Imperial Cities Tour: 10 Day Private Tour

Day 1

Casablanca: Arrival and the Hassan II Mosque

Casablanca

Welcome to Morocco. Your driver and guide meet you at Casablanca airport, help with your bags, and take you to your hotel to settle in. Casablanca is the country’s modern port city, a place of wide avenues, Art Deco facades, and ocean air, and it makes a gentle first step into the journey.

Once you are rested, we begin with the Hassan II Mosque. Built out over the Atlantic, it is one of the largest mosques in the world, with a marble courtyard that can hold tens of thousands of people and a minaret that rises 210 metres above the waves. Stand at its foot as the sea breaks below and you will understand at once why Moroccans speak of it with such pride.

As the light softens, you can stroll the Corniche seaside promenade or simply relax at the hotel. Dinner tonight is yours to enjoy at leisure, with your guide happy to suggest a favorite spot for fresh seafood.

Overnight: Hotel in Casablanca

Day 2

Rabat and the Road to the Rif

Casablanca to Rabat to Chefchaouen

After breakfast we follow the coast to Rabat, the elegant and unhurried capital. Our first stop is the Kasbah of the Udayas, a hilltop fortress quarter of whitewashed lanes and blue doorways that looks out over the ocean and the Bou Regreg river. Here the city feels like a village, and the garden courtyards are quiet enough to hear the fountains.

Next comes the Mausoleum of Mohammed V, where Morocco’s kings are laid to rest beneath a richly decorated dome, and the Hassan Tower, the red sandstone minaret of a twelfth century mosque that was never finished. Its field of broken columns is one of the most atmospheric sights in the country. Because Rabat is a working capital, you will also sense how royal tradition and modern life sit side by side.

In the afternoon we turn north and climb into the Rif Mountains. The coastal plains give way to forested hills and terraced farms, and as evening approaches Chefchaouen appears, a cluster of blue washed houses glowing against the mountainside. Settle into your riad, then walk down to the square for a first glass of mint tea and a bowl of the local tagine.

Overnight: Riad in Chefchaouen

Day 3

Chefchaouen: A Day Inside the Blue

Chefchaouen

Today is devoted to one of the most photogenic towns in the world, and the pace is deliberately slow. Wander the medina lanes, where every wall, stair, and doorway is painted in cobalt, turquoise, and powder blue, and where potted geraniums and bougainvillea add splashes of color. Shops sell handwoven blankets, soft wool garments, and painted ceramics, and shopkeepers are more likely to offer you tea than a hard sell.

We walk up to Ras el Ma, the spring at the edge of town where water tumbles from the mountain and local women wash their laundry just as their grandmothers did. Along the way your guide explains how Chefchaouen was founded in the fifteenth century and how generations of Andalusian refugees shaped its architecture, its crafts, and even its cooking.

Take a seat at a cafe on Plaza Uta el Hammam beneath the old Kasbah, watch the town go about its day, and let the afternoon stretch. Photographers will find a new scene around every corner, and everyone else will find it very easy to relax.

Overnight: Riad in Chefchaouen

Day 4

Volubilis, Meknes, and Arrival in Fez

Chefchaouen to Volubilis to Meknes to Fez

We leave the mountains behind and drive south through rolling hills toward Volubilis, a Roman city on the far edge of the empire and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With an expert guide you will walk among tall columns, a triumphal arch, and the Capitol, and see mosaic floors that are still bright after two thousand years. On a clear day the olive groves that surround the ruins stretch to the horizon, much as they did when Roman traders and local Berber families lived side by side here.

A short drive brings us to Meknes, the city of Sultan Moulay Ismail, often called the Moroccan Versailles. Enter through Bab El Mansour, one of the most beautiful gates in the country, with its green and white tilework and towering arches. Visit the Royal Stables and Granaries, built to house thousands of horses, and the Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail, where non Muslim visitors are welcome to view part of the tomb. Lunch is a relaxed affair near Place El Hedim, with the old gates in view.

By late afternoon we reach Fez, the oldest of the imperial cities. Settle into your riad inside the walls of the old medina and take in the first sounds and scents of a place that has changed very little in centuries.

Overnight: Riad in Fez

Day 5

Fez: The Medieval Medina

Fez

Fez is the spiritual and cultural heart of Morocco, and today a licensed local guide leads you into its most atmospheric corners. Fes el Bali, the old walled city, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with thousands of narrow streets and no cars at all. Donkeys carry the deliveries, bakers carry trays of bread on their heads, and your guide knows exactly which door hides the most beautiful courtyard.

We visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, a masterpiece of carved cedar, stucco, and zellij tile, and pass the University of Al Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 and recognized as the oldest operating university in the world. At the Chouara Tanneries you look down on stone vats of red, yellow, and blue dye where leather is still cured by hand, and a sprig of fresh mint helps with the strong aroma. Continue through the spice souks, the copper workshops, and the Nejjarine woodworking quarter, where you can watch artisans at work and perhaps choose something to take home.

In the afternoon we step outside the old city to see the brass doors of the Royal Palace and drive up to the Merenid Tombs, where the whole medina spreads out below you in a sea of rooftops and minarets. It is a view that explains why Fez has been called the Mecca of the West.

