3 days · 2 nightsOuarzazate → Merzouga → OuarzazateEasyPrivate
From the 'door of the desert' to the dunes of Erg Chebbi and back: Skoura, the Valley of Roses, the gorges, a night in our camp and the Draa valley.
Ouarzazate has an airport and is the natural starting point for the south of Morocco. From here the Sahara of Merzouga is only one day away, through the most beautiful valleys of the country, without having to cross the High Atlas.
This three-day loop is ideal if you arrive in Ouarzazate by plane or if you are staying in Ait Ben Haddou or Skoura. The way out follows the road of the kasbahs and the gorges; the way back crosses the volcanic Saghro and the palm groves of the Draa.
Highlights
Pick-up at Ouarzazate airport or hotel
Skoura and the Valley of Roses
Dades and Todra gorges
Night in our camp in Erg Chebbi
Return through the Saghro and the Draa valley
Day by day
Day 1
Ouarzazate – Skoura – Valley of Roses – Dades gorge
Your driver picks you up at your hotel or at the airport of Ouarzazate. We start with a short visit of the kasbah of Taourirt, the old residence of the Glaoui in the centre of the town, and drive east to the palm grove of Skoura, where you visit the kasbah of Amridil, with its towers decorated with geometric patterns and its small museum of everyday objects. We continue along the road of the thousand kasbahs to Kalaat M'Gouna, in the Valley of Roses, where you can stop at a cooperative and buy rose water, and on to Boumalne Dades. In the afternoon we drive up the Dades gorge between red cliffs and strangely shaped rocks to the famous zigzag road, and you can walk in the valley among the fields of the Berber families. Dinner and night in a guesthouse in the gorge.
Day 2
Dades – Todra gorge – Rissani – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
We leave the Dades valley in the morning and drive to Tinghir, where the green palm grove contrasts with the bare mountains, and walk into the Todra gorge, a narrow canyon with walls up to 300 metres high. After lunch we continue east across the hamada, through the oasis of Tinejdad and the town of Erfoud, and stop in Rissani to see the gate of the old city and the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif. We reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, when the dunes of Erg Chebbi start to glow. Your camel is waiting at the edge of the sand: the ride into the dunes takes about an hour and a half, with a stop on a crest to watch the sunset, and ends at our camp. Dinner, music by the fire and a night in your private tent with bathroom.
An early start to watch the sunrise from the top of the dunes, then breakfast in the camp and the camel ride back to Merzouga. We drive west by the southern road, crossing a wide desert of stone where nomads camp with their herds, to Alnif, famous for its fossils, and along the black volcanic mountains of the Jebel Saghro to the village of Nkob and its kasbahs. In the afternoon we reach the Draa valley at Agdz, where the river flows through an immense palm grove, and cross the Tizi n'Tinifift pass with a last view over the desert before arriving in Ouarzazate. Your driver leaves you at your hotel or at the airport in the late afternoon.
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.
