A 9 day Morocco private tour : immersive and off the beaten track.

Day 1: Marrakech- Tizi n Tichka – Telouet – Ait Benhaddou ( 4 hour drive*)

*driving times don’t include the various stops along the way.

Leaving Marrakech behind, we soon take on the High Atlas. Breath taking panoramas and hairpin curbs succeed while the route follows one moment out in the open, the next under dense pine trees. Shortly after reaching 2200 meters altitude, you leave the main route to reach the village of Telouet and the Kasbah of the Glaoui.

From the ensemble of three ruined kasbahs only one has maintained its reception rooms where intricate zellij patterns and precious wood greet the eye. Pacha Glaoui had employed the most skilled artisans to build and decorate his main residence and, in its golden age, armies, stables and Christian slaves were confined within its walls while a flourishing Jewish community managed the nearby salt mines.

Then, our road follows Ounila valley with its mosaic of gardens and tiny douars. Occasionally the valley turns into a canyon, where the nomads have dug centuries ago galleries of grottos to stock grains. 

Late afternoon is the right time to roam UNESCO site of Ait Benhaddou, the postcard- like adobe citadel. With a bit of luck, the crowds have already deserted the place. In spite of the local ‘guides’, the best is to just lose yourself in its derbs and explore the honey – comb maze. Spend the night in a refurbished Kasbah.

Day 2: Ait Benhaddou – Ouarzazate- Agdz – Zagora ( 3 hour drive)

Today our 9 day itinerary travels along the mythical Draa Valley, a route so often used for centuries by the caravans bringing gold, slaves, ivory or feathers from Mali or Ghana. In Ouarzazate, the only noteworthy site is the film studios – they are very popular with children and, since Game of Thrones, adults as well.

Leaving the plain behind, the road climbs, twists and turns its way up through bare calcified gorges. Right after the pass you catch a first glimpse of the valley and the oases, a green river of palms snaking up into the haze bordered by the Kasbahs, adobe guardians rising from the earth where the green gives way to the desert. There is no road sign but somehow it dawns on you: you have entered a different land, le grand sud.

Past Agdz we turn left and will stop to wander around the eerie kasbah of Tamnougalt. Biblical adobe villages border the palm grove. It is worth visiting at least one of them – perhaps the one where most of the population is still black, descendants of former slaves- the Harratin. 

A picnic lunch by the river, under the palms, is quite a treat. Or perhaps discover the rock engravings at the end of a dusty off road track. We reach the tranquil town of Zagora late afternoon.

Day 3: Zagora – Tamegroute – Mhamid – Erg Chigaga ( 3 hour drive)

After breakfast, our 4×4 Morocco tour will take you through adobe villages bordering the route and the first patches of sand start to show. The nearby village of Amezrou, carries on the Jewish tradition of silver crafting and the adobe synagogue still stands. We will stop for a break in Tamegroute where century old Qorans and Arab treaties on astronomy and sciences are neatly arranged behind glass windows in the zaouia’s library.

The same village carries a pottery tradition known throughout Morocco . Watch how the clay is being turned into emerald pots and dishes inside traditional earth ovens and glazed into its particular emerald green cover. Or – pull up your sleeves and shape a vase or bowl yourself. 

And since you’re here, why not bake a pie with the village ladies ? We happen to know a family that does just that. Before long, our tour reaches M’hammid, where civilisation ( or at least the tarmac ) ends. 

The next two hours of our tour make full use of the four wheel drive as rocky desert gives way to gravel and then sand dunes, past the occasional water well and oasis. The anticipation built doesn’t quite prepare you for the spectacle ahead of you- these are the dunes of Erg Chigaga. Just as you enter the dunes, you’ll meet the camels. Ride a camel into the dunes as the sun is slowly dipping on the horizon.

While the staff of the camp is unloading your luggage, you climb onto the highest dune you can find. There is nowhere else you would rather be. Have dinner in front of your tent, by the camp fire, under starriest sky. 

If you feel like living like a pasha for a night, upgrade to a luxury Erg Chigaga camp. At night, dazed by the millions of stars glittering above, the silence is so thick you feel you could cut a strip and wear it as a scarf as you fall asleep. 

Day 4: Erg Chigaga – Lake Iriki – Foum Zguid ( 3 hour drive)

Should you have missed the sunrise… well, try not to. After toddling across sand dunes, our trip reaches the perfectly flat Lake Iriki, nowadays completely dry, where the Draa river used to form its estuary. Later on, we will have tea with a family of nomads and search for fossils. 

