10 Days Coast From Marrakech Atlantic Coast Tour

10 Days Coast From Marrakech Atlantic Coast Tour

• Departure from Marrakech.
• Duration: 10 days/9 nights.

ITINERARY:

Marrakech-El Jadida-Oualidia coastal lagoon-Safi-Safi coastal cliffs and Cape Bedouza-Sidi Kaouki-Cape Sim-Cape Rhir-Taghazout-Immouzer (Paradise Valley)-Agadir-Legzira-Sidi ifni-Mirleft-Tan Tan-Wadi Chbika Natural Park-Amtoudi Valley-Tiznit-Marrakech.

End of route: Marrakech.

It is a route specially designed for nature lovers and outdoors, the sea, also to do with family, in which parents and children will enjoy equally.
The route will visit national parks, steep cliffs, beautiful coastal villages, seductive forests, miles of pristine beaches where you can hang from the sky bathed by the afternoon sun, the landscapes of the south, where desert and sea join their destiny.
To this route, if you are interested, you can add a few days of stay in the desert.

DAY 1.- MARRAKECH-EL JADIDA.

Pick up at the airport or at the hotel/riad where you are staying.
El Jadida is the capital of the province of the same name. It is one of the most charming cities of the Moroccan coast, therefore, it is also one of the most visited cities by national and foreign tourism.
The Portuguese occupation of the city for more than two centuries left an indelible presence. The Portuguese took it in 1502 and remained there until 1769. They called the city Mazagan and it became Portugal’s most important commercial center on the African Atlantic coast.
In 1769 the city was conquered by the Alaouite Sultan Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah III, the city was renamed El Brija El Jadida (origin of the current name) and the city began to grow outside the walls.
The Portuguese citadel is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. In the beautiful coastal landscape stands the crenellated wall with five bastions, which is accessed via the Rue de Carreira.
From the top of the bastions of Angel and the Holy Spirit there is a spectacular panoramic view of the city, the Sea Gate, the Chapel of the Inquisition and the Jewish cemetery in the Mellah area. The bastions of San Sebastian and San Antonio have wonderful views of the ocean.
The most important buildings of the Portuguese period are the fortified enclosure, the Manueline Church of the Assumption, near the Great Mosque of El Jadida (which has the peculiarity of having the only pentagonal minaret in the Arab world) and the Portuguese cistern.
The citadel retains its original medieval structure and houses of Portuguese architecture with square columns and iron balconies.
One of the citadel’s hidden gems is the cistern, one of the architectural masterpieces of the early 16th century, a subway cistern with a vaulted roof supported by pilasters. When the sun’s rays penetrate through the skylight of the vault and are reflected in the water inside, the whole acquires a poetic beauty difficult to forget. The Cistern is located on Mohammed El-Hachmi Bahbah Street.
It is also interesting to visit the old Spanish church of San Antonio de Padua.
We will make a tour of the citadel and you will have free time to enjoy the city at your leisure.

DAY 2.- EL JADIDA-OUALIDIA-SAFI COASTAL LAGOON.

After breakfast we will pick you up to get underway. Today we will visit the coastal lagoon of Oualidia and go to Safi to spend the rest of the day in this charming coastal town.
On the way to Oualidia, in the town of Moulay Abdallan we will find the ruins of an ancient 12th century fortified monastery, El Ribat del Tit, built by the Berber tribe of the Zenagas. In its vicinity is held between late July and August one of the main moussen of the country, that of Moulay Abdallah Amghar, famous for the fantasy races that emulate the fights of the warriors and for the evening entertainment of the festival with dance groups (reminiscent of the way in which the evenings were entertained the fighters) and folk music, the fair of culinary arts and falconry shows.
Oualidia is a coastal town located about 60 kms from El Jadida. It is a seaside resort of international fame. It owes its name to its founder, Sultan El Ualid, who built in the first half of the seventeenth century a Kasbah that was intended to protect the natural harbor.
The main attraction of Oualidia is its coastal lagoon, bordered by sandy beaches and dunes, where fish and seafood abound, an area of passage of migratory birds, and a place of great beauty ideal for walking and sports.

nautical. In the summer there is a famous festival, the Oyster Festival, in which there is a nautical parade of fishing boats enlivened by concerts of traditional music. We will take a boat tour of the lagoon, in addition to touring the surroundings.
Oualidia is famous for its traditional medicine based on bee products.
After the panoramic tour you will have free time to enjoy the local atmosphere, as we will spend the night in this town.

DAY 3.- SAFI (CLIFFS OF THE COAST OF SAFI AND CAPE BEDUZA)-ESSAOUIRA.

