Are you wild about colour?
This tour, starting in Tangier and finishing in Marrakech, will prioritise color saturation in accommodation, food venues and cities visited 12 days/11 nights.
As a private tour: for two, twin/double share, per person:
AUS $4,990.00
Less per person for a travelling party of four, twin/double share.
More details on receipt of your enquiry.
Also, see below.
There is no question that one of the first things that come to mind when anyone mentions Morocco, is colour – whether it is the colours woven into weft and warp of its carpets, the myriad shades of greens through to deep purple as you walk past the olive stand, or the endless terracotta tones of the dunes in the Sahara – it is all about colour and light, tones and texture.
Come join us for a colour saturation tour of Morocco in 2026.
A Gnaoua musician at Essaouira, sewing small seashells as decoration onto the hats the musicians traditionally wear.
Both the colour and the light in Morocco have a particular depth and saturation that some will insist is unique – Matisse and friends certainly found that when they put paint to paper and to this day, artists, photographers, filmmakers and travellers continue to be inspired by both the light and the colour that a journey through Morocco provides, in quantities as plentiful as the glasses of mint tea you will be offered. So, let’s take a colour-strewn amble through a Moroccan itinerary punctuated by shades of blue, and green, saffron and ochre.
Tangier
To truly appreciate the colour, you need to start with that aforementioned light – and in particular, the light reflected from the confluence of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean that throws its magical cloak across and bounces off its white-walled kasbah. The coastal architecture of Tangier and its smaller neighbour Assilah has a simple clarity and brightness possibly more reminiscent of a Greek island than the earthy tones of the desert, which a lot of visitors might expect on arrival in Morocco – but always expect the unexpected in this country on the northern edge of the continent.
Chefchaouen
Having soaked up the slightly more familiar coastal colours, it is time to head for the Rif and as you follow the road winding up and into the Rif mountains, you will discover the bluest of blues, perfectly framed by the green of the surrounding countryside and olive groves. Chefchaouen is of course the unrivalled City of Blue, firmly on the Moroccan bucket-list because of its single-mindedly blue medina and winding streets in a mesmerising mix of every shade which, on a rare quiet day, has an intensity that gives it an almost surreal atmosphere.
There are several theories on offer as to why blue was the chosen hue of this relatively remote mountain village, but whatever the reason it is now simply because it IS the Blue city, the colour defines it, makes it irresistibly instagrammable and has ensured it place of honour on the Moroccan colour route.
Ouazzane
Shifting from blue to green, heading south, approximately an hour and a half out of Chefchaouen will take you past the lesser known but equally saturated town of Ouazzane with its medina daubed in the greenest green imaginable. Sitting in the middle of rolling hills and olive groves, this is a place to stock up on olive oil and possibly ramp up your winter wardrobe with some locally woven djellabas.
Fez
Crossing the mountains, the journey continues into the imperial city of Fez – with the main entrance to the medina framed by the famous blue gate – Bab Bou Jeloud – this is a city of multiple colours and pattern, from the dyers’ souk to the zellige mosaics crafted in its workshops to the copper beaten into shape to make the beautiful dappled lighting that makes the colours and lights shift from dusk to dawn. This is a city of accents rather than a single colour – it is an artist’s palette full of the dabs of colour that make a portrait and the perfect place to end a journey discovering the colours of the country.
Rabat
Continuing the journey, cut from a more royal cloth, is Rabat, the capital city. Explore the Royal Palace and the ancient Chellah Necropolis with its golden hues. A wander around the Kasbah of the Udayas, will throw off gentle gold accents while offering beautiful views of the Atlantic Ocean. And as this is a colour-based tour of the country it would be remiss not to visit The Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art.
Casablanca & flight to Erfoud
From Rabat we travel down the azure coast to Casablanca. From there we fly to Erfoud in Morocco’s south.
Erfoud to Rissani & Merzouga
Travelling south through Erfoud, past the kasbahs and the ksars which merge magnificently into the landscape from which they are constructed, takes you towards the Sahara. On first glance, both the landscape and the palette become harsher, devoid of colour and undeniably barren. On a second – or maybe third – glance you can start to appreciate the ancient earthern tones and textures that have been a part of the caravan route travelled by merchants and camels for centuries, trading salt and gold along the way.
The palm groves on the edge of Erfoud provide a welcome olive-green respite punctuated by the burnt orange of the dates, framed by the earthen walls of the surrounding village.
Driving through the Rissani Gate makes the final step into the Sahara, as it frames the earthen, sand and ochre landscape, punctuated with buildings that feel inextricably connected through a unique combination of colour, texture and material.
Finally, the route through Merzouga leads to the waves of the dunes and the desert in all its shades of brown to ochre, saffron to gold, reflecting the intensity of the midday sun or shifting into a deeper gold, softening with the sunset before merging into a velvet backdrop for the desert sky at night.
Valley of the Roses
If you time it right, a visit to the Valley of the Roses – M’Goun – will come with an unexpected sprinkling of pink. Traditionally April and May is rose harvesting season and the pink petals will add a new colour to your travel palette and perfume to your senses.
Adgz
Of course, no colour journey through Morocco is complete without the sandy ochres of the kasbahs and the Sahara as the sands shift and colours range from ochre to golden depending on the time of the day and the position of the sun. Even in this sand-defined landscape, swathes of indigo blue will re-appear in the Tuareg headscarves that lead the way.
Just like an unexpected burst of blue in the red city, the Sahara throws up its own unique shade of earthen green that is unique to the kilns of Tamegroute – a town on the edges of the Sahara, home to the pottery workshops producing the ceramics of the same name. Tamegroute green is the result of a particular alchemy of sand and heat and minerals, that is not replicated anywhere else.
The High Atlas Mountains
The road continues – climbing into the High Atlas Mountains. Depending on the season, you will be confronted by harsh rocky outcrops, white peaks and then suddenly as you drop down into a valley, contrasting verdant greens and browns of the oasis come as a visual and textural relief. And yet again, even within this mountainous landscape that stands as the gateway to the Sahara, there will be surprising and unexpected pockets of colour.
Marrakech
Moving on, the green will slowly shift to shades of brown until you reach Marrakech – the Red City. As you approach the walled medina, the deep earthen red that shakes its feathers out at sunset comes straight from the land on which it is built. The distinctive red sandstone runs through the ancient walls and into the newer buildings beyond, in striking contrast with the lush green of its cultivated gardens and palm trees.
As suggested earlier, expect the unexpected, because just as your eye has adjusted to the red ochre tones of the city walls, you will be met by the deepest blue that has also come to be inextricably tied to Marrakech, providing a striking backdrop to the lush botanicals of the Majorelle Gardens.
Life in Morocco remains intrinsically linked to the land – wandering through a market, produce will in general be local and seasonal. You will be offered grilled sardines along the coast and medfouna in the desert and the traditional cooking pots which can be bought at the side of the road come directly from the earth in all its terracotta glory. The colours you will discover on this Moroccan itinerary equally reflect the landscape – with whites and blues along the coast shifting into greens and browns as you move inland and finally culminating in the golden crown of the sands of the Sahara – but as with everything in life, it is often the little things, the details which if you take time to slow down and simply enjoy the journey with eyes wide open, below the first bold brushstroke you will see a myriad of details that make the palette and your journey a richer experience.
