and its orderly array of pink-colored buildings.

Day 11 : Tata – Erg Chigaga Desert

At the morning you should be prepared to leave the small garrison town that is pretty long way from anywhere, and from whichever direction you’re arriving, head into the largest sand sea in Morocco. To Erg Chigaga through rough-road you’ll encounter a splendid stretch towering dunes and golden sand sea. In the middle of the desert you’ll surely choose to drift off to sleep while watching the twinkling stars after dinner.

Day 12 : Erg Chigaga Desert Roam

Always, the best way to live the nomad life and explore the desert and hear its windy whisper is by riding the camel. So, today you will have a chance to fully live a real desert experience with your camel guide to discover the fauna, flora and history of the desert. Lunch will be served in the middle of nowhere in the 300 meter-high dunes.

Day 13 : Erg Chigaga Desert – M’hamid El-Ghizlane – Todgha Gorges

Wake by dawn to watch the sun starting its daily arc with a cool blue morning sky as it replaces the Sahara shadows just before becoming a glowing ball of fire. You exit Erg Chigaga head to north to see Todgha gorges by day light with its gigantic rock walls changing color to magical effects as the day unfolds. But before getting there we’ll stopover in an unusual place that was once the most important settlement in the Valley of Draa with its green pottery. The Zawiya Naciria is still a site of pilgrimage and refuge for the mentally-ill and a working Quranic school with a library that was once the richest in Morocco of ancient illuminated texts containing 4000 books.

Day 14 : Todgha Gorges – Imilchil – Bin Elouidane

Today we’re going to jump-off for Imilchil and across the Middle Atlas Berber Villages, a dizzying trip that eventually wends its way through the Boutfarda and Taglaft to Bin Elouidane Dom which was one of the earliest and most ambitious of Morocco’s irrigation schemes and has changed much of the lands hereabouts. Recently, many hotels have cropped up on the lake’s shores offering a scenic chance to get away and relax beside the deep-blue waters.

Day 15 : Bin Elouidane – Ouzoud Waterfalls – Marrakech

This morning with no rush we head South of Bin Elouidane, around 167km from Marrakech to the most spectacular Cascades d’Ouzoud with their amphitheater of waterfalls falling into the pools in a lush valley that remains invisible till the last moment. The view only gets better as you walk down into the cool of the canyon and in the late-afternoon arching rainbow appear in the mist around the falls. At the bottom, and for a memorable short enjoyable hike you can walk further along the riverbed, Barbary Apes clamor for attention, To reach the picturesque and fascinating Tanaghemlt, a  Berber village that connected by semi-undergrounding passages. For longer treks, follow the course of the river valley to the Gramâa Nakrouine caves.

Day 16 : Marrakech City Tour

Today, with your private Marrakech born and bred guide, you embark exploring the Red City from its old part with its Medina’s skinny lanes that leads to lavish sites, tombs and religious monuments decked out in marble. Bahia and El-Badii Palace and Saadien’s Tombs will be your targets. Afterward, you driver/Tour Guide will pick you up for the outside medina visit to explore the Majorelle garden, Museum Saint Laurent, Berber Museum. While in Marrakech you will surely encounter thousands of motorcyclists and horse-carts roaming in the city and some of them pull over next the vast square of Jemaa El-Fnaa where it’s carnival night every night and musicians, acrobats, storytellers and slapstick acting troupes tap into the Medina frenetic pulse.

Day 17 : Marrakech departure 00:00

Airport Shuttle

Our Morocco Cultural Tour comes to an end today, we hope that you spent a good time with us. Pleae note three hours before your departing, your driver will pick you up to the Airport.

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