Morocco Cultural Adventure

Volubilis, Moulay Idriss, Meknes & Fez

Depart Rabat and head inland, stopping first at Volubilis, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Morocco's largest and best-preserved Roman ruins. A special lunch of traditional homestyle Moroccan food awaits you at the Scorpion House, overlooking the whitewashed town of Moulay Idriss. Set amongst green hills, this charming town is the final resting place of Idris I, the founder of modern Morocco, after whom the town is named. Absorb the tranquil beauty and special ambiance of these cobbled streets before continuing to the ‘Imperial City’ of Meknes. Less visited among Morocco’s Imperial Cities, the legacy of Meknes was transformed by a brutal and ambitious sultan who desired a city that could challenge Versailles with enormous palace grounds and lavish structures. Your guide will take you to the famous gate of Bab El Mansour, the impressive Dar Jamai Palace, the Royal Stables, and the tomb of Moulay Ismail. Finish your day in Fez, another “Imperial City.” A scrumptious Moroccan feast awaits you complete with all the comforts of Islamic hospitality in your locally-owned riad.

Privately Guided Exploration of Fez

The mesmerizing call to prayer is integral to Fez and one that has echoed through the city each morning for over 1400 years. A former capital of Morocco, Fez remains Morocco’s leading intellectual and religious center as well as a fascinating cultural hub. Today you’ll explore Fez on foot. With your private guide you’ll discuss options of what you'd like to see and do most. Twist and turn through this labyrinthine medieval city. Highlights include a visit to a medieval tannery, the wool souk (market), local spice shops, and countless stalls loaded with dates and olives, giving you a thorough immersion into Moroccan mercantile life.

Meeting local people whose artistic talents have been passed from generation to generation, you begin to understand the web of traditions that make Moroccan culture so enduring and rich. On request we can arrange time with a local leather artisan to teach you the art of embossing or an apothecary where you can learn how to distill essences and spirits from traditional herbs. The maze of narrow passageways turns by the Qaraouine University, two important Madrassas (Quranic schools), and the Moulay Idriss II memorial, all windows into local life, education and religion. Lunch is a hands-on affair; immerse yourself in Moroccan spices, olives, and specialty dishes over a cooking lesson to prepare delicious Moroccan cuisine: whether it be couscous, tagine (meat stew), and traditional Moroccan soup called harira. Your exploration will include a lunch in the midst of the bustle of the old medina. Your tour lasts from 9am-3:30pm, though can go longer should you wish.

Afterward, you have free time to explore on your own.

Fez Half Day Cooking Class

Moroccan cuisine is often discussed as being one of the best in the world — and for good reason! Nothing brings together people like delicious food. In this half-day culinary experience you'll participate in a small-group cooking workshop, beginning first with a visit to the local food medina where you’ll learn about traditional Moroccon spices and cookware. Your chef and guide will help you select and purchase the best seasonal produce before getting back into the kitchen for a hands-on cooking lesson to create a complete Moroccan meal - including a salad, soup, main course and dessert. Some dishes you may cook include Zalouk (roasted aubergine with spices) , Khizou M’shrmel (marinaded carrot salad), Bissara (split pea or broad bean soup with spices, garlic and olive oil), multiple styles of couscous and tagine and a selection of delicate and light Moroccan sweet like Ghriba d l’sel (honey fassi macaroons). After preparing your dishes you'll share a meal together with your chef and fellow classmates, then enjoy the balance of the afternoon free to explore Fez on your own.

Note: Dietary requirements can be accommodated with advanced notice. For single travelers or parties of two or four, we suggest this class as a small group experience that you'll share with other travelers though private classes can always be arranged on request. For more than four travelers we arrange this as a privately hosted morning with your own dedicated culinary instructor.

Middle Atlas Mountains & Erfoud

Driving from lowlands into the Atlas Mountains and the mountain town of Azrou, you pass villages and farmers working their fields. You’ll stop along the way to enjoy short hikes in the beautiful cedar forests, habitat to one of the world's only population of Barbary macaque monkeys in Africa, wild boar, and various highland birds.

