Day 1 : Marrakech – Ait ben haddou – Dades valley (370km)
Our driver will pick you up at 08:00 am from your hotel or the closest accessible point for the car, and you will start your 3 days desert tour from Marrakech to Fes heading to the Dades Gorges across the Tizi-n-Tichka pass of the high Atlas Mountains with an altitude of 2260m, with far-reaching views across the mountains, to the traditional High Atlas Berber villages. Then you continue to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ait benhaddou, a site used by many film makers as a backdrop for their works, such as the “Gladiator”, “Lawrence of Arabia” and some shots of the famous TV series “Game of Thrones”. We will have lunch at one of the restaurants at the foothills of the Kasbahs. After lunch we will drive to Ouarzazate with option to visit the Atlas Studios and Taourirt Kasbah there, and then we continue to Dades gorges through the vast palm-groves of Skoura and the rose valley stretching along the M’Goun river (the rose of Damascena was brought to Morocco centuries ago by a berber merchant from Damascus, hence the name, they blossom between April and mid-May). Taking a detour form the main road, we will drive up the valley of Dades to reach our hotel with a couple of stops to enjoy the beautiful views of the valley and a bizarre rock formation called “The monkey feet”. We will spend the night in our hotel in Dades.
Day 2 : Dades Gorge –toudra Gorges – camel ride in the desert (280km)
After breakfast, we will drive from Dades gorges to Erg chebbi Sahara desert at Merzouga. Taking another small detour from the main road, we will head up the Todra gorges for a while to reach the immense cliffs, where you can enjoy a short walk to fully take in the beauty of the place before continuing our drive south. Berber villages are scattered along the way, Tinjdad, Jorf and Erfoud in which you can feel the beginning of the Saharan oasis of Tafilalet and its immense arid plateaus, Once you arrive to Merzouga, a small off-road takes you to the edge of the golden dunes where camels are waiting for you, the luggage will be loaded in an 4×4 car and transported to the camp, and you can enjoy a beautiful camel ride over the sand dunes and watch a majestic desert sunset on your way to the camp. After reaching your destination, you will be greeted with tea and smiles. You will be shown to your beautiful comfortable private tents equipped with ensuite bathrooms and showers to relax and settle before dinner time. After a delicious meal, fire will be lit and a festive ambiance takes over with musical plays by the staff and cameleers under the starry night of the desert !
Day 3 : Merzouga – ziz valley – Azrou – Ifrane – Fes (460km)
An early morning wake up to enjoy the sunrise over the dunes, possibly the best moment of Merzouga desert, followed by a typical breakfast in the bivouac of Merzouga, then you will ride back the camels, to meet you driver and travel from Merzouga dunes to Fes via the beautiful Ziz valley, Errachida and Midelt. Lunch on the way and short break to watch the monkeys in cedar forests of the middle Atlas close to Azrou city at “Gourrou forests”. You will continue to Fes, where your tour from Marrakech to Fes ends.
Included
- 3 days / 2 nights excursion from Marrakech to the desert of Merzouga
- Transportation in comfortable 4×4/mini van with air conditioning and / or heating
- Driver English/Spanish speaking
- Half board: 2 breakfasts and 2 dinners, 1 night in a hotel in Ouarzazate/dades valley, 1 night in desert camp ( Luxury or Standard).
- Camel ridein the Desert.
Not included
- Lunches and drinks.
- Entrances to the monuments
- Tips
