Imperial Cities, Atlas Mountains, and the Sahara Desert
Credit: Kelly Palmer
Trip Type: Custom-Made Travel
Territory: Africa
Region: Morocco
Trip Price: $6,550
Duration: 8 days/7 nights
Trip Begins/Ends: Marrakech, Morocco / Marrakech, Morocco
National Parklands:
All custom travel is tailored to the desires and interests of our traveling clients (see How Custom Travel Works tab). Trip pricing detailed is an estimate of the per person pricing for the sample itinerary detailed and includes all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences described. Actual pricing for the trip designed expressly for you and others traveling with you will depend on the features and elements developed during the trip planning process. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.
No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities
Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration
High Five! – 5-12 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun
The Energy Index detailed above relates to the level of exertion associated with the sample trip detailed. This would be modified to fit the style and ability of your group as a part of the custom trip planning process
We’ve been tailoring custom journeys for clients since our very inception in the mid-1980s! The process is all about connecting the interests of the travelers with the best that a given destination has to offer. To achieve this, we rely upon good ol’ fashioned conversation! Our geographically focused travel designer love to meet new people and learn about their interests for travel. Understanding your goals informs the process immensely and serves as the foundation for the development of a bespoke travel experience for you and yours.
The trip detailed on this web page is a sample of something we’ve done for other clients over the years. In order to start the process of designing your own custom travel experience, just call us at (800) 445-2995 and ask to speak with one of our Travel Advisors. After a bit of time on the phone, you will then have the opportunity to connect with one of our travel designers.
The entire planning process is very personalized and works in an iterative fashion until a final, perfect trip has been created. We then secure all of the lodging, activities, and guided experiences associated with your trip and send along abundant trip materials capturing these details – and much more about your travels!
This Moroccan journey begins in the vibrant city of Marrakech, with two days of exploring from your base in the medina, a small hotel with an array of amenities. City delights include Menara Gardens, Jema El Fna Square, and the souks. Near Marrakech are the Atlas Mountains, and a day trip takes you by way of the local market in Asni and the Imlil Valley, to a small, adobe Berber villages, clinging to the slopes of the mountains.
Today’s travels stretch across the fertile countryside of the Haous Plain, up and over the Atlas Mountains via Tizi N’Tichka Pass, and beyond. Travel through Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara Desert, stopping at the Kasbah Taourirt, the 17th century home to the el Glaoui clan. Continue to the Kasbah complex of Ait Ben Haddou, an 11th century structure and UNESCO World Heritage Site. Finally, at the end of the Road of 1,000 Kasbahs, arrive into Skoura.
Through grand peaks and ridges of the Djebel Sarhro Range, to the 5,500-foot mountain pass at Tizi N’Tinififft, the mountains are left behind and the dunes of the Sahara come into view. Erg Chegaga is one of the two largest dunes in the Moroccan Sahara, and home for two nights. With full-service accommodations in luxe, canvas tents, highlights of this desert visit include camel trekking and riding, sandboarding, guided walks, stargazing (extraordinary!), visiting an oasis, and meeting local people.
Bidding farewell to Chegaga, travel to Zagora by way of fascinating sites – Oum Laalag, a desert oasis along an old trade route to Timbuktu, M’hamid, a small village where trade caravans gathered, and Tamegroute, home to a library founded in the 16th century, boasting a collection of 11th-century manuscripts written on gazelle skin and nearly 4,000 books. Zagora is an oasis town in the Draa Valley, and there will be opportunities to visit local potters and enjoy amenities at the hotel before dinner.
Return to Marrakech today, for one last night in Morocco. Along the way, stop at Ouarzazate, a fortress city set at the edge of the Sahara, and featured in many Hollywood films.
Today begins your journey home from Marrakech and Casablanca.
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