9 Days Berber Trails Tour From Marrakech

MOROCCO LUXURY TOURS SPECIALIST

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Day 1: Marrakech

After arrival at the airport of Marrakech, you will be meet and transferred to your Riad - a traditional former private residence designed in the unique Morocann style. You may want to plunge into the excitement of the place Jemaa el Fna in the heart of the city and be amazed by the dancers, snake-charmers, jugglers, narrators. Marrakech is a truly exotic Moroccan Imperial city graced with magnificent gardens and historic locales.

Day 2: Telouet- Ouarzazate

Depart for Ouarzazate via Taddart village and cross the tizi n tishka pass at an elevation of 2206 m/7237ft. This is an impressive site dividing these Mountains in two distinct aspects - one side acting as a shield to protect the hinterland from the Atlantic ocean. The valleys and mountains are alive with the daily life of the Berber dwellers. A 32 km/18 mile off-road excursion takes you through gorgeous scenery to the Kasbah of Telouet, once the headquarters of the Glaoui clan. The Kasbah certainly will have special meaning for you if you have read the "Lords of the Atlas" by Maxwell. In the evening you will arrive in Ouarzazate, home of movie makers.

Day 3: Skoura- Kelaa Mgouna- Dades Gorges

You will enjoy the palms of Skoura and track the Valley of One Thousand Kasbahs that are scattered in a surreal fashion and seem as if they are sand castels standing erect in the shadow of time. There will be time to stop and visit Kasbah Amridel, followed by a drive along the Dades river. Again you will be inspired by the dramatic mountain landscape. Dinner and accommodations in your hotel.

Day 4: Erfoud- Merzouga

We continue our journey, following the ancient Bedouin trading routes parallel with the Middle Atlas, passing a series of the fortified villages with outstanding pre-Saharan architecture. The route to Erfoud is one of the most pleasing of all the Southern routes. The town is in a dry, red built of desert and was built by the French as a central administration town. It is known for its rich black fossils marble. The stone is sculpted to bring the fossils into relief on everything from ashtrays to washbasins and more. An experience not to be missed is to watch the sunset from the spectacular Merzouga dunes, an energizing location in the midst of the huge every-changing golden dunes, where you will feel a liberating peacefulness.

Day 5: Merzouga

Today is set to discover more about the life of the Nomads in our excursion to the breathtaking Erg Chebbi where we will visit the Nomad families who migrate and live in tents, attend an African folkloric music and dance performance in Khamlia village, and walk in the Oases of Merzouga. After lunch you get ready for a really unforgetable experience; a camel ride to your Bivouac for a special evening and night in the middle of nowhere! You will be accompanied by your multilingual camel-man who will serve a delicious berber Nomad Tagine. Enjoy the tranquility of the site and the brilliant skies, truly blazing with stars.

Day 6: Zagora

After breakfast we say farewell to the dunes and cross the Tafilalet palm groves through the town of Rissani heading to Zagora, a quiet desert town, once the starting point for Caravans going to Timbuktu, Mali.

Day 7: Ouarzazate- Marrakech

A picturesque day awaits you as you travel through the Draa Valley with its numerous palms groves and berber villages. Lunch at the site of Ait Ben haddou, in a terrace viewing this famous Kasbah complex. It may even seem familiar to you as it has been used for innumerable film sets. After our visit to the Kasbah, we leave for our Riad in Marrakech.

Day 8: Marrakech

The last day is set to discover more about the pearl of the south - Marrakech. A visit includes the city’s main monuments such as the Saadian tombs that demonstrate Moorish architecture in its perfection. The tombs consist of beautiful mausoleums built in the sixteenth century, but only discovered in 1917. Visit the Koutoubia Mosque, the Bahia Palace, and the Menara Garden. Return to the hotel for lunch. In the afternoon, explore the souks. You may end the day sipping your mint tea overlooking the busy Jamaa El Fna Square.

Day 9: Marrakech

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the airport. Assistance with departure formalities.

Berber Trails Tour