Safi is located on the site of a natural harbor of easy defense, because it is located in a wide bay surrounded by cliffs, and therefore has an extensive history behind it.
Originally a Phoenician factory, it was the Portuguese who turned it in the 15th century into an important stopover on the route from the Atlantic coast of Africa to Guinea, initially as a commercial settlement, until its official occupation in 1508 on behalf of the Kingdom of Portugal. During the little more than thirty years that they dominated the enclave, the Portuguese proceeded to the construction of a walled enclosure endowed with imposing defensive bastions, as well as the construction of a Gothic cathedral.
In 1541 they abandoned the city because of the siege of the first Saadian sultans. With the Saadids the importance of Safi as a port city continued to grow, becoming the outlet to the sea of the imperial city of Marrakech.

In the eighteenth century with the construction of the new Essaouira, to which most of the commercial activity is diverted, Safi enters a period of decline, which would not come out until the twentieth century, when in times of French Protectorate the new port is built and becomes the most important port in the world sardinero.
We will make a tour of a couple of hours in the area of the medina, fully protected by the old Portuguese wall, which stands out for the strong contrast between European architecture and traditional Islamic architecture.
Inside the citadel highlights a palace built in the eighteenth century as the governor’s residence and now houses the National Museum of Ceramics, the defensive bastion of the Kechla that guarded the city, the main avenue, Independence Square, the Rue du Souk that crosses the medina, the Portuguese Chapel which is what remains of the choir of the Gothic Cathedral of St. Catherine, built in the early sixteenth century and the Sea Castle (ksar el Bhar), an extraordinary example of military architecture, built by the Portuguese.
At the end of the Rue du Souk is the Bab Chaaba, the gate that leads out of the walled enclosure. To the right is the Hill of the Potters (the pottery of Safi is especially famous), where we will find workshops where the traditional process of making pottery is still followed. The clay of the region is of special quality. Most of the tiles used in Moroccan buildings come from Safi. From the hill of the potters’ quarter there are magnificent views of the city.
After this walking tour we will make another drive along the beaches of Safi, such as Souira Kedima, on our way to Essaouira, although we will also see before entering Safi from Oualidia, after passing Cape Bedouza, the spectacular Bedouza beach.
In summer takes place in the city the Festival of the Sea.
We will arrive in the early afternoon in Essaouira, where we will spend the night.

DAY 4.- ESSAOUIRA.

Essaouira, is best known by its ancient name MOGADOR, a word evocative, in the collective imagination, of an atmosphere of mystery and exoticism, adventures of pirates and filibusters. It is a coastal city on the Atlantic coast, north of Cape Sim, located on a low and narrow peninsula, with an economy based mainly on fishing and tourist activities. It is one of the most fascinating cities of the Atlantic coast.
The inescapable visit in this city is the medina of Essaouira, declared a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 2001. Perhaps its streets and layouts are familiar to you because this city was the scene of the filming of the third season of the famous series Game of Thrones. The medina has a special charm, it is one of the most beautiful in Morocco.

Strolling through its quiet streets of whitewashed houses topped by doors and windows of intense blue ornamented with filigree details without feeling the pressure of time, just getting carried away by the sound of the wind, the echoes of gnawa music and the lapping of the waves that hit the walls is an experience that speaks of past times that may have been better, but nevertheless, Essaouira is one of those places that remain anchored in the heart and memory.
Inside the medina the heart of the city is the Plaza de Mulay el Hassan, a busy square full of charm, where you can enjoy a coffee or tea in one of the many terraces.
The modern city was founded in 1760 when the Sultan of the Alaouite dynasty Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah decided to create a port on this site to compete with the port of the city of Agadir, which he did not quite control. The urban project of the new city was entrusted to a French prisoner engineer, Theodore Cornut, who structured it according to European urban planning criteria, hence the medina has a European grid layout and the streets are straight and wide, unlike the rest of the medinas in the country. Precisely from this fact derives the current name of the city, Essaouira, which means “the well-designed”. Essaouira ended up being the great market for European traders and caravans from the Sahara.
Inside the Medina, it is worth walking along Siaguin Street, where the silver smiths work, and Mohamed Ben Abdala Street, a shopping street with many stores that ends in the old Jewish quarter (the Mellah).
You will find many art galleries, restaurants and cafes and artisan stores. They are renowned for their silver jewelry and woodwork in huya, cedar and ebony.
In front of the port, the Skala du Port fortress stands out, built during the Portuguese rule. The Portuguese established a military and commercial outpost on this coast. In 1506 they built the port and the fortress, which has two defensive towers, which allowed to defend the sea route and control the port area and the island of Mogador. From them you have the best views of Essaouira. On the crenellated wall are lined with old Spanish cannons. The port is today the liveliest place in the city.

