9 Day Morocco Imperial Cities Tour: Best Atlas & Sahara Route

Depart Rabat for imperial Meknes, the quiet imperial city. Visit its famous gates Bab al-Mansour and Bab al-Khamis, the vast underground granaries of Heri es-Souani, and the elegant Mausoleum of Moulay Ismail.

After lunch, step 2,000 years back at Volubilis — the best-preserved Roman ruins in North Africa (UNESCO), with intricate mosaics still on the floors where they were laid. Continue to Fes late afternoon; check in at your riad in the medina.

Full-day guided walking tour of Fes el Bali, one of the largest and best-preserved medieval cities in the world (UNESCO). Enter through the iconic blue gate at Bab Boujeloud, walk Talâa Kebira, visit the Chouara Tannery, the 14th-century Al Attarine Madrasa, the historic Al-Qarawiyyin — the world's oldest continuously operating university — and the layered specialised souks. Optional cooking class in the afternoon. Overnight in Fes.

After breakfast, drive south into the Middle Atlas. Stop in the Cedar Forest of Azrou to see semi-wild Barbary macaques — the only monkey species in North Africa, living in family troops among 800-year-old cedars.

Continue over the mountains through the alpine town of Ifrane and down through the palm-fringed Ziz Valley, one of the most photogenic drives in Morocco, to Erfoud — the pre-Saharan gateway. Overnight in Erfoud.

After breakfast, transfer the short drive to Merzouga at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes — Morocco's biggest, rising up to 150 metres. Freshen up at your desert inn, then mount your camel for an unforgettable trek deep into the sand to a private desert camp. Sunset over the dunes, dinner prepared over an open fire, music around the fire, sleep under a Milky Way of stars in a traditional Berber tent.

Sunrise over the Erg Chebbi from your camp, breakfast and hot shower back at the desert inn. Depart west and drive to the dramatic red walls of the Todra Gorges near Tinghir — 300-metre cliffs looming above a narrow river. Walk the base, lunch beneath the walls, then continue through the ochre-red Berber villages of the Dades Valley to Boumalne Dades. Overnight at a local kasbah-style hotel.

Leave Boumalne Dades and drive to the Rose Town of Skoura, where you'll visit the beautifully-restored Kasbah Amridil. Continue to Ouarzazate — the "Hollywood of Africa" — and the famous Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou (UNESCO), backdrop for Gladiator, Game of Thrones and Lawrence of Arabia.

Cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass with panoramic mountain views the whole way. Arrive in Marrakech late afternoon and check in at your riad.

Meet your local Marrakech guide for a half-day walking tour of the Red City. See the towering Koutoubia Mosque minaret, the ornate Bahia Palace, and the layered souks of the medina — spices, leather, textiles, brass and lanterns. End at Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls light up. Free afternoon to hammam, shop, or dine on a rooftop.

After breakfast, transfer to Marrakech airport for your onward flight. End of tour — from imperial cities to cedar forests, from Sahara dunes to Atlas peaks, and every layer of Morocco in between.