Itinerary · 9 days · 35 places
9 Days in Morocco
Nine days from the souks of Marrakech via the Berber villages of the High Atlas and the kasbahs of the south to a night in the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
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Photo: Cornelis Johannes (Kees) van Leeuwen · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in the Red City
Arrival in Marrakech
Hotel check-in
The riad lies in the medina between Rahba Kedima and Jemaa el-Fna, where the lanes are too narrow for cars and your luggage covers the last stretch by handcart.
Koutoubia Mosque and its garden
The 77-metre minaret from the 12th century stands on the edge of the medina; non-Muslims stay outside and walk through the rose garden with the foundations of the earlier mosque.
Evening: Jemaa el-Fna
After sunset the square fills with food stalls, Gnawa drummers and storytellers — best watched in peace from one of the café rooftop terraces on the north side.
Day 2Palaces, tombs and souks
Bahia Palace
This 19th-century vizier's palace strings 150 rooms around painted cedarwood ceilings and a marble courtyard; early in the morning you'll have it almost to yourself.
El Badi Palace
Of the Saadian Ahmad al-Mansur's showpiece, red walls, sunken orange gardens and storks' nests remain; from the terrace you can see over the Kasbah to the Atlas.
Saadian Tombs
The burial chambers were rediscovered in 1917; in the Hall of Twelve Columns, Ahmad al-Mansur lies beneath stucco, Carrara marble and cedarwood.
Ben Youssef Madrasa
Morocco's largest Koranic school, restored in 2022: zellij mosaic, carved stucco and the tiny student cells on the upper floor around the quiet courtyard.
Maison de la Photographie
Three floors of historic Moroccan photographs from 1870 to 1950 in an old fondouk, topped by a rooftop terrace overlooking the medina's roofs.
Souk Semmarine and Rahba Kedima
From the covered main souk the craftsmen's lanes branch off — dyers, coppersmiths, basket weavers — ending at the spice and herb square of Rahba Kedima.
Evening: Place des Ferblantiers
The tinsmiths' square lies next to the Mellah; in the evening the pierced lanterns glow in the workshops and the terraces around fill up.
Day 3High Atlas: Imlil and the Berber villages
Onward to Imlil
Hotel check-in
Village walk in Imlil
The mountaineering village at the foot of Toubkal lives from mules, walnuts and trekking; the muleteers wait by the car park and the terraced fields reach right up to the houses.
Hike to Aroumd
A good half-hour uphill across the stream, the mud-brick village of Aroumd sits on an old moraine, looking into the cirque below the 4,167-metre Toubkal.
Tizi n'Tamatert
The pass path at 2,279 metres east of Imlil opens up a view over the whole Mizane valley; at the top stand a few shepherds' tea stalls.
Evening: starry sky over Imlil
With no street lighting in the valley the Milky Way stands above the peaks; from the terrace all you hear is the stream and the mule bells.
Day 4Over the Tichka to the Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
Onward to Aït Ben Haddou
Hotel check-in
Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou
This UNESCO World Heritage site of rammed earth climbs the slope above the Ounila River; you cross the ford to enter and walk up through lanes between inhabited and crumbling houses.
Granary above the ksar
At the very top stands the communal granary (agadir); from its platform you overlook the valley, the palms and the film sets down by the river.
Kasbah Tamdaght
Four kilometres upstream stands the half-ruined Glaoui kasbah with storks' nests on its towers; Hollywood filmed "Gladiator" here, among others.
Evening: view of the illuminated ksar
From the new village across the river the ksar glows warmly out of the hillside after dark — the best spot for it is the terraces on the riverside road.
Day 5Todra Gorge and the palm grove of Tinghir
Onward to Tinghir
Hotel check-in
Todra Gorge
On the final stretch the gorge narrows to ten metres wide between limestone walls up to 160 metres high; in summer roped teams climb the north faces.
Tinghir palm grove
Beneath 30,000 date palms the old irrigation channels (seguias) run between the local families' plots of barley, alfalfa and vegetables.
Old ksar and Glaoui Kasbah of Tinghir
Above the oasis stands the crumbling kasbah of Pasha el-Glaoui; from the edge of the wall you see the whole green ribbon of the palm grove in the brown valley.
Evening: rooftop terrace above the palm grove
After dinner mint tea is drunk on the rooftops, while down in the oasis the frogs strike up and the heat seeps out of the mud walls.
Day 6Arrival at Erg Chebbi
Onward to Merzouga
Hotel check-in
Merzouga village
The desert village at the edge of the dunes consists of two streets with carpet shops, workshops and auberges; every tour into the erg starts from here.
Khamlia — Gnawa music of the descendants
In this village south of Merzouga live descendants of West African slaves; in the afternoon the groups play Gnawa with krakebs and guembri in their own house.
Camel ride into Erg Chebbi
The caravan takes 1.5 hrs across the dune crests, which reach up to 150 metres here, to the camp — the sand turns red towards evening.
Evening: starry sky over Erg Chebbi
In the camp there's drumming after dinner, and afterwards it's so dark you can follow the Milky Way to the horizon.
Day 7A day in the Sahara
With a nomad family at the edge of the dunes
A few families still live in goat-hair tents at the edge of the erg; you're invited in for bread and tea and see how water is drawn from the well.
Dayet Srji dry lake
After rain a shallow salt lake forms west of Merzouga, where flamingos stop over in spring; otherwise it's a white, cracked expanse in front of the dunes.
Hassi Labied oasis
Merzouga's neighbouring village has a palm grove with khettara wells that have irrigated the gardens for centuries.
Sunset on the great dune
The climb to the highest crest of the erg takes just under half an hour in the soft sand; at the top the desert stretches to the Algerian border against the light.
Evening: drums around the campfire
A fire burns in the sand in front of the camp, the guides play tbal and bendir, and anyone who wants can walk barefoot up the nearest dune once more.
Day 8Ouarzazate: kasbahs and film studios
Onward to Ouarzazate
Hotel check-in
Atlas Studios
On the lot at the edge of town stand sets from "Kundun", "Kingdom of Heaven" and "Gladiator" — Egyptian temples and Roman arenas made of plaster and plywood.
Kasbah Taourirt
The Glaoui mud-brick fortress was once a whole quarter housing dozens of families; today you can walk through the restored living quarters with painted ceilings and women's rooms.
Kasbah Tifoultoute
Eight kilometres west, this kasbah stands above the Ouarzazate River; from the rooftop terrace the view takes in the palm grove when the sun is low.
Evening: Place Al Mouahidine
Ouarzazate's central square is the town's evening meeting place: ice-cream parlours, grill stalls and families strolling up and down between the arcades.
Day 9Fint Oasis and back to Marrakech
Fint Oasis
Fifteen kilometres south of Ouarzazate, beyond a stony desert, a green strip of palms with four mud-brick villages by the river suddenly appears — a morning to stretch your legs.
Return to Marrakech
Departure from Marrakech
Make it your trip
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