A five-day private tour from Fes to the great dunes of the Sahara, crossing the Middle Atlas and following the palm-lined Ziz Valley south.
Tour highlights
- Ifrane and the Middle Atlas cedar forests
- The Ziz Valley oases
- Merzouga and Erg Chebbi
- Overnight desert camp
- Todra Gorge and the Valley of the Roses
- Finishes in Marrakech
Itinerary
Day 1 — Fes to Merzouga
We leave Fes about 8am and climb into the Middle Atlas, through the cedar forests and the alpine-looking town of Ifrane, then Azrou, known for its cedar-wood craft. After lunch in Midelt we cross the Zad pass (2,178 m) and follow the Ziz Valley south, its gorges and palm groves opening the way to the desert. We reach Merzouga in the evening and stay at a hotel on the edge of the dunes.
Day 2 — Around Erg Chebbi and a night at camp
The morning is for the country around the dunes: the springs and oases of Merzouga, the village of Khamlia with its Gnawa music, the old Mfis mines, and the tents of the nomad families who still graze their flocks here. We return to the hotel in the afternoon, then ride out by camel to watch the sun set from the crest of the dunes and spend the night at a camp in the sand.
Day 3 — Merzouga to the Dades Valley
We wake for sunrise, ride back to the village and have breakfast before setting off through Erfoud and its fossil workshops. We stop for lunch and a walk in the Todra Gorge, where a stream still runs between the cliffs, and end the day at a hotel in Boumalne Dades.
Day 4 — Dades Valley, the Roses and Skoura
Driving up the Dades Valley we reach the old Kasbah Ait Youl, then follow the Valley of the Roses and the "road of a thousand kasbahs". After lunch near Kelaat M'Gouna we visit the Skoura oasis and the Kasbah Amerhidil before stopping for the night in Ouarzazate.
Day 5 — Ouarzazate to Marrakech
We visit the Taourirt Kasbah, Tifoultout and the film studios, then the great kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou. In the afternoon we cross the Tizi n'Tichka pass into the High Atlas and come down to Marrakech in the evening, where the tour ends.
What's included
- Private, air-conditioned transport for the whole route, with a professional driver
- Licensed local guides for the city visits
- Accommodation in riads, hotels or a desert camp, as described in the itinerary
- Daily breakfast
- The camel trek in the Sahara
- Airport transfers
What's not included
- International flights
- Travel insurance
- Most lunches and dinners
- Entrance fees to monuments and sites
- Tips for your driver and guides
