10-Day Morocco Desert Tour from Marrakech with Atlas and Essaouira

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Day 01

Arrival in Marrakech and First Taste of the Red City

• Greetings from Marrakech! Marrakech is a significant economic hub and is known as the "Red City" due to its 1000-year-old red sandstone city walls and structures. Unlike Fes, Marrakech has Berber rather than Arab roots and was once a major trading hub for the tribes of the Atlas Mountains. The souks (markets) are to the north, the Koutoubia Mosque and Gardens to the west, and the kasbah area with the Saadian Tombs, Bahia Palace, and El Badi Palace to the south. This is how to navigate Marrakech's bustling Jemaa el-Fna Square. The Majorelle Gardens are located in the Ville Nouvelle.
• Take a calèche (French for horse-drawn carriage), a unique way to tour the medina (old quarter), and get comfortable with your surroundings. Take note of the fondouks, medieval inns that once offered supplies and lodging to merchants and travellers. Today, some of them have been transformed into homes, sizable shopping malls, and open-air workshops.
• Make your way to the Koutoubia Mosque to escape the heat in its gardens, surrounded by palm trees and fountains. Non-Muslims are not permitted inside the mosque, but it is still interesting to see the minaret and foundations, which date to the 12th century. Jemaa el-Fna comes to life throughout the evening with musicians, storytellers, dancers, acrobats, and even snake charmers.
• Explore the numerous rows of food stalls offering everything from complete meals to fruit-based beverages, dried dates, and tiny snacks. Get something to eat, or for a more leisurely experience, find one of the many cafés located above the square and have dinner while admiring the performance below.

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Day 02

Marrakech's Historic Schools, Museums, and Souks

• For a taste of 16th-century architecture, meet your guide for a half-day tour and explore the exquisite detail of the Ben Youssef Madrasa Islamic school. Admire the intricately carved cedar, plaster sculptures, arabesques, Islamic calligraphy, and vibrant zellij produced by traditional Moroccan artisans (mosaic tilework). Visit the prayer hall and stroll through the former dorms, where up to 800 students once resided.
• Spend some time browsing the displays of clothing, antiques, jewellery, and exquisitely carved Hispano-Moorish ornaments at the Dar Si Said Museum, also known as the Museum of Moroccan Arts.
• After that, explore the intricate maze of souks hidden behind regular restaurants and shops while indulging your senses. You can find a variety of spices, woodwork, and babouche at Souk el Attarin, Souk Chouari, and Souk Smata (traditional Moroccan slippers). Visit Souk des Teinturiers (the dyers' souk) to observe the dyeing of cloth and leather firsthand.

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Day 03

Across the High Atlas to Ouarzazate and Boumalne Dades

• Moving east toward the desert while climbing the High Atlas Mountains, leave the busy city behind. Try to locate Mount Toubkal, the tallest peak at 13,671 feet (4,167 m). You will pass many traditional mud-brick Berber villages along the way.
• After lunch in Taddert, take a tour of the neighbourhood's Argan Oil Cooperative to learn how the women there extract valuable oil from the argan nut for use in the food, cosmetics, and health industries. As you approach the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, continue on the winding road and pause to take in the expansive view.
• Continue east until you reach Ouarzazate, a desert hub and filming location. Find out which of your favourite movies was filmed in the nearby desert areas by taking a studio tour. A trip to the Musée du Cinema may also appeal to movie fans. As you make your way toward Boumalne Dades along the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, you will pass numerous small towns where you can observe traditional farming practices in action.
• As you travel through fragrant Kelâat M'Gouna, the "Valley of the Roses," keep an eye out for nomads caring for their livestock. Eventually, you will reach Boumalne Dades, a significant town spanning the Dades River.

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Day 04

Desert Towns, Todra Gorge, and Sahara Camp

• To reach your ultimate destination, the sand sea of Erg Chebbi outside Merzouga, you will travel further east today. Stop in Tinerhir along the way to admire the river oasis that surrounds the town on both sides. Impressive buttes, mesas, and plateaus can be seen in the area's desert landscape.
• You will have the chance to visit the nearby Todra Gorge, a 984-foot (300-meter) deep ravine carved out by the Todra River. Continue on to Erfoud, a desert town. Visit a craft shop in this region, which is also known for its figs and fossils, to see how fossil-rich rocks are expertly crafted into useful and decorative items.
• Visit the livestock auction and "donkey parking lot" in the market town of Rissani as you get closer to Merzouga, the settlement nearest to the Sahara.
• After leaving Rissani, you will be able to make out the first outlines of Erg Chebbi's enormous sand dunes. Once you arrive in Merzouga, change up and board your own personal camel to begin the trek across the sand dunes to your Bedouin-style camp.
• Take a short hike to the top of a nearby dune to watch the sun set, then relax by the fire with a hot meal while listening to folk music.

