Tanger: Imperial Cities, Mountain and Desert

day 1
Tánger – Chauen

Reception in Tangier and transfer to Chauen to stay at the hotel.

day 2
Chauen

After breakfast we will spend the whole day visiting the old town of Chauen or Chefchaouen, located at the foot of the Tisouka (2050m) and Megou (1616m) mountains of the Rif mountain range, which rise above the village like two horns, thus naming the city, which in Berber means: “look at the horns”.
The city was founded in 1471 by Ali Ben Rachid on the site of a small Berber village. Its original population was composed mainly of exiles from al-Àndalus, both Muslims and Jews, which is why the old part of the city has a very similar appearance to that of the Andalusian villages, with small streets of irregular layout and whitewashed houses. Chauen was for centuries considered a sacred city, where foreigners were forbidden to enter. For this reason it has been maintained with few alterations all its medieval physiognomy. According to tradition, Chauen resembled the Andalusian city of Vejer de la Frontera, (in the province of Cadiz) since Ali Ben Rachid had promised his wife Lalla Zahra (a Spanish noblewoman converted to Islam) that the city would resemble his hometown, Vejer, and so it was.
The Medina is the old part of the city. Entering the city through one of its five gates of the Medina and going through the serpentine streets of dazzling blue-white houses contrasting with the great variety of colours of the different products of the shops and bazaars, the smells of freshly baked bread from the wood-fired oven or Tajin ready to eat make the walk a feast for all the senses. After a walk we will have a tea at the Plaza Uta el-Hammam, the busiest square in the medina of Chauen. It is presided over by the citadel and the exceptional octagonal minaret of the Great Mosque. We will continue the visit until the night that we will lodge in our hotel.

day 3
Chauen – Volubilis – Meknes

Breakfast at the hotel and then 200 km to Meknes. On the way we will make a pause in the Mamora forest, a place of peace and beauty where we can relax in this magnificent forest considered the largest cork oak in the world, declared a Biosphere Reserve.

After the break we will continue our way to the Roman city of Volubilis, 27 km north of Meknes. The most important archaeological site in Morocco, and inscribed on the list of World Heritage by UNESCO. After the visit of Volubilis.

We will continue to Meknes, one of the four imperial cities of Morocco, along with Fes, Marrakech and Rabat. Founded in the eleventh century by the Almoravids (a Berber tribe called Meknassi), it became the capital of the Maghreb in the seventeenth century. In Meknes we can see the gate of Bad el Mansour, it is one of the largest and most beautiful entrance doors in Morocco, built in 1732. The door of Bad el Mansour, is the habitual entrance to the Medina, where we will be able to admire its souk, the historical buildings and the Great Mosque of Almoravid origin of the XII century. Overnight at the hotel

day 4
Meknes – Imichil

After breakfast we will leave Meknes in the direction of Imichil, village of the central High Atlas located in the valley of Assif Melloul (“white river”), at more than 2200 m altitude. In its surroundings all the mountains of the area exceed 3000 meters. Area rich in pasture. We will visit the famous lake of Tizlit, the lake of the bride that next to the lake of the groom Isli, something more distant, a beautiful legend of love has been created.

The legend tells that two young lovers, could not get married because of the opposition of their respective families, that caused that both separately went to the mountains with their flocks, there were so many tears that came from their eyes that they formed the two lakes that are in the vicinity of Imilchil, the Tisli and the Isli.

In Imichil it is celebrated during the month of September the “Moussem”, a multitudinous wedding, in an esplanade near Imichil, there, a series of khaimas are mounted, where the pacts between tribes of the Atlas are made, all the young married women are concentrated with their family and a series of codes precede the ceremonies, the young married men, walk between the khaimas, as if it were a fair, looking for the one that will be his wife, then the ceremony of all the couples is celebrated. Clothes, jewels and customs. It is a true spectacle of color.

Dinner and overnight in a traditional mountain hotel.

day 5
Imichil – Gorges of Todra – Alnif

From Imichil we will follow the route that will take us to the Todra Gorges. We will cross beautiful valleys closed by mountains and the great plateau of the valley of Assif Melloul, an area of grazing and transhumance. A journey back in time in the heart of the Atlas, far from the tourist routes. There they live with adobe and stone houses scattered throughout the valley one of the most ancestral Berber communities in the country. They are semi-nomadic shepherds who preserve their centuries-old traditions.

We will reach the village of Tamtattouchte, and from there we will descend the entire Todra gorge through the spectacular Tizi-n-Tirherhoucine pass, 2,650 metres high, until we reach the Tinerguir palm grove, a palm grove more than thirty kilometres long, one of the natural gates that connect the Atlas with the Sahara, one of the most beautiful oases in the region. The Todra River Gorges are located at the northern end of the Tinerhir palm grove, at the foot of the Eastern High Atlas mountain range. Little by little this palm grove narrows, and the limestone rock walls that delimit it rise up to three hundred meters high and separated in some stretch by just a score of meters, being its narrowest point about ten meters wide. From here we will go to Alnif city of the Anti Atlas at the foot of the basalt mountain range of the Jbel Saghro, cradle of the Berbers, also known as the mountains of the desert. Dinner and overnight at hotel.

day 6
Merzouga – Rissani – Merzouga

After breakfast we will leave for Rissani, 35 km from Merzouga, we will visit the market, an important trade center frequented by desert people. The market of Rissani is ancestral, in which there are craftsmen of wood, sale of cattle, of spices… here we will be able to see the curious Parking of donkeys, where the people who go to the market keep the animals here.