Overnight: Riad in Fez

Day 6

Over the Middle Atlas to the Sahara

Fez to Ifrane to Midelt to Ziz Valley to Merzouga

Today we trade medieval alleys for open road. Heading south we climb into the Middle Atlas, where cedar and oak forests cover the slopes. We stop in Ifrane, a tidy alpine style town with peaked roofs and flower beds that locals call Little Switzerland. Near Azrou the cedar woods are home to Barbary macaques, and with a few peanuts in hand you may meet them at close quarters.

We break for lunch in Midelt, an apple growing town at the foot of the High Atlas. Beyond it the landscape changes dramatically as the road follows the Ziz Valley, where a long ribbon of palm trees winds between rust red cliffs, with ksour, the old fortified villages, scattered along the way. It is a green miracle in the middle of dry country, and one of the best photo stops of the trip.

By late afternoon the first golden dunes of Erg Chebbi appear at Merzouga. Here you leave the vehicle and climb onto a gentle camel for a sunset ride into the sand. The sky turns orange, then violet, and the only sound is the soft footfall of the caravan. At camp you are welcomed with mint tea, then dinner by the fire, with drumming and songs from Berber hosts. Later, lie back and watch the Milky Way arc overhead, then sleep in your private tent.

Overnight: Private tent in a Sahara desert camp, Merzouga

Day 7

Sahara Sunrise, Todra Gorge, and the Dades Valley

Merzouga to Rissani to Todra Gorge to Dades Valley

For those who wish to, a quiet wake up call brings you up a nearby dune for sunrise. The sand turns from violet to pink to gold in a matter of minutes, and the stillness is something you will remember for a long time. After breakfast at camp, camels carry you back to Merzouga, where your driver is waiting.

On the way west we stop in Rissani, an old caravan town with a lively market where traders sell dates, spices, saffron, and livestock, and where the donkey parking area is a sight in itself. We pass the ancient underground irrigation channels called khettaras, a remarkable piece of desert engineering that has carried water for miles for centuries.

By midday we reach Todra Gorge, where limestone walls rise about 300 metres on either side of a clear river. Walk along the cool river path and lunch at a cafe beneath the palms at the entrance. In the afternoon we continue through the Dades Valley, the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs, past fortified mud brick villages and the eroded rock formations known as the Monkey Fingers, which glow rose pink at sunset. Tonight you stay in a guesthouse above the valley, where your hosts share a home cooked dinner and, if you ask, a few local folktales.

Overnight: Kasbah guesthouse or boutique hotel, Dades Valley

Day 8

Ouarzazate and Ait Benhaddou

Dades Valley to Skoura to Ouarzazate to Ait Benhaddou

We follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs west, passing through the Skoura Oasis, a palm grove dotted with old kasbahs, including the beautifully preserved Kasbah Amridil, which appears on the Moroccan fifty dirham note. A visit gives you a rare look at how a family once lived inside a fortified home.

In Ouarzazate, the gateway to the Sahara, we see the exterior of the Taourirt Kasbah, once home to the local pasha, and learn how this town became the Hollywood of Morocco, with studios that have hosted productions from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator.

A short drive brings us to Ait Benhaddou, the most famous ksar in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its tiers of russet mud brick towers rise above a riverbed, and you cross the stream on foot to enter. Climb the narrow lanes, pause with the women selling handmade carpets, and continue to the old granary at the top for a view across the palm groves. We spend the night in a simple guesthouse overlooking the golden walls, and dinner is a traditional Moroccan meal.

Overnight: Guesthouse near Ait Benhaddou

Day 9

Across the High Atlas to Marrakech

Ait Benhaddou to Tizi n’Tichka to Marrakech

Today the road climbs through the High Atlas by way of the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, the highest paved pass in North Africa at 2,260 metres. Switchbacks wind through terraced farms and Berber villages, and from the summit the view stretches over snow brushed peaks and deep green valleys. Stop for mint tea at a roadside stall, or browse the amber and amethyst sold by local families.

We descend toward the plains and reach Marrakech by early afternoon. Known as the Red City for its rose colored walls, it greets you with a rush of life after the quiet of the mountains. After time to rest in your riad, we set out on an introductory tour that begins at the Bahia Palace, a nineteenth century residence with painted cedar ceilings and tranquil courtyards, and continues to the Koutoubia Mosque, whose twelfth century minaret shares its design with the Hassan Tower you saw in Rabat.

As evening falls we step into Jemaa el Fna, the great square that turns into an open air theatre every night. Storytellers, musicians, orange juice sellers, and rows of smoking grills create a spectacle that has run for centuries. Enjoy the atmosphere, and perhaps a bowl of spiced soup, then return to your riad.

Overnight: Riad in Marrakech

Day 10

Marrakech and Farewell

Marrakech

Your last morning is spent in the heart of the medina with a local guide. We visit the Saadian Tombs, where sixteenth century mausoleums lay hidden for centuries, and walk through the souks, where spices, carpets, lanterns, and leather goods fill every lane. The Ben Youssef Madrasa, an exquisite Quranic school known for its arabesque decoration, may be open to visit, depending on restoration work.

If time allows, we can add the Majorelle Garden in the new town, a calm botanical garden of cobalt blue and cactus green that was lovingly restored by Yves Saint Laurent. It is a lovely way to end the journey on a burst of color.

When it is time, your driver takes you to Marrakech Menara Airport. A transfer to Casablanca for your departure can be arranged if your flight leaves from there. We say bslama, goodbye, and hope that Morocco has found a place in your memory, and that you will come back.