8-Day Morocco Cultural Tour from Casablanca to Marrakech with Sahara

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Day 01

Arrival in Casablanca and Hassan II Mosque

• Touch down in Casablanca. After your driver/tour guide picks you up and drops you off at your hotel, you might like to discover some of Casablanca's sights.
• Notably, visit the Hassan II Mosque, considered the largest in North Africa and the third largest in the Islamic world, with its splendid esplanade and the tallest minaret in the world.
• It is a long reach of marble and emerald zellige rising 210 meters into the sky.
• Grand and timeless, the Great Mosque is constantly busy and serves as a meeting point for Sunday strolls.

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Day 02

Casablanca to Fes via Rabat and Meknes

• Drive east from Casablanca to Fes via Rabat and Meknes.
• First, take a one-hour drive on the highway to Rabat, where the administrative capital will be waiting for you.
• Salute the soldier-knights riding horses in front of the gate to the monumental Hassan Tower, with the pillared stumps of its mosque being all that remains after the earthquake of 1755.
• There is also the nearby Mausoleum of the royal family.
• From here, it takes about a two-hour drive to the imperial city of Meknes.
• Start discovering Meknes from the famed gate of Bab El Mansour, Dar Jamai Palace and Museum, the royal stables, Hedim Square, and Moulay Ismail Tomb.
• Continue through the narrow lanes to the Mellah, where Jewish families used to live.
• The next stop is Fes, the maze to end all mazes, with the mysteries and secrets of its 9,000 alleyways.

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Day 03

Guided Discovery of Fes Medina

• Do not panic; the guide will show you the must-see sites. With your private Fes-born-and-bred guide, you will have the opportunity to discover the ancient breeding ground for scholars and artisans and the largest medina in the world.
• You will see the America Fondouk, Nejjarines, the Tanneries, the Medersa (theological college), and Karaouine, the first established university in the world.
• Your guide will shed light on many tales and 1,200 years of history in this UNESCO-protected medina.
• When you finish your visit to the medina, we will drive you out of Fes to enjoy delicious house-made food at Lalla Fatiha's place in Sefrou.

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Day 04

From Fes to the Merzouga Desert

• An early-morning start is recommended for this day.
• Leave the amazing medina of Fes, with the mysteries and secrets of its 9,000 alleyways, and head southeast towards Merzouga, the gateway to the golden dunes of the Sahara Desert.
• En route, pass by the cedar forests of Ifrane, the Switzerland of Morocco, where you might think that you are in the Alps.
• If we're lucky, we'll come across the Barbary macaques on our way to Midelt, where we'll stop for lunch.
• After eating, drive through the Middle Atlas Mountains to reach the Ziz Valley, considered one of the largest producers of oasis dates in Morocco.
• Then it's off to Merzouga, home to the highest dunes in Morocco. You can store any baggage while packing an overnight bag to bring along.
• You'll have the chance to be accompanied by a camel and a blue-turban-robed guide into the sandy seas.
• After an hour-long camel ride, you will be among the lucky few to watch the sun set over the Sahara dunes and spend the night in a Bedouin-style tent.

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Day 05

Merzouga to Dadès via Erfoud and Todgha Gorges

• This morning, you'll wake up with the sun shining on your face to witness what we hope will be a glorious sunrise among the dunes.
• Meanwhile, watch the light creep slowly down the dunes and pull yourself from the warmth of your heavy mound of blankets for an early breakfast.
• After an hour-long camel ride back out of the desert, you will depart and head for Erfoud, where you can marvel at the million-year-old fossils for which the area is famous.
• Then head north for a sublime experience in the Todgha Gorges, where we'll be surrounded by gigantic rock walls.
• Arriving at Dadès Gorges, rust-red and mauve mountains greet you. A series of crumbling kasbahs and ksours line the valley in the Berber villages all the way to the Monkey Fingers Mountains.

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Day 06

Dadès to Marrakech via Ouarzazate and Aït Benhaddou

• Leave Dadès at 8:00 am, traversing the Valley of Roses and heading straight to the 11th-century UNESCO-protected red mud-brick ksar that has formed the backdrop for many Hollywood productions such as Lawrence of Arabia, Kingdom of Heaven, Jesus of Nazareth, Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and many others.
• You might also like to explore Ouarzazate, home to Taourirt Kasbah and the "Ouallywood" studio.
• Wind up the memorable Tizi n'Tichka Pass through the High Atlas Mountains, with Berber villages lined beside the road, to arrive in Marrakech, where you will have time to explore the crazed cacophony of musicians, snake charmers, and vendors in the famed open-air Jemaa El-Fnaa square, along with other highly recommended sites with your guide.

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Day 07

Guided Tour of Marrakech Old City

• Today, with your private Marrakech-born-and-bred guide, you embark on exploring the Red City from its old quarter, where the medina's skinny lanes lead to lavish sites, tombs, and religious monuments decked out in marble.
• Bahia Palace, El Badi Palace, and the Saadian Tombs will be your targets.
• Afterward, your driver/tour guide will pick you up for the outside-medina visit to explore the Majorelle Garden, Museum Saint Laurent, and the Berber Museum.
• While in Marrakech, you will surely encounter thousands of motorcyclists and horse carts roaming the city, and some of them pull over next to the vast square of Jemaa El-Fnaa, where it's carnival night every night with musicians, acrobats, storytellers, and slapstick acting troupes tapping into the medina's frenetic pulse.

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Day 08

Departure from Marrakech or Casablanca

• Our Morocco Cultural Tour comes to an end today, and we hope that you had a good time with us.
• Whether you have arranged your departure from Marrakech or Casablanca, please note that your driver/tour guide will let you know the time when he will pick you up for the airport.