“I thought how desperately hard were the lives of the Bedu in this weary land, and how gallant and how enduring was their spirit. Now, listening to their talk and watching the little acts of courtesy which they instinctively performed, I knew by comparison how sadly I must fail, how selfish I must prove.”   Wilfred Thesiger – Arabian Sands

Then, we take on the hamada, the much dreaded stony desert, to finally reach Foum Zguid. Farewell Sahara, hello tarmac… Have a snack in the hamlet’s main square and then retreat to your lodge for an afternoon of relaxation. 

Day 5: Foum Zguid – Tata – Akka – Icht ( 3 hour drive)

Though the dunes are behind, the immensity lingers on. The tarmac swirls past barren plateau and sun- burnt ridges while you barely cross another soul. Continue south and stop by the nearby waterfalls.  In the neighboring palm grove, you can learn how a water clock works.

Picnic in the nearby palm grove after having scouted an old Berber village where you will be able to push the gate of a 18th century old granary, recently restored. Further along, camouflaged inside the palm grove, a stunned minaret from centuries ago stands still, witness of the passage of the caravans. Your accommodation for tonight recalls African lodges.

Day 6: Icht – visit the area. 

Today, we will discover the local area and its not- so- obvious attractions. The remoteness of the spaces is why most people would come and stay here. But don’t let yourself be fooled by the appearances. In the surroundings, at the right place and time of day you can glimpse foxes, eagles, wild boar, hares, mountain gazelles, bustards or partridges. After breakfast, leave the guest house and take the route to the old village at the foot of the local djebel. 

Back in the 4×4, travel to Id Aissa to drop the luggage at the guest house and have lunch to trek up the river bed and find yourself in the middle of primordial gorges, their wax- like lava walls appearing to have caught time suspended. Natural pools of deep- green transparent water appear here and there, where fish swim. The climb is sometimes steep, but it’s worth all the effort.

At the end of it, the 300 meter high gorge opens up and you can make your way back through the deserted plateaux above.  Or walk up the mule track and wander through the 70 odd rooms of the local granary overlooking the village from 600 meters high and see where locals used to stock grains, raise bees and collect rain water. The documents attest the granary is three or four centuries old. Return to your accommodation late afternoon or spend the night on site.

Day 7: Icht – Smougen – Tafraoute ( 3 hour drive)

After breakfast, enter the valley of Tamanart, with its sublime promontories and bluffs. The stone giants guard the valley. Rock engravings adorn the dry river flanks. On a Friday afternoon, the call to prayer reverberates along the gorges and over the palm grove. Nothing seems to have changed here with the centuries unfolding and the quietude is complete. Arrive in Tafraoute early afternoon. Do you bike ? The local painted rocks and Napoleon’s hat are worth a detour. 

Day 8: Tafraoute – Ait Baha – Taroudant ( 3 hour drive)

If Titans of Greek mythology or some other giant supernatural beings, ever had played in their childhood at molding boulders and cleaving rocks, Tafraoute, could well have been their playground. 

The lumps of stone, eggs, potatoes, ice cubes, slabs, shards, are piled up on top of each other in an elusive, yet eternal balance. Why not ask your driver to take you north of Tafraoute at the foothills of the Jebel Kest and tour some mountain perched hamlets, in the company of a local guide ?

As you thread your way through the gorges and deep red villages, there will be a flash of quicksilver to your left: an oasis of deep- green water, ringed by a white granite bed of rocks, glinting in the sun. After lunch, the route crosses lost- in- time villages, then goes up to cross the tranquil town of Ighrem to later descend on Taroudant and its fertile plains, the snowy peaks of the High Atlas in the background. Arrive in Taroudant late afternoon.

Day 9: Taroudant – Taghazout/ Chichaoua – Marrakech ( 5 hour drive).

Taroudant lies in the middle of a fertile agricultural plain that crashes into the foothills of the Anti Atlas while nudging the Sahara in the south. Also called sometimes ‘Petit Marrakech’ due to its similar looking walled old town, it is in fact older than its northern sister.

In this quiet town where most folks go around on their bicycle, hop on a caleche and have a tour around the city walls or wander the souks best known for silver, honey and argan oil and imagine how Marrakech used to be 30 years ago.

There are two ways to return to Marrakech. One is via the highway from Agadir, after having enjoyed some time on the beach just north of Agadir. The beaches around bohemian Taghazout are embraced by a warm sea current and you can swim in the Atlantic most of the year. Or explore the Paradise Valley in the right season. The other way is across the High Atlas mountains via the pass at 2000 meters high and past the ruins of what was the 12th century mosque of Tinmel, a 5 hour drive. 

