Monkeys, snow capped mountains, plateaus, desert, camel rides, Bedouin camps, Hollywood movie studios, gorges, canyons. This is just a few of the things we saw on our three day, two night tour from Fes to Marresh. To begin with, the diversity in geography is the most vast I've ever seen in one location. We would be driving along desert and see snow capped mountains in the background. We would then hit gorges and canyons that looked like Arizona and Utah followed by a drive into the forests with wild monkeys.
We left Fes early in the morning and made our way to Erg Chebbi where we would be riding camels into the Sahara Desert and staying in a Bedoiun camp. But first, we would pass through Ifran, a town built by the French to mirror the French Alps. A little farther we stopped to see the wild monkeys. Continuing on, passing landscape after landscape, we finally arrived at Erg Chebbi. We piled onto our camels and rode out into the Sahara to watch the sun set over the orange sand. As the sky turned to black, we made our way to a Bedoin tent where a Bedoin feast was prepared for us. Our guide had discovered that it was my birthday so he had his wife make a suprise cake and we were welcomed to a grand Bedouin birthday celebration. Not sure if the ancient Berbers actually ate cake and drank champagne but I certainly enjoyed it.
The next day we continued on our way to Marrakesh passing more gorges, canyons, and oases. That night we stayed within in oasis in Skoura. The hotel was quaint and gave us the perfect calm from the long drive on the road. Our last day took us through Ouarzazate, the Hollywood of Morocco, where films such as Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Babel, and episodes of Game of Thrones were filmed.
Marrakesh and Fes are beautiful cities to see. They're bustling, hectic, colorful, and at times wild. But the countryside should not be missed. It was everything and nothing that I thought it would be. It was just right.
Marrakesh and Fes are beautiful cities to see. They're bustling, hectic, colorful, and at times wild. But the countryside should not be missed. It was everything and nothing that I thought it would be. It was just right.
AUTHENTIC MOROCCO: the company, based in London and Marrakesh, supports local communities and practices low-impact tourism. Liz, who is based in London, sets up great itineraries all around Morocco. Our guide Ali, was the best. We highly recommend requesting him.