4 days · 3 nightsMarrakech → Merzouga → MarrakechEasyPrivate
The same magic route to Merzouga at a calmer pace, with a full day around the dunes: nomads, Khamlia and the market town of Rissani.
Four days let you enjoy the road instead of running. You sleep a night in Ait Ben Haddou or Ouarzazate, a night in the Dades valley and a night in our camp, and you have a whole afternoon in Merzouga to discover the desert around the dunes before the camel ride.
This is the itinerary we recommend most to families and first-time visitors: the driving days are shorter, there is time to walk in the gorges and the kasbahs, and in Merzouga you can add a quad, buggy or sandboard session before going to the camp.
Highlights
Night in a kasbah in Ait Ben Haddou
Walks in the Dades and Todra gorges
Afternoon with nomads and Gnawa music
Sunset camel ride and night in our camp
Shorter driving days
Day by day
Day 1
Marrakech – High Atlas – Ait Ben Haddou
Departure from Marrakech in the morning towards the High Atlas. Without any hurry, we stop in the Berber villages along the road, at an argan oil cooperative run by women and at the viewpoints of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, the highest road pass in Morocco. In the early afternoon we descend to the valley of the Ounila river and, instead of the main road, we can take the old caravan route through the kasbah of Telouet, the palace of the Glaoui family who ruled the south of Morocco a century ago, with its painted ceilings and carved wood. We arrive at Ait Ben Haddou in time for a calm visit of the ksar in the golden afternoon light, when the earth walls glow red and the tourists of the day have left. Dinner and night in a kasbah hotel facing the village.
Day 2
Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Skoura – Valley of Roses – Dades gorge
A gentle day of kasbahs and palm groves. We pass through Ouarzazate, where you can visit the kasbah of Taourirt or the film studios, and continue to Skoura, an oasis where dozens of earth kasbahs stand among the palms; the kasbah of Amridil, the most beautiful, is still lived in by the same family and can be visited inside. We follow the 'road of the thousand kasbahs' to Kalaat M'Gouna, the town of the Valley of Roses, famous for its rose water and its festival in May. In the afternoon we enter the Dades gorge, with its red cliffs and the famous zigzag road climbing the mountain. Your driver can leave you for a walk among the fields and the 'monkey fingers' rocks before dinner at a guesthouse by the river.
Day 3
Dades – Todra gorge – Rissani – Merzouga, camel ride and night in our camp
In the morning we drive to Tinghir and walk into the Todra gorge, where the canyon narrows to just a few metres between walls of rock 300 metres high. We continue across the desert plateaus to Rissani, the ancient capital of the Tafilalet, for a walk in its market and a look at the ruins of Sijilmassa, then reach Merzouga at the beginning of the afternoon. After a rest at our base, you discover the surroundings of the dunes: a visit to a nomad family in the black desert, who offer tea in their tent, and to the village of Khamlia to listen to Gnawa music. If you prefer, you can replace this with a quad, buggy or sandboard session. Before sunset you ride a camel into Erg Chebbi to our camp, where dinner, music by the fire and a night under the stars are waiting.
Day 4
Sunrise – Alnif – Draa valley – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
The last morning in the Sahara begins with the sunrise from the top of a dune, the silence of the desert and the first light painting the sand. After breakfast in the camp you ride back to Merzouga, where you can take a shower before leaving. We drive back west through the mining town of Alnif, known for its trilobite fossils, and the volcanic mountains of the Jebel Saghro, to the town of Agdz in the Draa valley, the longest river in Morocco, lined by a green ribbon of palm trees and old earth villages. After lunch in Ouarzazate we climb the High Atlas once more and descend towards Marrakech, arriving in the evening at your riad or hotel with the memory of the dunes still in your eyes.
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.
