Kasbahs Route in Morocco – 8 days

In this route of the Kasbahs with a duration of 8 days we will visit the main fortifications of Morocco. Starting in Marrakech, passing through Ouarzazate, Skoura and El Khorbat to finish in the wonderful city of Fez.

8 days during which we will not only follow part of the route of the thousand kasbahs, one of the main tourist attractions of Morocco, but we will also sleep inside one that is part of a responsible tourism project. A quiet place, where life goes at a different pace, and where, thanks to this project, the local population can once again live in their millenary homes.

What are Kasbahs?

The Kasbahs are fortifications of Amazigh (Berber) origin, built of adobe with extra thick walls to protect its inhabitants from intruders or external attacks, which besides being a barrier difficult to overcome, keep the interior temperature more stable. They serve as protection from the weather, sandstorms, sweltering heat or the cold of winter. Within each Kasbah lived a wealthy family.

It is important not to confuse this term with the ksar, which were also fortifications, but in their interior several families lived in community. We would say that they were small villages or fortified neighborhoods. The Kasbah, on the other hand, are square buildings with 4 towers at each corner, built with adobe and owned by a wealthy family.

However, when we talk about the route of the thousand kasbahs, it is important to know that it includes both kasbahs and ksars, and the term kasbah has been chosen to unify both concepts, although they are different.

In addition, there are currently many hotels that for advertising and marketing purposes call themselves Kasbahs, being concrete buildings. This fact causes confusion to the traveler who thinks he is staying in an original Kasbah but in reality it is a concrete hotel with the exterior appearance similar to that of a kasbah. However, we can find some accommodations inside ksars or royal kasbahs (we talk in this route of one in particular), and staying in them is even more special than staying in a riad or hotel.

Which Kasbahs and Ksars will we visit during the 8-day route?

In the 8 days of Morocco, we will visit the following Kasbahs or Ksars:

• Kasbah el Glaoui
• Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou
• Kasbah of Taourirt
• Kasbah of Amridil
• Ksar el Khorbat

Also during the route we will be able to see other Kasbahs that are either now hotels or are abandoned and therefore half demolished.

Visit to the Dades and Todra Gorges

During the 8 days of the Kasbahs route we will pass through the two most famous gorges of Morocco, the Dades and Todra gorges. We will arrive at a time when the large groups of tourists have already left, so that we can visit these gorges in peace and quiet. Believe us, this makes all the difference. It has nothing to do with visiting these places when there are all the buses and jeeps, to when there are practically no people. In the afternoon we will arrive in Todra where, in addition to visiting the gorges, we will take a guided tour of a palm grove that is managed by a community cooperative that allows the local population to have more resources thanks to the associative work. Each family has a plot of land with a few palm trees that yield dates, a highly valued product in Morocco, and a common source of income in rural areas where there is still enough water to be able to carry out this activity.

Ksar El Korbhat

Away from the most touristic points that represent the gorges, we will have two days of tranquility in one of the most magical places in Morocco. The Khorbat is a Ksar that, thanks to cooperation and responsible and regenerative tourism, has allowed it to be maintained in good condition and the local population to have electricity and access to drinking water inside the fortification. A great deal of restoration work has been done there, both with private funds from responsible tourism and with donations and the collaboration of municipalities, various architectural institutions and associations. Now, thanks to the visitors, and to the determination and perseverance of the promoters of this local association, work continues so that the living conditions there are dignified, and the families can once again feel proud of their ksar. Twenty years ago it was a completely uninhabitable place.

We will visit this place with a local guide, who will explain its history, visit the museum and the women’s cooperative, where we will be able to share, without haste, the time with them. We will be able to learn how to make bread as they do every day, and we will share a tea with them and taste the result of our culinary class. Finally, we will also visit the huge palm grove that surrounds the village, and learn about the challenges and difficulties posed by the consequences of climate change, such as severe drought.

Accommodation during the Kasbahs route

During the 8 days of the Kasbahs route we will sleep in quality accommodations that have been selected by Trip to Help.

One of the most unique experiences is to sleep inside the Ksar (fortified village) itself , in a beautiful hotel that helps with responsible tourism to create jobs, to restore it, and the pride of the local community for their place of origin. Here the visits of travelers are viewed favorably because, among other things, thanks to the cooperative, everyone wins and because there has never been any desire to direct the project to be a tourist stop for the masses. Few get here. And most importantly: many who want to arrive en masse, in coaches for example, with little time or without wanting to go into detail, are invited not to do so. It is kindly explained to them that this is not a tourist attraction, and that contributing to keep it that way means traveling in a slow, deep and regenerative way.

In the following photo you can see a double bed in one of the rooms of El Khorbat.

In the capitals we will sleep in riads inside the Medina, in the Khorbat we will sleep inside the Ksar and in Skoura, we will sleep in a beautiful local hotel.

Double room at the Khorbat. Photo Trip to Help.

We visited the two most beautiful cities in Morocco: Marrakech and Fez.

Last but not least, in this 8 days Kasbahs route we will have time to visit the two most beautiful cities of Morocco: Fez and Marrakech.

Both can be visited on your own or with a guide, and in the case of Marrakech, We will visit an NGO founded by a woman who is dedicated to training hundreds of women to become professional cooks, in addition to training them in English, administrative, financial and leadership skills. We will have lunch in the restaurant of this project, 100% managed by women coming out of their courses, and in the afternoon we will go with them to the training center. There we will be able to do a cooking or baking course, and with this we will be giving work to these women and providing resources to the NGO so that it can continue training more women. In this way, with our activities we are helping to finance a project that has already resulted in more than 300 women being fully trained free of charge. This activity (lunch and class) is included in the price, but it is necessary to check availability depending on the day. In case of unavailability, it is deducted from the budget.

The route of the Kasbahs ends in Fez, our favorite city. Get lost in the souk, visit the Jewish quarter, have a cup of tea on a terrace, visit the tanneries and watch the wonderful sunsets from a panoramic point of the city. Finally, we will stay in one of the wonderful riads in the medina, prioritizing options with an eye towards sustainability and support for the local community.

Tanners of Fez