15-Day Morocco Tour from Essaouira: Chefchaouen & the Sahara

The crossing of the High Atlas. We leave Marrakech early, climb the Tizi n'Tichka pass at around 2,260 metres, and drop into the pre-Sahara on the far side. Around four hours of driving with stops.

• Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with photo stops on the switchbacks
• Views back across terraced valleys and scattered Amazigh villages
• Ait Ben Haddou: the fortified earthen ksar that guarded the old caravan route, now UNESCO listed
• Time to walk up through the kasbahs to the granary at the summit
• Lunch below the ksar
• Ouarzazate and the Taourirt Kasbah
• Optional stop at the film studios on the edge of town

Overnight in Ouarzazate.

An easy day east along the old kasbah road. We follow the valley through the Skoura palm oasis and the rose-growing villages below Kelaat M'Gouna, reaching the mouth of the Dades gorge in the afternoon. Around three hours of driving.

• The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah
• The old kasbah road along the Dades valley
• Kelaat M'Gouna, where the rose harvest is distilled each spring
• Lunch en route
• The Valley of Roses and its terraced fields
• Arrival at Boumalne Dades
• Late afternoon walk up the gorge to the switchback viewpoint

Overnight in the Dades Valley.

A day that ends on foot. We follow the road east through Tinghir to the Todgha Gorges, then cross the hamada to Merzouga, timed so the camels leave in the late afternoon and you reach camp as the light goes.

• Morning through the Dades gorge and its switchback road
• Tinghir, with its palm oasis strung along the valley floor
• The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
• Lunch in Tinghir
• Afternoon across the hamada by Tinejdad and Erfoud
• Arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi
• Camel trek into the dunes, roughly ninety minutes
• Dinner and Gnawa drumming at camp

Overnight in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi.

The day the itinerary makes room for. With no transfer to drive, the desert opens up past the dune crest: nomad families still working the hamada, the Gnawa village at Khamlia, and the dry lake north of the erg.

• Sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast at camp
• Camel trek back to Merzouga
• 4x4 circuit around the erg
• Khamlia, the Gnawa village, for a session of their music
• Visit to a nomad family living out on the hamada
• Dayet Srji, the dry lake where flamingos gather after rain
• Afternoon at leisure, or sunset from the dune crest

Overnight in Merzouga.

West along the southern road below the Jbel Saghro, a quieter route than the way out, ending deep in the Draa where the palm groves run more or less unbroken for a hundred kilometres. Around six hours.

• Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
• Rissani and its souk, on the site of Sijilmassa
• The southern road below the Jbel Saghro
• Alnif, known for its fossil beds
• Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
• Lunch en route
• Tazzarine and the descent into the Draa
• The palm groves along the river to Zagora

Overnight in Zagora.

North out of the Draa, stopping at Tamegroute for its Koranic library and pottery kilns, then over the Tizi n'Tinififft to Ouarzazate. Around four hours.

• Morning at the Tamegroute library and its thirteenth-century manuscripts
• The pottery kilns and their green glaze
• North through the Draa palm groves
• Agdz, below the Jbel Kissane
• The Tizi n'Tinififft pass and the view back over the valley
• Lunch en route
• Afternoon arrival in Ouarzazate
• The Taourirt Kasbah

Overnight in Ouarzazate.

The return crossing of the High Atlas, which looks entirely different travelling north in morning light. Around four hours with stops on the switchbacks.

• Morning departure from Ouarzazate
• Ait Ben Haddou, if you have not already stopped there
• Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres
• Photo stops on the northern switchbacks
• Stop in an Amazigh village on the mountain road
• Lunch en route
• Descent through terraced valleys to the Haouz plain
• Afternoon arrival in Marrakech

Overnight in Marrakech.

A day off the road. The medina rewards slow walking, and the gardens on the edge of the new town are where the city goes to escape it.

• Morning in the souks north of Jemaa el-Fna
• The Koutoubia minaret and its gardens
• The Bahia Palace and its painted cedar ceilings
• The Saadian Tombs, sealed up until 1917
• Lunch on a medina terrace
• The Jardin Majorelle or the Menara gardens
• Evening on Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open

Overnight in Marrakech.

North across the plain, with the middle of the day in Casablanca before continuing up the coast to Rabat. Around four hours of driving.

• Morning departure from Marrakech
• North across the Haouz and the Rehamna plain
• The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca
• Lunch on the corniche
• The coast road north through Mohammedia
• Arrival in Rabat in the afternoon
• The Kasbah of the Udayas above the river mouth

Overnight in Rabat.

Inland from the coast for the last day, by way of Meknes and the Roman city at Volubilis. Around three hours of driving spread across the day.

• Morning in Rabat, or an early departure inland
• East across the Gharb plain
• Bab Mansour and the imperial granaries at Meknes
• Lunch in Meknes
• Moulay Idriss, the hill town above the ruins
• Volubilis and its mosaics
• Late afternoon arrival in Fez

Overnight in Fez.

Fez el Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world and the oldest of the imperial capitals. A full day is the least it takes to get any sense of it, and most of that day is on foot.

• Morning in Fez el Bali, entering by Bab Boujloud
• The Chouara tanneries, seen from the terraces above
• Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 and still in use
• The Bou Inania medersa and its carved cedar screens
• Lunch in the medina
• The souks by trade: coppersmiths, dyers, weavers
• Afternoon at the Merenid tombs for the view over the city

Overnight in Fez.

West to the Roman city at Volubilis in the morning, then north into the Rif mountains, reaching Chefchaouen in the late afternoon. Around four and a half hours of driving.

• Morning departure from Fez
• Volubilis, the Roman provincial capital, with its mosaics still in place
• Moulay Idriss, the hill town above the ruins
• Bab Mansour and the imperial walls at Meknes
• Lunch in Meknes
• The climb into the Rif mountains
• Arrival in Chefchaouen in the late afternoon
• The blue-washed medina and Place Outa el Hammam at dusk

Overnight in Chefchaouen.

Out of the mountains and south along the Atlantic, around five hours, with the late afternoon in Casablanca.

• Morning departure from Chefchaouen
• Descent through the Rif to the plain
• West to the Atlantic and south past Rabat
• Lunch en route
• The Hassan II Mosque, built out over the Atlantic
• The Habous quarter and its arcaded streets

Overnight in Casablanca.

The last day runs back down the Atlantic, past the Portuguese cistern at El Jadida and the pottery kilns at Safi. Around five hours with stops.

• Morning departure south from Casablanca
• El Jadida and the Portuguese cistern beneath the old town
• The ramparts of the Cite Portugaise
• Lunch on the coast
• Safi and its hillside pottery kilns
• South along the Atlantic to Essaouira

Evening drop-off in Essaouira.