Combined Marrakech / Agafay / Palm Grove

Breakfast Departure with our guide for a walking tour of the medina of "The Pearl of the South." We will start with a visit to the Ben Youssef Madrasa. The Ben Youssef Madrasa, an architectural treasure nestled in the heart of the old Medina, resonates with the echoes of a glorious past and embodies invaluable historical importance. It transports visitors to a fascinating era where art, knowledge, and culture flourished. The Ben Youssef Madrasa was erected by Sultan Abdullah Al Ghaleb Assaadi between 1564 and 1565 and remained for four centuries a bastion for scientists, a goal, and a destination for students eager for sciences and knowledge in various disciplines, particularly religious ones. The Ben Youssef Madrasa has been an intellectual hub in Morocco for centuries. Students from distant horizons converged on this prestigious establishment to deepen their knowledge in religious sciences, philosophy, medicine, and mathematics. Upon crossing the threshold, the architectural splendor of the Madrasa enchants. From refined Zellige with sumptuous geometric and floral patterns adorn the walls, testifying to the accomplished art of the time. The doors and ceilings in carved cedar wood reveal artistic meticulousness in every detail. The central patio, a masterpiece in its own right, captivates with its soothing serenity. The modest but functional student rooms evoke the humility of the apprentice scholars of yesteryear. Beyond its architectural magnificence, the Ben Youssef Madrasa embodies the cultural and religious history of Morocco. Witness to the intellectual fervor of its time, it attracted scholars and thinkers from the Muslim world. It was the cradle of eminent scholars, whose contributions have marked humanity and left a precious legacy in their preferred fields. Then visit the different neighborhoods of the souks and the medina. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985 and covering some 1100 hectares, the medina of Marrakech, like most old Moroccan cities, is surrounded by ramparts that spatially delineate the old city from the new. This wall is pierced by several more or less monumental gates. The neighborhoods of the medina may bear the name of the neighboring gate, a zaouïa, a mausoleum, a mosque, a palace, a traffic axis, or a traditional name. The medina of Marrakech hosts the souks that you will discover, including, among others, the souks of spices, babouches, ironworkers, copper. Each trade is historically structured and established in a delimited area of the medina, in the form of corporations with strict rules and a professional hierarchy with apprentices, mâalems master craftsmen and master trainers, guardians of the traditional ancestral artisanal know-how. Lunch at Palais Al Baraka We will continue by the Djemâa El Fna square, place of the executed, then the forecourt of the Koutoubia Mosque or mosque of the booksellers built in the 12th century and whose minaret, 77 m high, must remain the tallest building in Marrakech. We will conclude with a visit to the typical Jewish quarter or Mellah. Then transfer to the Agafay desert and the bivouac. Installation in lodge tents.
Option (not included): in the evening : sunset on camelback
Dinner and overnight stay.

Breakfast. Then setting up our 4x4 with a driver guide. We will then start crossing the Agafay desert. About 20 km from Marrakech, the Agafay desert is a vast arid region with white dunes spanning hundreds of hectares, which might be mistaken for sand dunes but are actually a series of undulations with a whitish color reminiscent of the distant and inaccessible Ergs. An amazing site at the gates of the red city. We will head to Lalla Takerkoust lake then ascend via a panoramic track to reach the Kik plateau. Tea ceremony at a local's home. Crossing the Kik plateau then descending towards the Asni valley using the Tizi Wadou track. We will continue through the Asni gorges to reach the Terres d’Amanar. Barbecue lunch. Proceeding towards Marrakech and the palm grove.
Option : à la carte activities at Amanar on site (payable on site): zip lines and suspension bridges (40mn, max weight 110 kg, from 12 years old or 1m45.
Check-in at the hotel. HB dinner and overnight stay.

Free day with half board Dinner and overnight stay

Breakfast. Free morning depending on flight schedule
Transfer to the airport for departure.