If you prefer, we can also arrange for the tour to end in Essaouira. This concludes our 9 day Morocco itinerary. 

It’s worth adding an extra day or two for relaxation by the beach in Essaouira or trekking in the Atlas Mountains. 

Below you will find the resumed version of this 9 day Morocco itinerary:

Day 1: Marrakech- Telouet – Ait Benhaddou ( 3 hour drive*).
Day 2: Ait Benhaddou – Ouarzazate – Agdz – Zagora ( 3 hour drive).
Day 3: Zagora – Mhamid – Erg Chigaga dunes ( 3 hour drive).
Day 4: Erg Chigaga – Lake Iriki – Foum Zguid ( 3 hour drive).
Day 5: Tata- Akka – Icht ( 3 hour drive).
Day 6: Icht – explore the area;
Day 7: Icht – Smougen – Tafraoute ( 2 hour drive).
Day 8: Tafraoute – Ait Baha – Taroudant ( 3 hour drive).
Day 9: Taroudant – Taghazout/ Chichaoua – Marrakech/ Essaouira (4 hour drive).

* driving times don’t include stops.

You may choose to follow the original tour itinerary as described on the website or have us create a tailor made itinerary around your preferences. Please note that all our tours of Morocco are private and daily stops are accommodated along the way every couple of hours for you to visit a site, take a stunning photo or stretch your legs.

Here are some of the extras that can be included:

– tour the century old granaries and mosques;
– millennia- old rock engravings;
– picnic in the wilderness;
– traditional Moroccan hammam ( steam bath) with eucalyptus soap body scrub;
– lunch inside a Berber home;
– bake bread with the local ladies in the village’s oven;
– trekking/ hiking in the Anti Atlas or High Atlas mountains;
– surfing or wind- surfing on the Atlantic coast;

How much a 9 day private tour of Morocco costs ?

Bellow you will find our tentative rates ( no two itineraries are similar ) based on two persons traveling together, with the relevant accommodation option. For discounted rates, we invite you to book off season. 1 % of our revenues are donated towards social causes in Morocco.

Dreamers: starting from 1590 US $ / 1485 €/ 1320 £ per person ( double room & basic desert tent);

Privilege: only available in certain locations;
Divine: not available for this tour.

Our portfolio accommodations do not fit into a rigorous star rating system, so we have named them Dreamers, Privilege and Divine, to best resume their nature. To ensure availability, we recommend booking at least 3-4 months in advance. 

Pricing can vary at different times of the year. If you book your tour to take place in December, January ( outside NYE holidays), February, June, July and August, you will enjoy our low season rates. An exact rate will be offered once we have agreed on the precise itinerary, accommodation range preferred and any extras you would like to include. Discounts apply when 3 or more persons share the vehicle(s). You can also choose to mix different accommodation ranges within the same circuit.

The rates for such a 9 day tour include:

– private use of the English fluent driver- guide and the modern air- conditioned Toyota 4×4;
– boutique/ luxury hotel accommodation for 7 nights;
– Sahara camel trek and private basic or luxury tent for 1 night;
– 8 three- course- meal dinners and 8 breakfasts for 2 persons;
– refreshing drinks inside the vehicle all along the itinerary;
– local English speaking guides;
– admission fees to all local sites and attractions;
– 24 hours travel assistance with Privilege level;
– gasoline and highway tolls;
– transport insurance, VAT and visitors tax.

WHY BOOK WITH US THIS 9 DAY MOROCCO ITINERARY ?

# We are based in Morocco since 2006 and no, we don’t work from home :). We scout for the most unique sites & local experiences all year round. We present these on our blog and Instagram  pages. And only a travel agent based in Morocco can keep you up to date with latest Morocco travel advice or restaurant openings in Fes;

# We anonymously test, hand- pick and continuously update the best boutique and luxury hotels, Riads , eco lodges and Kasbahs across Morocco;

# We strive to bring you most authentic experiences. Some of them are exclusive: private flight to the Sahara; visit of a medina with a local university teacher; mechoui with a nomad family;

# 1 percent of our receipts go towards local projects, like help educate girls from rural Morocco or restoring the agadirs of southern Morocco;

# we accept payments by credit card, bank transfer and, starting 2023, select cryptocurrencies;

# we are on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, before and during your tour, by email, phone or Skype/ Zoom.

Ready to create your unique Morocco tour? Get in touch here with our on- the- ground team in Morocco.