Walking in Morocco - Atlas to Atlantic
Experience Overview
From the majestic foothills of the High Atlas to the windswept beauty of the Atlantic Coast, this walking trip covers Morocco's most breathtaking landscapes. Trek through valleys dotted with orchards and mountain-side villages and deserted stretches of coastline with peaceful ocean views. Along the way, delve further into Moroccan culture with tours of the historic port town of Essaouira and the Red City of Marrakech.
The Atlas Mountains - Leave the world behind on an adventure into the wild landscapes of this iconic mountain range.
Berber hospitality - Immerse yourself in the ways of the Berber communities that call the Atlas home.
Iconic cities - Get lost in Marrakech's maze-like souks and soak up the historic charm of Essaouira's Medina.
Highlights
A week long walking trip combining the foothills of the High Atlas with the Atlantic Coast|Unwind in the charming coastal town of Essaouira with its lively historic medina|Trek through mountain-side villages and deserted stretches of coastline on the Atlantic
Trip Details
Product Code: 20411
Tour Type: Small Group
Accommodation: Moderate
Transport: Bus
Guide Language: English
Tour Operator:
Explore Worldwide
Supplier Code: MAA
Starts: Morocco
Finishes: Morocco
Duration: 8 days
Departures: Guaranteed
Physical Rating:
Easy
Includes
Explore Tour LeaderAccommodation
- Hotel Almas
- Ksar Shama
- Riad Hida
- Riad Al Madina
Price
Price per person: (Double Occupancy) CAD $0 ($0 /day)
Itinerary
Our tour of Morocco starts in the Red City. With its dusty rooftops, maze-like streets and bustling souks, Marrakech encompasses the essence of Morocco. Head to the medina and people watch while you sip a mint tea in Jemaa el-Fna (the main square) or visit the Jardin Majorelle, just a short walk from our hotel. There are no activities planned for today, so you're free to arrive at any time. If you'd like an airport transfer, you'll need to arrive at Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK), which is around a 20-minute drive from our hotel. Our Explore Leader will meet you in the hotel reception at 6pm for a welcome meeting and then an optional dinner. If you arrive later, they'll catch you up as soon as possible.
This morning, we'll leave Marrakech behind and head to the small village of Ouirgane in the High Atlas Mountains. Located in the heart of the Toubkal National Park, Ouirgane is surrounded by red earth hills and pine forests. On arrival, we'll cross to a nearby Berber village to have lunch in a local house - this is a great opportunity to try traditional home cooking and learn about Berber culture. After lunch, we'll take a short drive to the Bridge of Assiff Azdeb, from where we'll walk amongst the olive groves to the village of Tikhfist. Stopping at a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the valley, we'll see Lalla Takerskout Lake shimmering below us. Taking the path down to the villages of Torort and Anraz, we'll return to our hotel on foot, breathing in the scents of juniper and pine along the way. Our hotel for tonight is set within beautiful, landscaped gardens and backed by mountains. There's an outdoor pool to unwind in after a day of walking, too. Today's walk covers 8 kilometres/4.50 miles and is expected to take around 3 hours. It has a total ascent and descent of 250 metres/820 feet .
Today we continue our journey through the mountains, to Ouled Berhil, stopping off along the way to visit the 12th century Tinmel mosque. We take a short walk crossing the Oued Nfiss Valley to view the red brick fortress from above before entering the site. Tinmel was once considered the centre of the powerful Almohades dynasty that expanded an Islamic empire from North Africa into Spain, whilst the mosque itself is no longer in use it is possible to admire the fortified brick arches and elaborate Mihrab of the roofless building. Continuing by bus we take a breath taking drive crossing the High Atlas Mountains over the Tizi n Test pass (2,092 metres/6863 feet) to the Souss Plain. This scenic road is winding and spectacular. Weaving its way up into the mountains through a series of switchbacks, you can take in the fabulous views back across to the Toubkal Massif. Descending to the Souss Valley, across the agricultural plain, past orange groves to arrive at Ouled Berhil. For the next 2 nights we'll be staying in a traditional Moroccan house known as a riad. Riad Hida was built in 1860 and the property boasts lush gardens with fountains, palms, fruit trees and an outdoor swimming pool, you may even spot peacocks roaming the grounds. The lounge and dining rooms feature several collectors' items, with colourful mosaic adorning the walls and ceilings.
