YOUR ITINERARY

DAY 1: DEPART OUARZAZATE – SKOURA – VALLEY OF ROSES – TINERHIR – ALNIF – NKOB
(Driving Time: 2 1/2 Hours)

• Breakfast at your riad. Begin your day by visiting Skoura and the Valley of Roses.
• Visit Skoura and the Valley of One Thousand Kasbahs. Skoura is a fertile oasis lined with immense palm groves that provide great views of the Atlas Mountains alongside desert landscapes. It is renowned for the cultivation of roses. The palm groves were laid out in the 12th century by the Almohad sultan Yacoub el-Mansour and named after its original inhabitants, the Berbers of the Haskourene tribe. The most beautiful kasbahs in southern Morocco can be found here and many of them are still partially inhabited.
• Your journey will then take you through El Kella Des Mgouna, the Valley of Roses. The perfumed Valley of Roses, just north of El Kelaa Des Mgouna is a pleasant journey on the road to Ouarzazate. You will stop for a tour of the Capp et Florale distillation factories laid out in the small kasbah town that manufactures the entire nation’s production of rose water (eau de rose). Rose water and other products such as hand and body soaps, oil, crème perfume, and dried roses are for sale and are also popular gifts among Moroccans. Ten tons of petals are required to produce a few liters of precious rose oil and the harvest is a labor of love. The culminating festivities of the annual Rose Festival are a lively time of year to visit.
• Continue the road to the Todra Gorge. Visit the Todra Gorge. The Todra Gorge is a canyon in the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco near the town of Tinghir. Both the Todra River and Dades River have carved out the cliff-sided canyons. The drive is scenic along newly built roads. Drive past the mouth of the Gorge and up to the villages of Ait Hani and Tamtattouchte. The Todra Gorge extends from the village of Tamtattouchte to Tinghir. The Todra Gorge, with cliffs rising dramatically up to 300m on each side of a narrow corridor, is a spectacle with its gigantic rock walls changing color to create magical effects with the sunlight. In the morning, when the sun permeates through the bottom of the gorge, the rock changes from pink rose to deep ochre gradually through the rest of the day.
• Continue the road to Ait Ouzzine, an authentic Berber Village nestled within the High Atlas Mountains. Dine with a Berber family.
• Spend the night in N’kob at a beautifully restored kasbah riad.

DAY 2: AGDZ – DRAA VALLEY – OUARZAZATE
(Driving Time: 2 1/2 Hours)

• Breakfast at your riad. Take the road to Ait Ouzzine.
• Then take the road to the village of Ait Ouzzine, located in N’kob which is nestled within the Middle Atlas Mountains.
• Ait Ouzzine is a Berber village inhabited by over 300 families who live in beautifully painted crenelated kasbahs and tend to their henna fields, water wells, livestock, and gardens. This peaceful village is tucked away along an impressive desert route connecting the Draa Valley, Tansikht, and Rissani.
• Meet a local Berber family, partake in a cooking lesson on traditional bread and tajines (tagines).
• Explore and tour the village. Walk in the green fields and see how the traditional Berbers live with their gardens of herbs, livestock, and henna plants.
• Lunch will be served to you in Ait Ouzzine by a traditional Berber family. The menu will include a traditional meal of fresh baked bread with spices, a chicken and vegetable tajine (tagine), and fresh local fruits for desert.
• After lunch, have your hands and feet painted with henna, or have your hair adorned with saffron by a local village artist. Relax. Experience the tradition of Berber perfume made from musk and amber along with the villages own spices.
• End the afternoon in Ait Ouzzine with mint tea and almonds.
• En route back to Ouarzazate, pass the Draa Valley town of Agdz and the heart of the Draa Valley known for its 45 qualities of dates. Stop for a picturesque view in Agdz and its stunning palmery along with local trade routes famous for bringing dates, spices and other goods from the South to Marrakech. Visit the market of dates in Agdz. Try various dates of the region and see how the local souk works. Panoramic view of Agdz Palmeraie from a garrison atop Agdz. Continue the road passing Ouarzazate to Ait Benhaddou.
• Visit Kasbah Tamnagoult. Tamnougalt is a village in the Draa River valley in 95 kilometers south of Ouarzazate. The village is close to Agdz. It is the former capital of the Mezguita region and residence of former caïds. Its name means ‘meeting point’ in Tachelhit (Berber). Option to have lunch in Kasbah Tamnaoualt or continue the road to Agdz.
• Take the road back to Ouarzazate.