12 days through the splendor of Morocco

Pick-up at Marrakech airport with a Morocco Pulse Travel sign and transfer to the riad/hotel in the medina. A first taste of the famous Jamaa el-Fna square, with food stalls, storytelling, music, dances and games. Overnight at a charming riad in the medina.

• Marrakech
• Jamaa el-Fna

Around 8:00 we head to the Dades Valley over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass and the High Atlas, among Berber villages camouflaged in the landscape. A visit to Ait Ben Haddou (UNESCO), a backdrop for films such as Lawrence of Arabia. A Berber lunch with kasbah views, Ouarzazate (Atlas studios, optional) and the Skoura oasis with the Amridil Kasbah. Along the "road of a thousand kasbahs" and the Valley of Roses (Kalaat M'Gouna, May Rose Festival) to the Dades Valley. Dinner and overnight at a riad.

• Marrakech
• High Atlas
• Ait Ben Haddou
• Valley of Roses
• Dades

After breakfast, a drive among kasbahs and Berber villages of the Dades canyon to Todra, a 15-km valley full of palm trees, with its high grey-and-pink rock walls. On to Merzouga and the Erg Chebbi dunes: a 1h30 camel ride to camp, with a sunset stop and sandboarding. Dinner, campfire, music and a night under the stars in a tent.

• Dades Valley
• Todra Gorges
• Erfoud
• Merzouga

A visit to Khamlia, the "town of the blacks," descendants from Mali and Sudan and excellent musicians, with a small Gnawa concert. By 4WD across Erg Chebbi to the Great Dune (about 150 m), connected to part of the old Paris-Dakar route. A panoramic viewpoint, old khol mines and abandoned villages, and a visit to a nomad family. The Rissani market. Dinner and overnight at a riad facing the dunes.

• Erg Chebbi
• Khamlia
• Rissani
• Merzouga

Optional sunrise over the dunes and back to Merzouga centre. Out of the desert toward Fez via Errachidia, stopping at the Ziz valley viewpoint and its palm groves. Through Midelt and Azrou (with its macaques) and Ifrane to Fez. Overnight at a charming riad.

• Merzouga
• Ziz Valley
• Errachidia
• Midelt
• Ifrane

A full day with a local guide through Fes el-Bali (UNESCO), founded in the 9th century, with the world's oldest university and its Merinid peak in the 13th-14th centuries. Its roughly 9,000 alleyways and artisan workshops (blacksmithing, leatherwork, ceramics, silk, tapestries). The dyers, the zellij cooperative, Al Quaraouiyine University, the Royal Palace exterior, the weavers' cooperative and panoramic views of Fes el-Bali. A second night in the medina.

• Fez

North to the heart of the Rif, but first west to Volubilis, the ancient Roman city with Morocco's most important archaeological remains (free time or a local guided visit). On to Chefchaouen, the blue city, with its whitewashed houses with turquoise doors, blue streets and crafts (basketry, pottery and the djellaba); a discovery of its souk with a local guide. Overnight at a charming riad in the medina.

• Fez
• Volubilis
• Chefchaouen

To the coast and the capital, Rabat: the Mohammed V Mausoleum, the Hassan Tower and free time at the Kasbah of the Oudayas. On to Casablanca: the exterior of the Hassan II Mosque, one of Africa's largest, and the city's emblematic spots (the Corniche boulevard, the Arab League Park and Mohammed V Square). Overnight at a hotel in Casablanca.

• Chefchaouen
• Rabat
• Casablanca

The Hassan II Mosque and, if you wish, a walk along the Corniche beaches. On to the coastal city of Essaouira, where we spend the night.

• Casablanca
• Hassan II Mosque
• Essaouira

Free time in Essaouira, the old port of Mogador, built by the Portuguese on a fine-sand peninsula and protected by its 18th-century walls; a pedestrian, grid-laid city. From the Skala, views of the fishing port, the fortresses and the cannons, and its woodwork crafts. An optional fish lunch at the port. In the evening, back to Marrakech.

• Essaouira
• Marrakech

The guide collects you for the Marrakech tour. Djemaa el-Fna square, with its juice stalls, dried fruit, henna, snake charmers and storytellers. The Majorelle Garden, by Yves Saint Laurent, with its famous blue, and the Secret Garden, an Islamic paradise watered from the Atlas. The Koutoubia, the city's icon, plus the Bahia, the Ben Youssef Medersa, the Saadian Tombs and the souks.

• Marrakech

Breakfast and free time before the transfer to Marrakech airport, depending on your flight. End of our services.

• Marrakech
• Airport