Grand circuit from Fes in 8 days

Departure from Fes at 8:30 with a visit to the imperial city of Meknes and Bab Mansour, the entrance to Sultan Moulay Ismail's citadel. We continue to Volubilis, Roman ruins with mosaics among olive groves, a surreal glimpse into 2,000 years of history. Overnight in Rabat. (207 km)

• Fes
• Meknes
• Volubilis
• Rabat

After breakfast, the Kasbah of the Udayas, a 12th-century fortress above the Bou Regreg River, with blue-and-white alleyways and Andalusian gardens. The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, one of the largest and most beautiful in the world, with a 210-metre minaret. Arrival in Marrakech. (324 km)

• Rabat
• Casablanca
• Marrakech

We start at Jemaa el-Fnaa, "a living theatre" with juice vendors, henna artists, snake charmers and musicians. The Majorelle Gardens, in cobalt blue, once home to painter Jacques Majorelle. The Koutoubia Mosque, with its 77-metre 12th-century minaret. El Bahia Palace, with tiled courtyards and rooms, the Ben Youssef Medersa with its carvings and cedarwood, and the Saadian Tombs, rediscovered in 1917.

• Marrakech

We ascend the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass (2,260 m), one of Morocco's highest. The Ait Benhaddou Kasbah (UNESCO), a silent witness to centuries of trade and a backdrop for Gladiator and Game of Thrones. The day ends in Ouarzazate, the "Hollywood of Africa." (195 km)

• Marrakech
• Ait Ben Haddou
• Ouarzazate

Toward the Skoura oasis with a stop at Kalaat M'Gouna, the "Valley of Roses." Along mountain roads we reach the Dades Gorges, spending the night in this beautiful valley. (132 km)

• Ouarzazate
• Skoura
• Dades Gorges

The Todra Gorges, with majestic limestone cliffs up to 300 m high. In the afternoon we reach Merzouga, at the Sahara's edge, for a camel trek across the golden Erg Chebbi dunes. A breathtaking sunset and a night under the open sky at a desert camp. (269 km)

• Dades Gorges
• Merzouga

After a desert breakfast, Erfoud and its prehistoric secrets (the area was once under an ancient ocean). We continue through the Ziz Valley, one of Morocco's most picturesque drives, among palm groves, rocky gorges and golden cliffs, to Midelt, between the Middle and High Atlas. (260 km)

• Merzouga
• Erfoud
• Ziz Valley
• Midelt

Through the Tizi n'Talghamt Pass to Azrou, a peaceful Berber town famous for its cedar forests. Ifrane, the "Switzerland of Morocco," with flower-lined avenues, red-roofed chalets and immaculate streets, built by the French in the 1930s. Return to Fes by afternoon. (216 km)

• Midelt
• Azrou
• Ifrane
• Fes