Rissani is also a meeting place for collectors, fossil hunters and researchers; in its vicinity are numerous mineral quarries and fossil deposits.

Historically Rissani was a kingdom itself between the 8th and 14th centuries, known as Siyilmasa and very important in the area due to the trans-Saharan caravans and commercial movement that existed at that time, rivaling Fez and Marrakesh. From here came large caravans of camels that exported metals, fabrics and dates to Sudan and Guinea.

Ibn Battuta on his trip to Mali in 1352 relates:
I arrived in the city of Siyilmasa, which is one of the most beautiful and abundant in excellent dates, in which the city of Basra resembles it, but those of Siyilmasa are better (. . .) I acquired camels and put myself on a journey in a caravan where many merchants of Siyilmasa traveled. . .

In the center of Rissani we will visit the ksar AbouAm, one of the few mud fortresses totally inhabited.

In the afternoon we reprimand the desert route and return to Merzouga. Known for “the gate of the dunes”, Merzouga is a small village in southeastern Morocco situated at the foot of the Great Erg Chebi, (Sahara Desert) which has a length of 22 km (from north to south) and 5 km wide, and its dunes have a maximum height of 150 m. At the foot of the dunes we will leave the 4×4 and ride the camels that will take us to the high dunes of the desert to enjoy an unforgettable sunset. We will spend the night in a Berber tent and enjoy a traditional dinner enlivened with the sound of the tam-tam (drum), in the most authentic heart of the desert.

Climbing the dunes and watching the sunset and sunrise are some of the experiences that undoubtedly do not leave us indifferent.

day 7
Desert – Desert

We will get up early to see the sunrise in the dunes, and after a good breakfast we head to the Ramlia oasis, a beautiful oasis of palm trees in the Tafilalt region, located in the southeast of the Sahara desert, next to the Algerian and Moroccan border.

To get to Ramlia we are forced to follow the route of the Paris-Dakar rally, through beautiful desolate landscapes, Ramlia is in the middle of nowhere, its inhabitants are ancient nomads, they all belong to the tribe of Aït Khebbach, which is part of the great Amazigh group of Ait Atta of the south-east Sahara Desert of Morocco and are characterized by their great hospitality.

Dinner and overnight in a hotel located in the middle of the purest desert.

day 8
Ramlia – Valley of Ziz

We will have breakfast and spend the whole day through the impressive Ziz river valley.

The route of the Ziz valley is through limestone gorges bordered by high date palms and mixed with the constructions of adobe houses, which makes the place a fascinating spectacle for our eyes.

The river Ziz rises in the High Atlas and digs its way through impressive cliffs, heading south, where it waters the immense palm grove of Tafilalet. The water marks the route towards the desert, there it is lost after crossing more than 270 km.

Dinner and breakfast in a hotel located in the valley.

day 9

Valley of Ziz – Fes

After breakfast we will leave towards Fes in the direction of taking the route to Midelt, where we will make a brief stop in the famous cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, where lives one of the last communities of Barbary monkeys, a species of macaque that can only be seen here and in Gibraltar. We will continue through Ifrane, city located in the Middle Atlas in a mountainous area at 1713 meters of altitude and with a cold climate, which has influenced the nickname of the small African Switzerland, from here to Fes. Accommodation at the hotel.

day 10
Fes

Full day dedicated to the discovery of the city of Fes, in the evening we will return to the hotel, to enjoy a deserved rest.

The city of Fes is considered in Morocco as the religious and cultural center of the country. The city is divided into three zones, Fez el Bali, (the old zone within the walls), Fez-Jdid, (the new zone where is the Mellah, the Jewish quarter), and the Ville Nouvelle (the French zone in the northwest of the city). The medina of Fez el Bali is one of the largest medieval sites in the world today. The whole medina is declared World Heritage by UNESCO, its souks and alleys have not changed since the Middle Ages. To get to know the medina of Fez el Bali, start at the Bab Boujloud gate, enter the souk and walk its narrow, labyrinthine streets, often dodging mules laden with large bundles.

• Visit the Bou Inania Madrasa, with its valuable works in cedar wood, stuccoes and marble and onyx decorations.
• The zaouïa of Moulay Idriss, founder of the city.
• The Andalusian quarter with its mosque and the Es-Sahrij Madrasa.
  The ancient Dar Batha palace, in the
• Arabic-Andalusian style, dedicated to the arts and traditions of Fez.
• The University Mosque of Al-Karaouine is one of the oldest in the world, founded in 859 by Fatima Al-Fihri, daughter of Mohammed Al-Fhri, a very rich merchant of those times. After the death of her father, Fatima and her sister received a large amount of money, and then Fatima decided to create the University Mosque. Inside you can see many arches, mosaics, wood carvings and paintings of great beauty.

The district of the tanners, in the Middle Ages, the city became one of the main commercial centers of the Maghreb, being the main producer of adargas. (shield made of leather and oval shape), originally used by the Muslim cavalry of Al-Andalus, with the name of addárqa.

The Festival of Sacred World Music of Fez, created in 1994, is part of the spiritual and artistic life of the city. Since its creation, this event has been a true international success. The Fez Festival of 2001 was declared by the United Nations as one of the most exceptional events contributing to the dialogue among civilizations. It is held every year in June.

“Fez Hats” The fez or tarbush was conceived by the Andalusian Muslims of the city of Fez in the seventeenth century, as a fashion for the high society. The artisans who participated in its design were the most select members of the city’s souks. Until the nineteenth century, the city of Fez was the only producer, until France and Turkey began to develop this product.

day 11
Fes – City of origin

Breakfast at the hotel and at the established time, transfer to the airport and end of our services.