Tribal Music, Dance Rituals in Morocco

Join anthropologist Hamid Mernissi on a 12-day journey to Morocco to explore its tribal music Sept. 13 to 25. Later dates are available. Participants learn about the Jajouka people of the Rif Mountains and attend daily drum workshops in order to later take part in ceremonies and ancient rhythmic rituals with tribe members.

The trip starts by exploring the medieval city of Moulay Idriss and the ancient Roman ruins of Volubilis, where guests will meet the trance dancers and drummers of Hmadsha. Then the tour travels to Fez before spending the night at a Moorish home for chanting and drumming with the Issawa musicians. On another night, guests can take part in an all-night dance and henna ceremony with the Gnawa tribe.

Guests will shop in the colorful marketplaces in Marrakech and meet the Dekka tribal drummers who are unique to the region. Travelers will cross the Atlas Mountains to the Valley of the Casbahs to visit the Sahara with nomads known as the “blue men.”

Cost: $2,485 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from LAX, all transfers and ground excursions, guides, accommodations with breakfasts and dinners, and motor coach and camel transportation.

Contact: Sarah Tours; tel. (818) 799-4795 or (800) 267-0036.

Nepal Trekking

Get the climbing gear out and train on that StairMaster for a hiking trek on Gokyo Peak in the area of Mt. Everest in Nepal. The trip dates are Oct. 24 to Nov. 10. Trekkers arrive in Katmandu and transfer to Hotel Marshyangdi for a day of sightseeing and rest.

Then they will fly to Lukla and begin the trek in the Mt. Everest region. Hikers will see Mt. Everest and other 26,000- to 28,000-foot peaks and also the turquoise water of Gokyo Lakes. Guests fly into the Lukla air strip, where many famous expeditions started. They will then go into a more remote area and camp at Gokyo Lakes.

Returning to Katmandu, participants will have a day to shop or do more sightseeing.

Cost: $1,650 per person, including all hotels in Katmandu; sightseeing in the Katmandu Valley; the 12-day trek; all guides, cooks, porters, pack animals and trekking permits; trekking equipment, including two-person tents, flights or helicopter to and from Lukla, and airport transfers. International air fare is extra.

Contact: AW Nepal and Tibet Adventure Treks, 1895 Bluff, Suite A, Boulder, CO 80304; tel. (303) 449-5578.

Danube Cruise

Forget the inconvenience of checking in and out of hotels. Instead, see the scenery of Europe along the Danube River from the deck of the Danube Princess Oct. 2 to 12. The tour includes a two-night stay in Munich, Germany, seven days aboard the Danube Princess and a one-night stay in Passau, Germany.

Ports of call include: Passau, one of Germany’s oldest cities; Durnstein, Austria, in the heart of the Wachau wine region; Budapest (overnight), the Hungarian capital; Esztergom, Hungary, a city of historic monuments; Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia; Vienna (overnight), where Mozart composed his operas and symphonies; Melk, Austria, known for the Benedictine Abbey; and Grein, Austria, a Gothic city dating back to the 11th century.

Cost: from $1,820 per person, double occupancy. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Callaway Cruises Inc.; tel. (800) 667-4523.

Architectural History

The Society of Architectural Historians/Southern California and Chicago chapters, in association with LACMA’s Decorative Arts Council and the Gamble House, is offering a tour of Scotland and England, Oct. 20 to 31. Designed for enthusiasts of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and those familiar with William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement, the tour will offer an in-depth look at the period in which they flourished. The itinerary includes Edinburgh, Glasgow, York and London, as well as stops in the picturesque countryside.

The tour will provide private, guided visits to most remaining Mackintosh landmarks, including the controversial new Glasgow landmark, the House of Art Lover. In Scotland, sites include Queen’s Cross Church, Glasgow School of Art, Hunterian Art Gallery, Mackintosh House and the Willow Tea Room. In England, the include Kelmscott Manor, Morris Gallery, Victoria and Albert Museum and the Soane Museum. Tour leaders include veteran architectural tour director Richard Rowe and architectural historians in Scotland and England.

Cost: $2,750 per person, double occupancy (nonmembers add $35), which includes land travel, historic hotels, some meals, guides and entrance fees. Contact: East Town Travel (ask for Karen); tel. (800) 822-3789.

Polish Heritage

A sweep through Poland’s historic cities is scheduled Oct. 9 to 21 by the Kosciuszko Foundation. The 12-day, 11-night excursion for up to 35 people visits Wroclaw; Krakow, with its 600-year-old Jagiellonian University; the Tatra Mountains resort of Zakopane; the Black Madonna at Czestochowa; Warsaw; Chopin’s birthplace at Zelazowa Wola; and the “Polish Versailles” palace at Wilanow.

Cost: $2,799 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from New York, most meals, land transportation, guides and admissions.

Contact: Kosciuszko Foundation; tel. (800) 287-9956.

Scenic Costa Rica

See Costa Rica’s rain forests, cloud forests, beaches, volcano, some of its 600 species of butterflies and 1,200 types of orchids on a guided nine-day tour. Departures are Oct. 11, Nov. 15, Dec. 20 and 27. Excursions include an aerial tram ride through a rain-forest canopy, lake and riverboat rides, hiking, swimming and volcano viewing.

Cost: $1,040 per person, double occupancy, including lodging, six breakfasts, six lunches and seven dinners. Air fare is extra.

Contact: Holbrook Travel; tel. (800) 451-7111.

Private Italian Dining

A gourmet dinner at a private club, Associazione Sportivo, with an “unmarked entrance on a nondescript downtown street” is part of a culinary tour Oct. 3 to 13 through Tuscany and Sicily. Guests go sightseeing by day through hill towns and Florence, and dine at unique venues by night. The Tuscany guide is a Florence resident and a former pastry chef at San Francisco’s Stanford Court Hotel. The Sicilian guide operates a culinary school in Catania.

Cost: $3,490 per person, double occupancy, including lodging in Siena, Florence, Syracuse and Taormina, most meals and ground transportation. Air fare is extra.

Contact: International Dining Adventures; 106 Lynn St., Seattle, WA 98109; tel. (800) 447-6080.

India’s Highlights

Explore the temples and lagoons of India on a trip that runs Feb. 15 to March 7, 1998. Participants will see the Taj Mahal, Rajput palaces, Khajuraho’s sculptures, morning rituals on the Ganges River in Varanasi and attend dance and music performances. Guests have an opportunity to bargain for fabrics and crafts in Bombay and New Delhi bazaars.

Cost: $5,695 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from Los Angeles, accommodations, meals, guides and entrance fees.

Contact: Glorious Adventures, 10007 Gaynor Ave., North Hills, CA 91343; tel. (818) 893-9030.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.