The new town extends outside the wall, with a promenade south and east of the medina, where a large sandy beach overlooking the bay, where you can perform many activities, such as surfing, horseback riding, dromedary or quad. In all the coastal strip, often, the trade winds blow, so the area is ideal for windsurfing, being a regular meeting point for lovers of this sport. Another of the activities that can be performed is the visit to the island of Mogador in a tourist boat along the coast. The island of Mogador is also known as Íles Purpuraires, which translates into English as purple islands. The reason is that during the Phoenician and Roman times there was a factory where purple was obtained, a dye extracted from a gastropod that abounded on its shores. Today, it is an uninhabited island, which can not be visited without official authorization and is a nature reserve, home to Eleonora’s falcons, from April to October.

DAY 5.- ESSAOUIRA- SIDI KAOUKI- CAPE SIM-CAPE RHIR- TAGHAZOUT.

About 25 kms from Essaouira we find the famous Sidi Kaouki, a former fishing village today transformed into a hippie and somewhat bohemian redoubt.
The beach, kilometer long and almost virgin, is well known by surf lovers because the trade winds, which blow there very often, make it ideal for the practice of this sport.
It is also very visited by Moroccans because Sidi Kaouki is the closest beach to the imperial city of Marrakech.
On a rocky promontory a white building reminds that this is a place of pilgrimage. In that small building are the mortal remains of a Sufi saint known for his healing powers whose name gave rise to the population.
Sidi Kaouki is really an oasis of peace, with a chill out atmosphere.

DAY 6.- TAGHAZHOUT-IMMOUZER (THE VALLEY OF PARADISE)-AGADIR.

Tagazhout, along with Sidi Kaouki is a must for a “surf safari”. It is a pleasant fishing village that is progressively being occupied by foreigners in love with what offers a quiet life in contact with nature and the sea set their temporary residence here, but still retains the essence of its local spirit. We will make a brief tour of the Bay of Taghazout and spend an hour in the village, because the highlight of the day today is the Valley of Paradise.
A little more than fifty kilometers inland from Taghazout, a narrow road following a mountain river, the Asif Ankrim, bordered by wonderful canyons leads us to the Valley of Tifrit, of extraordinary beauty, hence the name by which it is also known: The Valley of Paradise. Numerous lagoons and backwaters of the river where you can bathe in a landscape dominated by limestone mountains, rich in fossils, covered with palm trees, thuja, olive, almond, orange blossom and argan trees. An authentic experience for the senses that you will never forget. We will spend half of the day enjoying its beautiful and wild landscape.
After lunch we will head to the town of Imouzzer, a Berber town associated with the Ida Outanane tribe. We will visit the natural pools of the Assif Tamraght Gorge and the waterfalls of Wadi Tinkert, which only have flow in winter and that descend on walls of limestone rocks of immaculate white, therefore, these waterfalls are called “bridal veil”. A few kilometers to the south are the waterfalls of Ait Lahasen.
If time permits, we will visit the picturesque village of Talmat, where the remains of an “agadir”, the Agadir Igher Gharene. We recommend that you consult the architecture section of the website, where you will find detailed information about these typical communal granaries that are the agadirs, a construction typical of Berber architecture.
After this intense day we will return to Marrakech.

DAY 7.- MIRLEFT- LEGZIRA

Today, it’s all about the beach ….

To hear about Morocco is to imagine souks with spice stalls with exotic smells, intense colors, desert, but as we have seen throughout the trip there is another Morocco, which is a paradise for surfers, fishing enthusiasts and nature lovers.
We will travel along the beaches of the south Atlantic coast, from Agadir to Tan Tan, and we will make stops to swim in them and also enjoy a moment of relaxation and sunset.
We will start with Mirleft beach, located at the mouth of the Oued Salgemag, which has beautiful views of the sea and mountains. The beach is small, with fine sand and surrounded by large mountains.
Just 20 kms away we find one of the most famous beaches in Morocco, the beach of Legzira, famous for its natural architecture, some stone arches of red sandstone that water and trade winds have been responsible for forming, which also modeled a rock that figures a lion in the sea. It is a simply formidable beach. It is best to visit at low tide.
We will enjoy the sunset from this magical enclave.

DAY 8.- MIRLEFT-TAN TAN- WADI CHBIKA-TAN TAN NATURAL PARK

Tan Tan is also known for its famous Mousse, which is celebrated in May-June. It has been declared a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. It is an annual gathering of nomadic peoples of the Sahara that brings together more than thirty tribes from southern Morocco and other peoples of northwest Africa. The festival is a manifestation of different cultural expressions of Bedouin communities that aim to ensure the survival of their traditions, music, traditional dances, theater, crafts, poetry, stories and oral traditions of the Hasanis, today threatened by changes in the way of life of these communities due to economic and technical changes throughout the region. Many of these communities have been pressured to lead a sedentary way of life. Famous horse and camel races are held.
Fifty kilometers from Tan Tan, on the road to Tarfaya, is the Wadi Chbika Natural Park, where we will make a small safari to observe mammals such as jackals, wild cats and hyenas, as well as cormorants, flamingos and other migratory birds in the middle of a spectacular landscape, where beaches are interspersed between cliffs and desert dunes meet the ocean.
Already at the end of the trip, the journey is calmer, destined to enjoy the sea, bathing on the beaches, windsurfing, etc. …
Night in Tan Tan, in a beautiful riad where you will enjoy a delicious dinner.