Today we'll take a scenic drive north into the Western High Atlas, to the valley of Afensou. Our first stop will be a viewpoint overlooking the valley before we walk down to Afensou village, passing by farms where we'll see locals hard at work growing and harvesting vegetables. We'll have lunch in Afensou at a family-run guesthouse, feasting on a traditional tagine accompanied by freshly baked khobz (a round bread that's a staple in the local diet). Tagine is a fragrant, slow-cooked stew, named after the clay dish it's cooked in, it's bursting with the sweet and sour flavours of dates and spices. On our way back to Ouled Berhil, we'll make a stop at Taroudante, a walled city in the Souss Valley known as 'Little Marrakech'. This thriving market town is a meeting place for Berber locals, where they come to trade food and crafts. Today's walk covers 4 kilometres/2.50 miles and is expected to take around 2 hours. It has a total descent of 100 metres/328 feet.
We'll leave the Atlas Mountains behind us this morning and head towards Agadir, driving alongside the Atlantic Ocean to Sidi Mbarek. Hugging the coast, we'll drive past small villages, banana plantations and beaches where you can spot camels and surfers. Keep an eye out along the way for the bizarre sight of goats grazing in the trees - in the southwest of Morocco, goats climb Argan trees, attracted by the fruit's pulp. This afternoon's walk takes us from the small village of Sidi Mbarek down to the beach, along the deserted sands where we'll enjoy vast ocean views. We'll arrive in the sleepy surf town of Sidi Kaouki where our bus will be waiting to take us on to Essaouira. Essaouira is a quaint fishing town, set within 15th-century Portuguese fortifications. We'll be staying at the Riad Al Madina, within the historic city walls. This former 19th-century palace has been carefully restored to retain the elegance of its original splendour. There's a central courtyard, filled with plants and fountains and a sun terrace overlooking the city's medina. Today's walk covers 12 kilometres/7.50 miles and is expected to take around 2 hours along a flat route.
This morning, we'll take a guided walking tour of Essaouira. Entering the walled medina, we'll pass through narrow streets and alleys, where craftsmen sell their wares. We'll walk along the impressive ramparts, admiring the view out to the Atlantic Ocean and the port area of the town. The bustling port is crammed with bobbing blue fishing boats and we'll observe local fishermen bringing in their nets. The rest of the day is free to explore at your own pace. Head back into the medina and shop for souvenirs or walk along the golden stretch of the beach.
After breakfast, we'll set off back to Marrakech by bus. On arrival, we'll dive straight into the heady delights of the Red City with a guided walking tour. We'll pass by the rose-coloured Koutoubia (booksellers) Mosque on the way to Bahia Palace, an open-air museum that's famous for its decorated stucco walls and marble floors. We'll fuel up on fresh pastries from a traditional bakery before continuing to the medina on foot. There, we'll be guided through the labyrinth of spice-scented souks, passing by craftsmen selling rugs, leather goods and crockery before dropping by a spice shop to sample ripe dates and almonds. Finally, we'll navigate our way out into the energetic Jemaa el-Fna Square.
Our tour of Morocco ends at our hotel in Marrakech. There are no activities planned today, so you're free to depart at any time. If your flight is departing later in the day, luggage storage facilities are available at our hotel. If you'd like an airport transfer, you need to depart from Marrakech Menara Airport (RAK).
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Tour Operator
Explore Worldwide
A prominent adventure travel company with over four decades of experience, this business that offers a comprehensive array of unique and thrilling experiences worldwide. Catering to various interests, they provide small group journeys, walking and cycling trips, solo holidays, and family adventures.
