4 days · 3 nightsFez → Merzouga → MarrakechEasyPrivate
From Fez to Marrakech with a full day in Merzouga: the market of Rissani, nomads, Gnawa music, a night in our camp, the gorges and Ait Ben Haddou.
The extra day compared to the classic three-day route is spent in Merzouga, so you really discover the desert: the first evening in a hotel at the foot of the dunes, then a whole day around Erg Chebbi before riding a camel to our camp.
The last two days follow the gorges of Todra and Dades, the road of the kasbahs and the High Atlas to Marrakech, where your driver leaves you at your riad.
Highlights
Middle Atlas and Ziz valley
Full day around Merzouga
Night in our desert camp
Todra gorge and Dades valley
Ait Ben Haddou and the Tichka pass
Day by day
Day 1
Fez – Ifrane – Azrou cedar forest – Midelt – Ziz valley – Merzouga
We pick you up at your riad in Fez at around 8:00 and drive south into the Middle Atlas. The first stop is Ifrane, a clean and green town of chalets and gardens built in the 1930s, where the stone lion is the favourite photo of Moroccan families. Just after, in the cedar forest of Azrou, some of the trees are hundreds of years old and Barbary macaques live among them; you can watch them from very close. We cross the high plateaus, where shepherds still live in tents, to Midelt for lunch, with the Jebel Ayachi, often covered in snow, as a backdrop. In the afternoon the road descends through the Ziz gorges into a canyon of palm trees and old ksour, passes Errachidia and Erfoud and reaches Merzouga at sunset, where the dunes of Erg Chebbi glow orange. Dinner and night in a comfortable hotel at the foot of the dunes.
Day 2
A day around Merzouga: Rissani, nomads, Khamlia, camel ride and night in our camp
A whole day to live the desert. In the morning we drive to Rissani, the old caravan capital, to walk through its market, one of the most authentic in Morocco, with its spices, its dozens of varieties of dates and its animal market; we also see the old ksar and the mausoleum of Moulay Ali Cherif. Back in the desert, we visit a nomad family in the black hamada, who welcome us for tea in their tent of goat hair, and the village of Khamlia, where the Gnawa musicians play their hypnotic rhythms. After lunch and a rest in the hotel, you can add a quad, buggy or sandboard session if you wish. Before sunset your camel is waiting: the caravan enters Erg Chebbi, stops on a crest for the sunset and reaches our camp, where dinner, drums and the stars are waiting.
Wake up for the sunrise over the Sahara, have breakfast in the camp and ride back to Merzouga, where a shower is available before leaving. We drive through Rissani, with a short walk in its market if it is a market day, and then west across the desert plateaus, where the road passes small oases and villages of earth. At Tinghir we enter the Todra gorge, a canyon with walls 300 metres high, where you can walk along the river and feel the cool air between the rocks. In the afternoon we continue to Boumalne and up the Dades valley, among fields of almond trees and kasbahs, to the narrowest part of the gorge. Dinner and night in a guesthouse with a terrace facing the red cliffs.
Day 4
Dades – Valley of Roses – Skoura – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech
The last day follows the 'road of the thousand kasbahs'. We drive through the Valley of Roses and Kalaat M'Gouna, where you can buy rose water and creams made by local cooperatives, and the palm grove of Skoura with its earth castles. After Ouarzazate we visit Ait Ben Haddou, the ksar classified by UNESCO, and climb to its top for the view over the valley and the old caravan route. After lunch we cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with its viewpoints over the mountains and the Berber villages below, and descend to the plain of Marrakech. Arrival in the evening and drop-off 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
Visit to a nomad family
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.
