About Morocco

MARRAKECH

Often referred to as the Red City, Marrakech is the first tourist destination in Morocco. Alongside its magnificent tourist attractions and easily accessible activities, it holds an important part of Morocco’s history and culture. It is one of the kingdom’s four imperial cities; it was the capital of Almoahd era.

To get to Marrakech, most the tourists land in the city using the Menara Airport. For an unforgettable stay at Marrakech, traditional and modern Hotels and Riads are always ready to cheerfully host you.

Visiting Marrakech cannot accomplish without exploring the famous square of Jemaa el-Fnaa. It is the busy square of the city where everyone gathers in the evening to enjoy several activities. It is where snake-charmers, magicians, singers, monkey trainers, and many others present their shows to the audience. Jemaa el-Fnaa is also the right spot for shopping or just enjoying traditional meals in rooftop restaurants.

Wandering the square, you will come across the majestic mosque of Al Koutoubia. At a height of 70m, the minaret of the mosque is the highest in the city. At the end of the nineteenth century, Ahmed Ben Moussa built one of Marrakech’s symbols. It is Bahia Palace, which is famous for its special decoration.

A few kilometers from the palace, there is a museum exhibiting a collection of Moroccan decorated objects. It is the Dar Si Said museum which was a palace before it turns into a museum. Si Said the founder of the building is the brother of Ba Ahmed who founded Bahia Palace. Also, the area is home to the historic necropolis of an important dynasty in the kingdom. Dating back to the sixteenth century, the Saadian Tombs locate in closed gardens where you can discover more tombs.

Marrakech is not just about discovering buildings, but also getting pleasure from the green spaces and beautiful gardens. For instance, the Majorelle garden is a unique garden that has nearly 3000 species from all continents. Menara garden is a historic place where plenty of olive groves surround the water reservoir, which is for irrigation purposes. For walking, exploring and shopping enthusiasts, the old medina is a suitable place to discover the old medina life.

Through the narrow alleyways of the medina, the markets offer plenty of traditional products and local delicious food. On the other hand, Gueliz is the city’s modern part. It is where superior Moroccan and European restaurants are as well as worldwide brand stores.

To conclude, Marrakech is a place that demands a month or more to fully discover. Yet, the trips and activities we offer in the city will definitely decrease time and increase adventure.

FES

To travel back thousands of years in history, you need to visit the old medina of Fes city. Fes is divided into two parts: the new quarters and the old medina. The latter is just his calling card. Medina of Fes consists of 9,500 narrow streets, which are so intertwined with each other that even sometimes the locals get lost in them.

This part of the city is completely pedestrian; a car simply cannot pass here. Chouara Tanneries is a must-see in the medina. It is a cooperative where natural leather processing methods are followed, so products from Morocco are of high quality. To make the skin soft, it is soaked in pigeon droppings, and plants are added for dyeing.

With the help of mint they get a green color, saffron will turn the skin yellow, and to get red, they take poppy flowers. For the manufacture of leather products, they use the skins of goats, cows, sheep, and camels. Also through the streets of the medina, you will see small bakeries that prepare bread for families or for sale in shops. Keeping an oven at home is unprofitable, expensive, and unsafe, so many people bring the dough to the bakery, and after a while, they take away the fragrant bread. Also, it is a huge opportunity to explore pure Moroccan pottery. The stalls of local markets are full of ceramic dishes with oriental ornaments such as plates, saucers, cups, bowls, and boxes.

In general, the traditional markets of the medina offer sporting chances for exploring, shopping, and wandering enthusiasts. You can spend hours wandering through the market labyrinths. Here, the malls are full of bright colors of original goods: leather goods, ceramic dishes, fabrics of all colors of the rainbow, silver jewelry, vegetables, fruits, spices, and meat rows.

Moreover, there are many other highlights to visit in Fes. For example, the golden gates of the Royal Palace. Also called Dar al-Makhazen, the gates are beautifully painted and ornate mosaic work. It offers great chances for photographers to capture brilliant photos. Al Qaraouiyyin University is home to the most ancient university in the world. It was built by Fatima Al-Fihri as a mosque and later become an educational center.

The city is of course famous for its majestic gates such as Bab Boujeloud gate. It is the entrance to the medina which holds a decorated Moorish style of architecture. Eventually, Fes is a huge city that offers great opportunities to explore the kingdom. Our tour packages in Fes cover every corner of the city.

MERZOUGA SAHARA DESERT

Situating in the southeastern part of the country, Merzouga is one of the most visited places in the country. Erg-Chebbi is one of the country’s many ergs, big seas of sand dunes. Locating in Merzouga, it covers an area of 28km from north to south and 7km from west to east. The northwest is an inhabited part of Merzouga where locals also invest their hotels and riads. In the eastern part of the dunes, it is where nomad families live in the Hamada, a rocky desert, near the Algerian Borders.

During winter, it is the best place to visit the Merzouga Desert to get pleasure from endless adventurous activities. On the other hand, during summer locals visit the place mostly for remedial purposes presented in the sand bath.

