![]() ![]() The cities before the Desert Gate look like they have slipped off a faded postcard and are traveling through time. Rachid stopped every now and then for us to rest and enjoy coffee or tea. The images, both visual and auditory, really blew us away. We were transported by air-conditioned 4WD and had a personal driver, the amazing Rachid! Rachid, a native of the villages of Atlas in the Sahara, was very kind, helpful, knew the place well and introduced us to Moroccan music, as on all the routes, especially to the Sahara, we listened in the car to ethnic, Berber, Moroccan songs that matched with the landscape. We stayed one night in Essaouira and continued all the way across the Atlantic to Casablanca and Rabat where we stayed one night. The people organized an amazing seven day trip, of which we stayed four in Marrakesh, we did a day trip to the Ouzoud waterfalls, a day trip to the Atlas villages and even the Sahara Desert Gate in the town of A BenHaddou. I requested a trip based on Marrakesh and excursions to the surrounding area as well as a visit to Casablanca and Rabat. The managers, Dimitra and Abdel, were just the people I was looking for. I came into contact with the office and a whole world opened up in front of me. Since then, I have been following his posts and found that the decision-makers know very well not only their work but the place, the culture, the habits, they know Morocco from the inside and experientially. I saw the promotional material and followed Gboo Morocco tours on Instagram. Looking for the right agency, I found Gboo Morocco tours. I was looking for a travel agency that could help me realize this dream in the midst of difficult conditions, the health situation worldwide. The trip to Morocco was a lifelong dream for me. I would definitely do so when I return in the future. We did have some trouble with the car given to us but the agency assured us that they are upgrading their fleet and we should not have any issues should we return and travel with them again. The lodgings selected by the agency were all great (Riad Marjana, Orient Desert Camp, Dar Bergui, Riad Amin) and met our requirements with friendly staff and great locations. :) Truly his politeness and efforts taken on our behalf made things so much better and my parents took a real liking to him. The driver (Mr Balatif) is a careful and safe driver, endlessly patient with our many requests and at times my unreasonableness and crankiness. Tours were modified to accommodate my mom's difficulty in walking far and sloping terrain. Mr Abdelhadi took pains to secure appropriate lodgings as my parents had difficulty climbing stairs. A lot of the stress was reduced because we were taken care of so well. I knew travel would be stressful with all the additional precautions that we had to take. This was the first trip post pandemic with my elderly parents who are 75 years old. Dinner and overnight in a traditional hotel. Finally, we reach the Dades valley where we´ll spend the night. The Rose Festival is held here annually in May and it is an important mousse for Moroccan culture. In this Valley damascenes, roses are raised for cosmetic use such as the valued rosewater. The next site to visit is the Rose Valley going through the big Skoura palm grove, a beautiful place to contemplate more than 700.000 palms and numerous kasbahs that are built in the surrounding area. Here we´ll see the Taourirt Kasbah, one of the most spectacular ksars in Morocco. Then we continue to Ouarzazate also known as “The gate of the desert” which in the Berber language means “noiseless or without confusion”. Famous films have been shot on this spectacular stage, including Gladiator, Obelix, The Mummy, The Jewel of the Nile, and Sahara with Penelope Cruz…etc. Then we continue south to the ksar (fortified village) of Aït Ben Haddou where we will visit the famous Kasbah (declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986). Pick up from your accommodation in Marrakech at 8 a.m., and depart to the High Atlas, a sub range of Moroccan Atlas Mountains, going through Tizi N´Tichka pass with stops for panoramic views and taking pictures of the Berber small villages that camouflage in the landscape. ![]()
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