Morocco Fossil Hunting and Minerals Tour
Morocco Fossil Hunting and Minerals Tour Geological trip Overview:
Join our Morocco fossil hunting and minerals tour to explore the best of fossils and menirals that this country offers.
Morocco has earned an international reputation for having subway treasures dating back to the Precambrian, Devonian and Ordovician eras.
Moreover, the Morocco geological trip will take you to explore the diverse collection of minerals and fossils. Including the famous megalodon and dinosaurs, as well as very ancient trilobites, orthoceras, ammonites and crinoids.
This geological Morocco desert tours offers a variety of private fossil Morocco tour depending on your specific travel needs, departing from Casablanca, Marrakech, Rabat or even Tangier.
We live in a desert that has been transformed into an accessible museum for paleontologists and fossil hunters. Some of the most unusual fossil species have been discovered in the Erfoud area, especially trilobites.
Moreover, we have in-depth knowledge of fossil collecting, so we can assist you on your expedition with us in everything. From choosing the best quarries to excavating with the ultimate goal of discovering a unique species of your own.
Book your Morocco fossil funting and minerals tour today for a unique experience!
Highlights of Morocco fossil trip:
- Experiencing breathtaking sights over the Atlas Mountains with this Fossil hunting and Minerals Tour.
- Visiting the renowned Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as Kasbah Telouet.
- Explore the salt mines in Ounila Valley which is located in Ouarzazate province.
- Discover various cretaceous specimens.
- Discover fossilised fish teeth, and other old marine animal fossils in Asfla.
- Visiting a geological area with various fossil species and seeing samples of the fossil artifacts in workshops
- in Erfoud.
- Experiencing the breathtaking sunset while riding camels in Erg Chebbi within this fabulous fossil hunting
- and Minerals tour.
- Sleeping in a private comfy luxury tent in a camp in the desert of Merzouga Erg chebbi.
- Observing stacks of minerals by the side of the road in messisi. As well as exploring further geological sites
- and mines outside of Alnif town.
- uring this fossil trip, you will be staying the night in riads and genuine guesthouses.
- tour.
- Trilobites discovery in the Erfoud area
- Explore the famous megalodon and dinosaurs with this private Morocco fossils package tour.
| Destination |
Marrakech |
| Departure Time |
Customized |
| Return Time |
18:00 |
| Included |
- Private A/C 4×4 Vehicle or Minivan + fuel
- English/Spanish speaking driver during the tour
- Pick up & Drop off at your accommodation
- Accommodation with dinner & breakfast
- Camel Trek to overnight in a luxury camp (private tent)
- Free time to explore sites such as Kasbah, Walks, Canyons, Breaks for photos,…Etc
- Local expert tour guide in the imperial cities
- Sandboarding in the dunes
|
| Excluded |
- Lunch during the trip
- Flights
- Drinks
|
Details
This private Morocco Fossil hunting and Minerals Tour, is one of the best Geological Morocco trip for those who want to discover a varierty of Moroccan fossils. Including, cretaceous specimens, Trilobites discovery, kem kem beds and much more awaits. Book your Moroccam fossil tour today!
Our Morocco Fossil hunting and Minerals Tour starts with airport pick up in Casablanca and Marrakech with an overnight in the UNESCO medina of Marrakech.
We depart from the Red City and drive towards the High Atlas Mountains which we cross at the 2260 metre pass at Tizi n´Tichka.
On the way we will stop at Sidi Rahal to look at the agate mine which is in Triassic lava. These mountains have layers in many eras: Cambrian, Ordovician, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous.
On the far side, we take the Ounila Valley off road route to discover Jurassic, Cretaceous and Eocene layers as we follow the salt route where salt is still being mined, to reach the 17th century UNESCO site of Ksar Ait Benhaddou.
This adobe fortress is perhaps best known as the film set for the movie The Gladiator, it still has a handful of families living in it and is an interesting example of kasbah architecture. We continue to reach Ouarzazate; the Hollywood of Africa and here we will spend the night.
From Ouarzazate we visit a site with 600 million year old stromatolites and then travel along the Draa Valley to an Ordovician layer containing giant cold water trilobites which are found in the lower layer of the Fezouata Shale; they can be 20 to 30 cms in length and are still being discovered in this mine.
