Four days from Fes to the Sahara and back, with the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas, the oases of the Ziz Valley, and a night among the dunes of Erg Chebbi.
Tour highlights
- Ifrane and Middle Atlas
- Ziz Valley
- Camel trek at Merzouga
- Overnight desert camp
- Todra Gorge and Ait Ben Haddou
Itinerary
Day 1 — Fes to Merzouga
We leave Fes and head for the Middle Atlas, stopping at Ifrane — often called the Switzerland of Morocco — and the cedar forest near Azrou, home to troops of Barbary macaques. Crossing the mountains we join the Ziz Valley and follow its gorges and palm groves south to Erfoud, the "capital of fossils", and on to a small guesthouse near the dunes at Merzouga.
Day 2 — The Erg Chebbi dunes
After breakfast there is time to take in the desert and its stillness. We visit Khamlia, where the Gnawa musicians play and sing, and in the afternoon ride camels out among the dunes, reaching a nomad camp for dinner and a night under canvas.
Day 3 — Merzouga to Ouarzazate
We climb a dune for sunrise, then ride back for breakfast. The road west runs through the souk at Rissani, the largest in the Moroccan south, then the Todra Gorge, the Dades Valley, the Valley of the Roses and the Skoura oasis, before we stop for the night in Ouarzazate.
Day 4 — Ouarzazate to Marrakech
This morning we visit the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a favourite film location. We then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, past Berber villages and hillside farms, arriving in Marrakech in the afternoon.