Watch the dramatic changes in landscape as your route descends from the Middle Atlas Mountains over the pass into the vast Sahara Desert. The terrain on this full-day drive is varied. High, evergreen mountain peaks give way to flatlands of scrub pine as you drop into the vast Saharan desert that stretches endlessly in the horizon. Following a centuries-old caravan route, you pass through the Beni Mguild Berber capital of Midelt, an important center for local carpet making. You begin to see ksars (fortified strongholds) along the way to Errachidia. Stop in the lush palm groves of the Ziz Valley for a special lunch in the home of a local Berber family. Stroll through the palms and meet with a few of the small scale farmers of this region, learn about date palms and water conservation in these arid climes, before continuing on the road to Erfoud. Overnight in La Rose du Desert or similar. Total Drive Time is 7 Hours. Your driver/guide will make frequent stops for short walks, visits with locals, photography opportunities and lunch.

Sahara Exploration & Luxury Desert Camp

Continue your exploration of life on the edge of the Sahara. Discover the slower pace of life in this remote region and learn how to make your own medfouna, a calzone-like Moroccan dish that is baked in the hot sands of the desert. In the Holy City of Rissani you visit the Mausoleum of Moulay Ali Sherife, Ksour Abdel Hamid, and the Abdel Malik Kasbah and the local salt mines and fossil digs. Before heading into the vast Sahara you'll stop in the desert village of Khemlia and listen to authentic Gnawa performed by local musicians, proud of their Gnawa heritage.

As the sun begins to set, the vivid colors of the desert are wrought in golden light. Hop into a 4x4 and cross the dunes to your Sahara desert camp. Accompanied by indigenous Toureg nomads in their striking blue turbans, take a short camel ride into the Erg Chebbi, a vast expanse of huge, drifting sand dunes. Centuries ago, Touregs turned the fearsome Saharan sands into a trading route using their ‘ships of the desert’ (camels) to transport a myriad of goods from the Atlantic coast across Africa to Timbuktu. The sunset changes and deepens the hues of this mystical landscape as your surefooted dromedaries transport you back to your deluxe desert encampment for the night.

After a cold drink and a delicious dinner, retire on carpets and pillows around the fire under a vast star-lit desert sky or sink into slumber within the comfort of your private well-appointed Berber tent. (If you prefer not to camp we can arrange for you to stay in a Kasbah hotel on the edge of the desert, in which case you can still enjoy a camel ride at sunset or sunrise.) Overnight Deluxe Desert Encampment (Drive 2 Hours)

Valley of the Kasbahs to Skoura

Awaken before dawn in the still and silent desert for a camel ride to watch the sunrise over the dunes. Then bid farewell to your Toureg camp hosts and depart in a 4x4 for a beautiful day exploring the farms, villages and traditional homes through the scenic Valley of the Kasbahs.

In the town of Tinjedad walk through part of a Ksar, a surreal roofed village of eighty families living in a complex maze of adobe streets and housing, including the small Berber museum of El Khorbat which showcases the cultural history of the region’s indigenous tribes. You’ll have an opportunity to stretch your legs and get a feeling for daily life on a two to three-hour easy hike in the picturesque irrigated palm groves of the Dades Valley where families tend to their crops. After lunch at a favorite local restaurant our route approaches Kelaat Mgouna, where in springtime the valley is filled with the dusky pink of the Damascus rose, their essence prized by French perfumers. Learn how this prized essence is made locally. At the end of the day, enjoy the peace of your lovely room in the restored Berber-style accommodation among palm plantations and olive groves.

Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate, High Atlas Mountains

Depart your oasis for Ait Ben Haddou the most famous of the fortified ksars. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site which may seem familiar as it is a favorite desert kingdom backdrop for blockbuster films and television shows like Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones. From Ait Ben Haddou, you can see the not-so distant High Atlas Mountains. You may also stop in Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Africa, where the Atlas Studios is reputed to be one of the largest movie studios in the world.

Depart the valley floor and ascend into the High Atlas Mountains. The road to Marrakesh ascends over the High AtlasMountains on a sinuous route with spectacular views over Tizi-n-Tickka (7,417 ft) -- the highest pass in Morocco. Descending on the other side into the foothills the landscape turns green with oaks, walnut groves and oleander bushes leading to the Toubkal National Park. We'll spend this evening in the simple yet comfortable and charming guesthouse of a local Berber family to experience true mountain hospitality.