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Day 05

Saharan Sunrise, Khemliya, and Aït Benhaddou

• Before continuing your exploration of the desert, get up early to see a Saharan sunrise. You can rent a sandboard, go on the Erg Chebbi tour that circles the sand dunes, or take a quad ATV tour.
• Travel south to Khemliya to discover this authentic Saharan village. You will also have another opportunity to visit Maison Tuareg in Rissani, a shop that sells ethnic carpets, jewellery, and leather goods.
• After that, proceed through acacia forests with their umbrella-shaped trees to reach Alnif for lunch.
• Continue driving through the Draa Valley, which is covered in date palmeries and where you can buy a box of dates for the trip.
• To reach medieval Aït Benhaddou, keep going west. Aït Benhaddou, the most well-known kasbah in Morocco and a protected UNESCO site, once played a significant role along the trans-Saharan trade route between Marrakech, Ouarzazate, and the southern desert.
• After the daytime crowds have left, spend the night in the old town and explore the deserted alleys. A few of the kasbahs charge a small entrance fee, and visitors can ascend to the rooftop for lovely views of the nearby ksours (single kasbahs) and the Ouarzazate Valley.

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Day 06

From Aït Benhaddou Back to Marrakech

• Explore the tiny alleys and passageways before the crowds arrive at the old kasbah to get a true sense of this 11th-century fortified city. Leave Aït Benhaddou behind and make your way back to Marrakech via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass and another journey up and over the High Atlas Mountains.
• You will notice a significant change in the environment as you make your way down the High Atlas' north-facing slopes. After experiencing the peace and quiet of the mountains and the desert, you will soon return to bustling Marrakech.
• Before spending some time in the Marrakech Museum, visit the only Almoravid monument still standing, the 12th-century Almoravid Koubba. The museum, housed in the 19th-century Dar Mnebbi Palace, has a sizable collection of both traditional and modern artwork, as well as artefacts from Berber, Moroccan Jewish, and Islamic cultures. Return to Jemaa el-Fna and stop at one of the many food stalls for a meal.

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Day 07

Amizmiz and Trekking in the High Atlas Foothills

• The small town of Amizmiz is located in the foothills of the High Atlas, not far south of Marrakech. Before meeting your mountain guide to begin your hike along quiet narrow roads and mule paths, explore the modest market in the old town. You are unlikely to encounter other tourists in this remote area. As a result, you will enjoy trekking through traditional Berber villages clinging to the hillsides while observing local farmers and shepherds going about their daily tasks.
• Learn about the terraced farmland local farmers have created to transform the mountainside into usable agricultural land.
• Before continuing your hike, stop by a local family to learn about their way of life and share a traditional lunch with them. As guests in their home, get to know a different local Berber family while enjoying a hearty meal and their company.

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Day 08

Atlas Villages and Return to Marrakech's Monuments

• Before bidding your hosts farewell and setting out on the trail, enjoy breakfast with them. Continue exploring the local landscape and nearby towns before returning to Marrakech.
• When you get to Marrakech, visit the Saadian Tombs in the kasbah area south of Jemaa el-Fna and learn about the 500-year-old craftsmanship used to build them. As you make your way through the Mellah (Jewish neighbourhood) toward the 19th-century Bahia Palace, stop by the sunken gardens of the 17th-century El Badi Palace.
• Return to the medina and stroll around in the evening, stopping briefly to admire the Koutoubia Mosque's floodlights before retiring to your lodging.

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Day 09

From Marrakech to Coastal Essaouira

• After breakfast, travel west to the quaint beach town of Essaouira on the Atlantic coast. Along the way, you will pass through endemic argan forests and across broad, rolling plains. When grass pasture is scarce or unavailable, you might be lucky enough to spot goats munching on argan fruit while grazing in the trees. It is possible to stop at an Argan Oil Cooperative en route to observe how this valuable and costly oil is extracted from the nut.
• Arrive in calm Essaouira, a pleasant change from chaotic Marrakech, and spend the rest of the day at leisure. Stroll along the coast by the Skala de la Kasbah, the seafront ramparts built in the 18th century. Old brass cannons line the interior walls, which were installed by European engineers and overlook the Atlantic Ocean.
• Before heading to the deserted beach, explore the UNESCO-protected medina. Fans of Jimi Hendrix may want to take a quick taxi ride to Diabat, at the end of Essaouira's beach, where he is said to have spent some time. Enjoy a fresh seafood meal on your way back to Essaouira.

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Day 10

Essaouira Morning and Departure via Marrakech

• Essaouira is a popular kiteboarding destination and is referred to as the "Windy City" because of the strong Alizée trade winds that hit its crescent beach. Before bidding farewell and departing for Marrakech, spend the morning watching the windsurfers and kiteboarders or, for the more daring, taking a lesson.
• Make any last-minute purchases for presents and trinkets once you arrive in Marrakech. Or you may want to visit the Majorelle Gardens, depending on the specifics of your departure. A visit to these luxuriant and vast gardens, not far from the hubbub of the medina, provides the ideal place to escape the afternoon heat and clamour.
• As you travel home, leave the peace behind and take your memories with you.