MOROCCO 15 DAY TOUR

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Day 1: ARRIVE MARRAKECH

Welcome to Morocco! Today we will start the day exploring the old medina and the souks with visits with skilled artisans, a traditional herbalist and larn about Moroccan spices, and to some of the major sites. To relax in the afternoon we will visit one of Marrakech's lovely tranquil urban gardens and have a home cooked meal that night at our riad.

Included: Dinner

Day 2: MARRAKECH

Today we will continue to explore the medina with your guide. Visits will include a modern calligraphy artist, an amazing museum of both contemporary and early Moroccan photography, and see works by dynamic contemporary photographer. For lunch we will visit an alley of the Medina where vendors specialize in slow roasted lamb,or Mechouis, a Moroccan speciality.Following dinner we will have an engaging performance of some traditional music done with clapping and chanting. It will be in a home and very improvisational and a lot of fun. Be prepared to join in!

Included: Breakfast

Day 3: MARRAKECH

Today we will explore modern Marrakech outside of the medina with our driver and bus for the tour. Visits will include a famous urban garden, some interesting gallery spaces in the design districts and as well as anything we weren't able to get to in the medina.

Included: Breakfast

Day 4: MARRAKECH - OURIKA VALLEY

Today we will travel just an hour east of Marrakech to explore the lovely relaxing Ourika valley at the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. You will be struck by its stunning beauty and rich local culture. We will drive through Berber villages and see their lovely terraced gardens, visit a home and see how the locals live and learn about their lifestyle. We will also visit a saffron, an herbal farm and a breathtaking garden made by a famous artist.

For the evening you will stay in a comfortable riad where you will have a delicious traditional meal.

Meals Included: Breakfast & Dinner

Day 5: OURIKA VALLEY - SKOURA

After rbrakfast we will head east traveling across the Atlas Mountains and then enter the Draa valley and the land of a thousand kasbahs. We will have lunch in a Berber village then drive on to the town of Skoura and see a famous Kasbah. We will check into our riad where the owner will cook us all a delicious meal.

Included: Breakfast & Dinner.

Day 6: SKOURA

Skoura is known for its palm grove with an oasis of over 1,000 palms, 100 bird species and 20 varieties of date trees. We will drive to a green canopied palm grove with a local guide and visit a date and pomegranate farm. Here you can also see traditional Moroccan bread making in an outdoor oven. Then we will drive on to a town where we will meet with an African Moroccan Gnawa musician who will talk with us about the music and do a demostration and then serve us lumch. After returning to the riad and relaxing a bit we will have dinner with a special performance of local Berber musicians that you will really enjoy.

Included: Breakfast.

Day 7: SKOURA-MERZOUGA

Today we will drive on to Merzouga where the famous towering orange dunes of the Sahara rise up like a vision on the outer edge of the town. We will drive through a spectacular gorge.
After arriving you will visit the Afro-Moroccan Berber village of Khamlia known as the home of the Gnawa people, tribal black Africans brought in during the slave trade. They dress in white and you will see a performance. We may also learn something about the nomad people and vsit a camp.

In the late afternoon we will have a short ride out to your desert camp on 4 x 4s. No need to worry though we wont be roughing it and will be staying in luxury tents with AC /heat and private baths with showers. Before sunset those who wish can go for a short walk or camel ride then we will have dinner at our desert camp and be entertained by tradtional musicians around the campfire. You will be moved by the total silence of the desert and the big sky at night when all the stars come out.

Included: Breakfast & Dinner.

Day 8: MERZOUGA-FES

Before breakfast those who wish may get up to see the sunrise up over the grand Sahara dunes. After breakfast we will ride back to Merzouga and then start driving west towards Fes. Along our route we will stop in a town Erfoud to see the type of fossils found in the region and and other stops along our route.

Included: Breakfast.

Day 9: FES

Fes is a city rich with history and cultural traditions. We will start the day exploring Fes’s old town or Medina. An expert local guide will take us to some of the best artisans of metal, carpets, leather, silver, wood and more. To learn about leather working traditions we will visit Fez’s tannery, learn about the process and see the colorful and picturesque panorama of the large dying vats. Lunch will be in a delicious local restaurant in the midst of the medina.
After lunch we will visit some of the city’s architectural highlights, seeing exquisite examples of islamic architecture and tile work. At the end of the day we will relax wandering a special royal garden created in the 19th century.

Included: Breakfast.

Day 10: FES - CHEFCHAOUAN

In the morning we will drive northeast to the picturesque town of Chefchaouen know as the “blue city.” En route we will stop in Volubillis whose Roman settlement ruins date to the 3rd century BC. We will see the remains of their occupation dating 40-285 AD and learn about some of Morocco’s earliest history. We will arrive in the afternoon and begin to wander it’s central medina of tiny streets with vibrant blue painted buildings. We will visit a local traditional weaving or wool workshop and two well known squares. For sunset we will go up to the Spanish Mosque for its wonderful view overlooking the city. For dinner we will have a traditional regional Rif Mountains style tagine. Typical of the region this is usually a chicken rubbed with cumin, cooked with prunes and almonds in a local traditional Moroccan vessel called a tagine.

Included: Breakfast.

Day 11: CHEFCHAOAN - CASABLANCA

Today we start heading south and drive to the metropolitan Casablanca. First off you will visit the Hassan II Mosque and have a special guided tour inside, which is a unique opportunity as non Muslims are generally not allowed inside Mosques. We will then tour the city seeing its modern architectural highlights and get a feel for Casablanca’s modern dynamism. At the end of the afternoon we will go to Casablanca’s ocean front and relax at a cafe to see the sunset. Dinner will be a lovely Ocean front restaurant.

Included: Breakfast.