Toubkal National Park Hiking

The fresh mountain air and dramatic scenery are a compelling reason to join a local mountain guide on a hike through Toubkal National Park. Choose from a variety of trails and terrain, with hikes lasting between 2-6 hours based on your experience and comfort level. The Park is composed of more than forty spectacular, snow-capped mountain peaks surrounding with altitudes of at least 11,500 ft. including Mount Toubkal, the highest peak in North Africa. Lowland trails overlook pastel and ochre colored villages among lush-green terraced valleys, while full day hikes ascend into the base of the nearby mountain peaks. Lunch will be picnic style or at a local family's home. You'll also have the opportunity to plant a tree as part of our partnership with the High Atlas Foundation, which works with rural farming families to regenerate forests and sustainably cultivate fruit trees and a variety of herbs. In addition to capturing carbon and preventing erosion, the fruit trees provide a more reliable and highly valued source of income and replace the reliance on intensive and destructive farming methods used for barley and corn, traditional crops that require abundant land but produce little profit.

From your alpine vantage point you can see the "Red City" of Marrakesh, nested below in the in the vast palm grove of the Houazz Plain shielded from the harsh winds of the Sahara by the High Atlas. Arrive in Marrakesh and settle into your architecturally authentic restored Marrakesh riad. A warm, Moroccan dinner featuring flavor profiles specific to the region promises to delight this evening.

Guided Exploration of Marrakesh

For over a thousand years, Moroccans, foreigners and traders from around the world have been coming to Marrakesh for business, pleasure and tourism or, as is often the case, a mix of all three. The sprawling plaza, the Jemma el-Fnaa, is the beating, carnival heart of it all in this famous Red City, named so for the red color of the earth used for its walls. Marrakesh has been Morocco's southern capital and for centuries has competed with Fez on many fronts and often engaging in conflicts that left their mark. Today you’ll explore some of the remaining architectural gems, the Palais de la Bahia which housed Bou Ahmed's four wives, 24 concubines and numerous children, and the Saadian Tombs, the royal burial ground of the Saadian dynasty. There is so much to experience in this vibrant city we keep it flexible: accompanied by your guide you may wish to walk among the narrow streets and explore the sprawling Medina of the old city or view the extensive Berber collection of jewelry, textiles furniture and carpets at the Maison Tiskiwin. Lunch will be included at a local restaurant and you'll have the afternoon to relax, shop or visit a Moroccan Hammam for a spa treatment.

Free Day In Marrakesh

Enjoy a full free day to explore Marrakesh on your own. Walk through the vibrant Jardin Majorelle-Yves Saint Laurent, the gardens of French painter Jacques Majorelle or visit the adjacent contemporary Yves Saint Laurent Museum which honors the life and work of the famous designer who spent the second half of his life in Morocco. (Best to do this early to avoid the crowds.) Photo enthusiasts should check out the Maison de la Photographie, a stellar museum housing mostly black & white photos of Moroccos with regularly changing themes. Just outside of the Medersa Ben Youssef, the Dar Bellarj (literally, “Stork House”) is a beautifully restored animal clinic that now serves as gallery for local artisans. Exhibits vary and entrance is usually free, though sometimes a small fee of 15 dirham or so might be charged, depending on the exhibit. Check out the gift shop for some wonderful ideas for presents to take back home and to support local artisans. Lastly, those who can't get enough of Moroccan cuisine should take a cooking or baking class at Amal Targa, a nonprofit cooking school and restaurant that provides women from disadvantaged backgrounds with the necessary skills and training to seek work in the restaurant industry or set up their own food-based businesses. Women accepted into the course go through a rigorous six month training program which often includes literacy education and soft skills training and proceeds from the cooking classes and small restaurant help fund the culinary program.

Marrakesh Street Food Tour

To eat well in Marrakesh, you can always do what many of the locals do – eat at the food stalls right on Jemma el-Fnaa square! For a fun and movable feast, join your guide for this special farewell dinner, enjoying the lively evening crowd at golden hour in the main square as you hop from stall to stall, sampling Moroccan soups, snacks, plenty of mint tea or fresh squeezed orange juice. At the end of the walking tour retire with your guide to a rooftop bar for a celebratory drink to reflect on your journey through Morocco while overlooking the rooftops, souks and minarets of Marrakesh.

Depart Morocco or Extend Your Trip

Transfer to the airport for your international departure from Marrakesh or Casablanca or extend your Morocco trip with a few days in the bohemian and artistic coastal town of Essaouira. Speak with your Outlier Journeys specialist to customize your journey with more time to explore the vast Sahara, the medieval city of Fez, the famous blue town of Chefchaouen, the former interzone of Tangier, or multi-day trekking adventures in the High Atlas Mountains