We turn off past the Ksar of Tamnougalt and take the road towards Tazzarine to visit the Sardar Orthoceras quarry. This quarry contains cephalopods that have straight shells and are perhaps the predecessors of the ammonites.
Much of what is found in this site is taken to Erfoud to be processed into beautiful and functional items. We will be visiting Erfoud later on the tour. Alnif is one of the main trilobite fossil sites in Morocco and we will spend the night here among the many fossil shops in a typical hotel.
Today we will have time to browse the fossil shops to see complete examples and then visit several of the sites to look for Cambrian Paradoxides and Cambropallas trilobites and the Tiskaouine mountain where Ordovician Neseuretus, Colposcopy and Flexicalymene trilobites are mined. We will return to the same hotel in Alnif.
Following some of the old Paris Dakar Rally routes, we cross this ancient landscape and our first stop is Bou Did; a Devonian limestone area with an extensive formation called the Tazoulait Formation and nearby another area of many fossils scattered on the surface.
Another Devonian formation called Atchana is where Dicranurus monstrosus, and Paralejurus spatuliformis trilobites are mined at the Ihandar Formation.
It is likely we will meet fossil miners in these sites and you can meet with them and ask questions. We journey deep into the Sahara here to the Mharech oasis where we overnight in a typical adobe kasbah Hotel.
In the near distance, there is a pyramid structure, this is Guelb el Mharech, an isolated 45 metre remnant of a volcano formed by hydrothermal vents; this is our focus this morning where corals, trilobites and crinoids are plentiful.
Very rare finds of placoderm fish have been discovered here. The Maider basin has several sites including Jbel el Mrakib where brachiopods in Devonian layers can be seen.
We follow the Dakar tracks to reach the main road at Taouz where there are some petroglyphs and overnight in a Kasbah hotel near the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
Today, we return to Taouz and from there to the famous Kem Kem beds where the rocks are from the Cretaceous period.
Spinosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus teeth and bones have been found here and the site is rich in crocodiles, dinosaurs and fish.
Another site near Taouz where Silurian, Devonian and Ordovician layers are closely folded and have crinoids with their labolith.
The Filon or Vein 12 mine was once a lead mine, it is currently mined for Vanadinite, Hematite and Pyrite amongst other specimens and is one of the most mineral rich sites in Morocco.
We will return to Merzouga to the same hotel. We have an option here to spend the night in a desert camp with a sunset camel ride.
Leaving the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi, we travel north in the vicinity of Rissani where we stop at a site of upper Devonian age where orthoceras and ammonoids can be seen in the massive slabs of red limestone.
We also visit Kem Kem or Hamar Laghdad which are Devonian cold seep mud volcano mounds on which rich coral reefs once grew.
Next we visit some bell pits where crinoids are mined and after a lunch break, on to Erfoud; the capital of fossils.
The quarry at Erfoud has Orthoceras slabs with goniatites and rocks from the Devonian period. In the city, we will visit a factory where the slabs are processed into many functional and visually pleasing items.
There is also a museum of minerals and fossils including dinosaur bones, here you will see many impressive examples of the fossils we saw on our tour around Alnif. We will spend the night in Erfoud.
Leaving Erfoud, we follow palm groves and villages to reach Tinghir and take the road up to reach the gorge of Todra; 300 metre high walls of the Jurassic period were carved by the waters of the river making it a favourite with international rock climbers.
Returning to the city, we take the Dades Valley and visit another gorge on a detour from Boumalne Dades. This gorge has unique geological features which have evolved from erosion forming interesting shapes.
We return to the valley and follow the Dades River as it flows through ancient kasbahs and fields of roses and crops.
After a lunch break, we will continue to Skoura Palm Grove and the cinema city of Ouarzazate. We can stop to visit one of Kasbahs and then take the road to Oasis Fint for the night.
After a relaxed breakfast, we depart for the High Atlas Mountains to cross the high pass at 2260 metres, passing many small villages, fields and pasturelands. We arrive back in Marrakech where you are free for the remainder of the day. Overnight in the medina.
Today, depending on departure times, there is an option to have a walking guided tour of this ancient medina. Airport transfers to Casablanca or Marrakech where our Morocco Fossil hunting and Minerals Tour comes to an end.
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