Morocco Itinerary: 9 Days from Marrakech

Touch down in the Red City and ease into Morocco at your own pace. Marrakech was founded by the Almoravids around 1070 and its ochre ramparts still ring the medina. After settling into a traditional riad, you will take a first walk into the old town to meet the energy of Jemaa el-Fnaa, the UNESCO-listed square that fills with food stalls, musicians and storytellers as the sun drops behind the Koutoubia minaret.

Travel note · Arrive with small dirham notes for tips and taxis. Agree a 7:30-8:00 AM start with your driver when the desert leg begins.

A full day inside the Red City covers its grandest monuments and most peaceful corners. The 19th-century Bahia Palace shows off the finest zellige tilework and painted cedar ceilings in the city, while the 16th-century Saadian Tombs were sealed for centuries and only rediscovered in 1917. In the afternoon you trade the medina bustle for the cobalt-blue Majorelle Garden, restored by Yves Saint Laurent, and its adjoining Berber Museum.

Travel note · Pack an overnight bag for the desert camp and leave any luggage you will not need with your Marrakech riad if you return; on this route you do not, so keep it compact.

Leave Marrakech early and climb the Tizi n'Tichka, Morocco's highest sealed pass at 2,260 metres, with Berber villages clinging to the slopes. On the far side you reach Ait Benhaddou, the fortified earthen ksar made famous by Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones. After exploring its kasbahs you continue past Ouarzazate and the Skoura palm oasis into the Dades Valley, where eroded red cliffs known as the Monkey Fingers frame your hotel for the night.

Travel note · Mountain roads are winding; take motion-sickness tablets if you are sensitive. The pass is cold even in summer, so keep a layer handy.

Morning takes you to Todra Gorge, where the Todra River has cut a canyon just 10 metres wide between cliffs rising 300 metres, a magnet for rock climbers. From there you head east through Tinghir, Erfoud and Rissani toward the great sand sea of Erg Chebbi. In late afternoon you meet your camel caravan and ride over the dunes to a desert camp, arriving in time for sunset, a Berber dinner around the fire and some of the clearest stargazing in North Africa.

Travel note · Bring only an overnight bag to the camp; wear closed shoes for the camel ride and a warm layer for the night.

Rise before dawn for the desert's great spectacle: the sun lifting over the dunes and turning the sand from violet to burnt orange. After breakfast you return by camel or 4x4 and begin the long, scenic drive north. The route climbs through Midelt and the Ziz palm valley, then crosses the Middle Atlas cedar forests near Azrou, home to Barbary macaques, and the alpine-style town of Ifrane before descending into Fes, Morocco's spiritual capital, by evening.

Travel note · This is the longest driving day of the trip but the scenery changes constantly. Keep snacks and water within reach.

A full day inside Fes el-Bali, the largest car-free urban area on earth and a labyrinth of roughly 9,000 lanes. With a local guide you visit the Bou Inania and Al-Attarine madrasas, pass the Al-Qarawiyyin, founded in 859 and recognised as the world's oldest continuously operating university, and look over the Chouara tanneries where leather is still dyed in stone vats as it was in medieval times. The souks are organised by craft, from coppersmiths to weavers.

Travel note · The medina is genuinely maze-like; stay with your guide and note your riad's nearest landmark gate.

A day excursion to two more imperial highlights. Volubilis, about 33 kilometres from Meknes, is Morocco's best-preserved Roman city: founded in the 3rd century BC and expanded under Rome, its triumphal arch, basilica and in-situ floor mosaics earned UNESCO World Heritage status in 1997. Nearby Meknes, the 17th-century capital of Sultan Moulay Ismail, is guarded by the colossal Bab Mansour gate and the vast Heri es-Souani granaries built to feed twelve thousand horses.

Travel note · Volubilis has little shade, so go earlier in the day and bring a hat and water. Holy moulay-town Moulay Idriss is a worthwhile photo stop en route.

Head north into the Rif Mountains to Chefchaouen, founded in 1471 as a fortress against Portuguese incursions and later home to Andalusian refugees. Its medina is washed in dozens of shades of blue, a tradition variously linked to the town's Jewish heritage and to keeping interiors cool. The drive of roughly 200 kilometres takes about four hours through olive-covered hills. You arrive with time to lose yourself in the photogenic lanes before sunset.

Travel note · The climb to the Spanish Mosque takes about 30-40 minutes; wear comfortable shoes and start an hour before sunset.

A final blue-city morning for the best light and the quietest streets, ideal for photographers and last-minute shopping for the region's woven blankets and wool garments. After a relaxed breakfast on a terrace you transfer to your departure point. Tangier's Ibn Battouta Airport is about two hours away, while Fes-Saiss is roughly four hours; both connect to onward flights, closing your nine-day loop through mountains, desert and imperial cities.

Travel note · Allow at least three hours before an international flight from Tangier and factor in the transfer time from Chefchaouen.