DAY 9.- TAN TAN-VALLEY OF AMTOUDI-TIZNIT

The Amtoudi Valley, located in the Anti Atlas region, is usually off the beaten track. It is a desert landscape in which the lushness of the palm groves, olive, almond and pomegranate trees merges with the harshness of the bare limestone rock of cliffs and mountains and breathes the tranquility that causes a space located outside the tyranny of time.
We are in the area of an extraordinary architectural heritage of the Berber culture: the agadirs.
The agadirs are communal fortified granaries, typical of the Anti Atlas area. The oldest date back to the 15th century. Unfortunately, many of these agadirs are currently in a state of abandonment, but some are still in operation.
It is believed that the agadirs appeared when the nomadic Berber tribes living in the mountains abandoned nomadism and had to face the need to protect their food and crops from frequent looting. The community took the decision of its construction in a neighborhood assembly, all the families made contributions according to their needs and possibilities and in exchange they were assigned a room for storage inside the agadir according to their contribution. Mainly the grain of the harvests was stored, which was kept in a good state of conservation for quite a long time, barley could last 25 years, almonds or argan nuts up to 30 years, but also weapons, documents, jewelry, weapons, honey, oil, etc. were kept in the agadir,

The families who owned the agadir paid the salary of a caretaker (amin) who guarded it throughout the year, day and night, and who gave the alarm if he detected any unusual movement that would announce an attack on the agadir.

The guard was in charge throughout the year, day and night, and would sound the alarm if he detected any unusual movement that would herald an attack by desert nomadic tribes in search of food during periods of severe drought.
In the southern populations, they were built on top of rocky promontories that were difficult to access, since this location facilitated their defense. This type of agadirs adapted to the shape of the summit where they were built, as if they were a continuation of it, they mimicked, in order to go unnoticed. As there was usually not much land on which to build, they grew vertically. An example of this type of agadirs are those of Amtoudi id Aissa, Tadakoust, Aguelluy, which we will visit.
Other attractions are the sites of rock engravings in the vicinity of Amtoudi. One kilometer away in the plain that leads to Amtoudi, located in a canyon, the engravings, made with the technique of stippling, tell us of another time when the climatic conditions and the ecosystem were very different from today and, thus, appear represented antelopes, buffaloes, elephants, hunters.
In the early afternoon, we will be on our way to Tiznit, an oasis in the middle of the desert, where we will spend the night.
Tiznit was founded in 1882 by Sultan Moulay Hassan I, as a defensive post from which to control the hinterland for its strategic location. It is close to the sea, only fifteen kilometers separate it from the ocean and, on the other hand, it was a passing zone of the commercial route that unites the populations of the desert with Essaouira, a city with which it keeps a certain resemblance. The walled enclosure surrounding the medina is reminiscent of that of the city of Essaouira. The medina is divided into four neighborhoods around the so-called blue fountain, of great importance in the city because it is its water that allows the irrigation of the gardens that give fame to the city.
The city is small, but often surprises those who visit it because they do not expect the beauty that awaits inside. The best thing to do is to stroll quietly through its quiet streets and look for the buildings that give character to the city: the souk of jewelers, the Méchoir Square, the Caliph’s Palace (Qars el Khalifi) and the great mosque and, above all, let yourself be carried away by the atmosphere. If we are lucky enough to stop here on Thursdays, it is market day, which is well known throughout the region. The specialty of Tiznit is silver jewelry, but it is also famous for its fresh mint and highlights the quality of its argan and olive oil.

DAY 10.- TIZNIT-MARRAKECH

After breakfast, we will return to Marrakech, where you can spend some free time, if you decide to spend a few days in this famous city or, otherwise, we will transfer you to the airport to take the plane to take you to your city of residence.
End of our services.

The tour INCLUDES:

• Arrival and departure transfers from your hotel/riad.
• Transportation throughout the tour in a private high-end air-conditioned vehicle with English-speaking driver and guide.
• Visits detailed in the program.
• Accommodation in Riad or hotel, on bed and breakfast basis, except half board (breakfast and dinner).
• Free time to visit the visits detailed in the program, as well as the stops that are requested to walk or take pictures.

The circuit does NOT include:

• International flights.
• Drinks.
• Tips for visits.
• Half day lunch.
• Entrance fees to museums and historical monuments.
• Everything NOT specified in “the price includes”.