In Business Since 1981
Reviews
Shelly - Traveled, May 2025
I had a great time in my tour. We were a small group of 4, ably led by our tour leader, Ibrahim, who was fantastic. It was a great opportunity to learn more about the history, culture and religions of Morocco. I particularly enjoyed my time in Essouira, the Atlas Mountains and Afensou Valley hikes, and lunches at the homes of the local families. The pace of the hikes was just right and the landscapes and itinerary were interesting. Explore however, needs to revisit the itinerary. It was a little disappointing to have the Tinmel mosque that was destroyed in the recent earthquake still on the itinerary when it's mostly now rubble. With respect to accommodations, the single room at the riad in Essaoira was not suitable. Additionally, the trip notes and joining instructions were generic and not specific to our tour. Finally, parts of the tour felt geared towards making us buy things, but I guess that's par for the course in tourism. Overall, it was a great trip.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/15/2025
Anonymous - Traveled, May 2025
Our tour leader was excellent, very knowledgeable and attentive. He knew some great restaurants too. The itinerary was varied and gave a great flavour of Morocco, beyond the beach or Soulja which most visitors probably see.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/14/2025
Sue - Traveled, May 2025
A great tour full of variety. Although there was a fair amount of travelling involved, it was definitely worth it for all the different experiences we had . Visiting local families and eating with them , alongside walking in the mountains were a highlight for me. Hassan was a wonderful guide, informative, kind and caring to all. He took us to some amazing local restaurants every night, which we would never have found!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 05/15/2025
Anonymous - Traveled, November 2024
An excellent way to get to see a country and learn about it with a very experienced and affable guide. A mixed itinerary which yielded something for everyone in the group. A very hassle free experience. Loved it.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/14/2024
Marie - Traveled, October 2024
Fabulous holiday, one of the best we've been to with explore. Our guide Mohammed was amazing, nothing was too much trouble, he was knowledgeable, thoughtful, kind and funny. Our drive over the Atlas mountains was memorable for many reasons, our driver Abdul was outstanding, we always felt safe in his hands, he even stopped for us to take photos of the famous goats in the argon trees!! Every place we visited was magical and beautiful, the only exception was Marrakech market where we saw poor animal welfare and exploitation. Would definitely recommend this holiday and you don't have to be serious hikers to enjoy to walks.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 11/10/2024
Anonymous - Traveled, September 2024
Brilliant trip all round and would have been 5/5 if the we hadn't stayed at the Hotel Almas in Marrakesh. Hotel was very tired and the air conditioning was useless - even on the coolest setting, it simply blew warm air around the room and then packed up completely around 2.00am -our room temperature hit 30 degrees. The hotel staff were difficult to say the least (we were the problem, not the air conditioning) and we weren't able to contact anyone at explore to assist.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/08/2024
Isabel - Traveled, October 2024
As an introduction to Morocco, this made a good trip. All the organisation worked well, the hotels were nice and we got to see Marrakesh, Essaouria, Taroudant and some of the rural mountain areas. This did however involve a lot of minibus travel, so be prepared. Excellent value, but as well as meals and flights be prepared for vaccinations, tips and bottled water costs. The Dirham is a closed currency (change when you arrive) and many places didn't take cards.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 10/10/2024
Maureen - Traveled, May 2024
This holiday provided a very good overview of Morocco as it covered Marrakech, the town of Essaouria, walking in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains and visiting Berber villages. Obviously you do need a certain level of fitness to cope with walking in hot temperatures. I found that my Nordic Walking poles were an invaluable aid. Mohammed, our Guide for the week, was fantastic. He was very knowledgeable, caring and friendly. We also had different local Guides on several days. These were also excellent. We learnt a lot about the Country and the Berber culture. Very interesting. We covered many miles by minibus and I think it is true to say that we all felt very safe with our drivers. I have scored the accommodation as "average" because it was variable. Overall I was happy with all places but they cannot be compared to the standards found in European hotels. The Riads were all beautiful buildings but allowances do have to be made due to their age. Having said that there was always plenty of hot water and the beds were comfortable (possibly too firm for some people). The Riad in Essaouria is in the heart of the Medina and is very interesting and quirky. My room was quite dusty/dirty but I feel it would be difficult to keep surfaces clean. The bathroom however was clean. We ate here one night and the food was very good. My favourite overnight stay was at The Eco Lodge in Ouirgane - a very beautiful place. Sad to see earthquake devastation in the villages. I want to go back to Morocco!
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/09/2024
Mo - Traveled, May 2024
Finding out about Moroccan culture along with the plight of those in the earthquake zone and the increasingly important issue of water. Wandering the streets and beaches of Essouria. Walking the foothills of the Atlas Mountains. Accommodation was much better than I expected - well done Explore - that means a lot. the group and leader were lovely people, so easy to get along with.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/09/2024
Anthony - Traveled, May 2023
The tour was good, but needs have more to it, Tinmel mosque this is closed for the rest of the year, so do not know why we were taken there a bit disappointing, we were meant to go to the tombs on the way back to Marrakesh this did not happen, guide could have put a lot more effort in, tour of bazaar good, but group brought in to a spice shop by the quide, and there was a bad selling experience, tip never buy any thing, until you have proper time to think and work out the exchange rate properly first.
Source: Tour operator Submitted: 06/02/2023
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