3 days · 2 nightsMarrakech → Merzouga → MarrakechEasyPrivate
The classic route to the Sahara: the High Atlas, Ait Ben Haddou, the Dades and Todra gorges and a night in our camp in Erg Chebbi.
Three days are enough to cross the High Atlas, discover the kasbahs and palm groves of the south and sleep in the dunes of Merzouga. You travel in a private air-conditioned vehicle with your own driver, who stops whenever you want for photos, a walk or a cup of tea.
The tour is long on the road, but every hour has something to see: the passes of the Atlas, the fortified villages of earth, the rose valley, the canyons and the first view of the orange dunes rising from the black desert. The highlight is the camel ride at sunset to our camp and the night under the stars.
Highlights
Tizi n'Tichka pass in the High Atlas
Ait Ben Haddou, UNESCO World Heritage
Dades valley and Todra gorge
Sunset camel ride to our camp
Private vehicle and driver
Day by day
Day 1
Marrakech – Tizi n'Tichka – Ait Ben Haddou – Dades valley
We pick you up at your riad or hotel in Marrakech at around 7:30 and leave the red city behind, heading south-east towards the High Atlas. The road climbs through Berber villages, walnut trees and terraced fields until the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres, where on clear days you can see the snowy peaks of the Atlas. On the other side the landscape changes completely: dry mountains, red earth and the first kasbahs. We stop at Ait Ben Haddou, the fortified village of earth that has appeared in films such as Gladiator and Game of Thrones, and you can walk up through its narrow alleys to the old granary at the top. After lunch we continue past Ouarzazate, the 'door of the desert', and the palm grove of Skoura, with its kasbahs hidden among the palms, and through the Valley of Roses to the Dades valley. Dinner and night in a guesthouse with views of the gorge.
Day 2
Dades – Todra gorge – Erfoud – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
After breakfast we drive along the Dades valley, where the river has carved the red rock into strange shapes known as the 'monkey fingers', and then towards Tinghir, a town surrounded by a huge green palm grove. Just beyond it, the Todra gorge opens: a narrow canyon with walls up to 300 metres high and a clear stream running at the bottom. You can walk inside the gorge and watch the climbers on the cliffs. We continue east across the plateaus to Erfoud, the town of dates and fossils, and then to Merzouga, where the orange dunes of Erg Chebbi appear suddenly on the horizon. In the late afternoon your camel is waiting at the edge of the dunes: you leave the big luggage in the car and ride with your cameleer for about an hour and a half, stopping on a crest for the sunset. At our camp you will find your tent with a real bed and private bathroom, a Moroccan dinner and Berber drums around the fire under a sky full of stars.
Day 3
Sunrise in the dunes – Draa valley – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
Wake up early and climb the dune behind the camp to watch the sunrise: the sky turns pink, then gold, and the shadows of the dunes slowly shorten. After breakfast at the camp you ride back to Merzouga by camel, take a shower if you wish and start the journey back to Marrakech. It is the longest day of the tour, so we take it easy, with stops whenever you need them. The road crosses the oasis of Alnif and the Saghro mountains towards the Draa valley, where an endless line of palm trees follows the river, and continues to Ouarzazate for lunch. In the afternoon we cross the High Atlas again by the Tichka pass, enjoying the views we missed on the first day, and arrive in Marrakech in the evening, where your driver leaves you at your riad or hotel.
Included
Private air-conditioned vehicle
Local driver-guide
Pick-up and drop-off at your riad, hotel or airport
Nights in riads, kasbahs and guesthouses
Dinners and breakfasts
Camel ride with cameleer
Night in our desert camp in Erg Chebbi
Not included
Lunches
Local guides in the cities (on request)
Entrance fees to monuments
Tips
Good to know
Pick-up between 7:00 and 8:00 at your riad, hotel, airport or port. Bring a small bag for the desert night: big luggage stays in the vehicle. Hotels can be upgraded on request.
No payment is needed to book: you pay on arrival in cash (dirhams or euros). Free changes if the weather is not good.
Questions
Are the tours private?
Yes. Only your group travels in the vehicle, with your own driver, and the program can be adapted.
Where do the tours start?
Wherever you are: your riad or hotel in Marrakech, Fez, Tangier, Casablanca, Agadir, Ouarzazate, Errachidia or Essaouira, or the airport or port when you land.
Which camp do we sleep in?
In our own camp in Erg Chebbi, with private tents, bathrooms with hot shower, dinner and breakfast, and Berber music by the fire.
Can I change the itinerary?
Yes, every tour is private and flexible: add nights in the desert, a quad or buggy ride, a different finishing city or better hotels. Just tell us when you write.