Our packages in Merzouga shed light on interesting places and activities. We help you explore the hidden secrets of the Sahara Desert. For example, a 4wd vehicle starts in the morning by bashing the dunes straight to nomad families. Discover their unique way of life, and continue from the French abandoned village in the rocky desert to Gnaoua music.

It is a village where local inhabitants present art inherited from their ancestors who once lived in the sub-Saharan countries. For a quiet desert atmosphere, we present a desert night in our luxurious camps in the middle of the Sahara Desert.

ESSAOUIRA

Essaouira or Mogador is a coastal city that situates in the western part of Morocco on the Atlantic Ocean. It is 180km away from Marrakech. The fortress-port of Essaouira has located 173 km from Agadir. The city is easily recognizable by its dazzling white houses with bright blue windows.

Essaouira is primarily appreciated by windsurfers – for the highest wave on the coast and a light constant breeze. The city of Essaouira has its own great culture that dates back to the seventh century BC. Pottery here proves the presence of Carthaginians and Phoenicians. Known in Roman times as a source of crimson dye, Essaouira was conquered by the Muslims in the 10th century. They were followed by the Portuguese in the 16th century.

There was also a large Jewish quarter in the city. Essaouira creates its own unique character, as evidenced by its folk traditions and art. Even today, many of Morocco’s artisans, artists, musicians, and intellectuals hail from Essaouira. The city hosts a festival each summer that proves the vibrant artistic character of the city.

Essaouira, as a place for a beach holiday, is the best place to feel the proximity of the ocean, breath in the sea air, and try the freshest seafood and fish. It’s hard to think of something better than Essaouira in Morocco. For a beach holiday in Essaouira, it is convenient to choose one of the hotels located in the coastal zone. But if you wish, you can stay in the old city – the medina. Accommodation in an authentic hotel – a riad – will allow you to fully experience the charm of the old Mogador.

The port of Essaouira is famous not only for its rich history, and beautiful design but also for its popular market among residents and tourists, where you can always buy fresh fish and crabs. In the eighteenth century, the port of Essaouira carried out almost half of Morocco’s maritime trade, and for some time was even the main port of the country. Unlike other ports in Morocco, unique historical details have been preserved here: ancient walls and medieval defensive cannons. The fortress of Essaouira was built in the 18th century by a French architect.

The fortifications of the fortress are one of the main attractions of the city and, together with other heritage of the colonial past of Morocco, are of great value to tourists.

The first settlers in this place were the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. Then the city was strengthened and expanded in the 15th century by the Portuguese and in the 18th century by the Alaouittes, during whose reign the fortress was built. The city fortress, along with long sandy beaches, developed seafood trade, and a wonderful climate, contributes to the development of tourism in Essaouira, being a favorite vacation spot for many sailors, artists, and musicians.

Recently, the HBO television network used the walls of the medina to stand in the as fictional city of ‘Astapor’ in its TV series; Game of Thrones. For an unforgettable experience in Essaouira, check out our offers to this coastal city.

CHEFCHAOUEN

Under the blue sky of Morocco, there is a blue city on the ground, Chefchaouen. Seeing it for the first time in photographs, you think it is an imagination designed in Photoshop. It seems that this is a fairy tale. But it really exists! Moreover, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Morocco, only a hundred kilometers from Tangier, connected to Europe by an hour-long ferry, and from Ceuta, a Spanish enclave on the northern coast of Africa.

There are several things to see and activities to do in Chefchaouen. Walking the sky-blue streets to marvel at the city is a great opportunity to catch some of your best photography shots. The city locates among the gentle green slopes of the Rif Mountains, where the hot breath of the Sahara is replaced by the refreshing salty breeze of the Mediterranean.

At the end of the 15th century, Moors and Jews expelled from Spain settled on these lands, since then everything has been different: Chefchaouen is more like Southern Europe than Africa. From the side, the city resembles a huge bird’s nest stuck to the mountainside. From afar, its blueness seems unnatural, like a white and blue pearl in the middle of green mountains.

However, the city owes its bright shades not to the Moors at all, but to the Jews who settled in Chefchaouen. Over time, the tradition went beyond the Jewish community, and everything began to be painted blue – walls, fences, windows, doors, stairs, and stones on the pavement.

Book your trip now at one of our tours that includes a day tour in Chefchaouen. We got special offers to gain more sight into this special city.

AIT BENHADDOU

Aït-Benhaddou is a traditional Mud Brick city on the edge of the High Atlas Mountains. It is on the UNESCO World Heritage List and has been featured in many films. It has appeared in more than 10 movies, including Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator.

The town itself is the main attraction, with mud buildings climbing up the side of the hill. The Granary at the top of the hill is impressive and well worth the effort to get up there, though be careful of any little ‘entrepreneurs’ eager to help you climb to the top level inside the granary.

They wait till your back is turned before quickly dissembling their makeshift bridge which you used to climb up and it’s not until you throw down some baksheesh that they’ll let you climb down again. The Mausoleum of Ben-Haddou is at the base of the hill on the opposite side of the town.