Saharatocht – via de Merzougawoestijn – van Marrakech naar Fes – 3 dagen

Your budget shared 3 days desert trip from Marrakech to Merzouga will start early in the morning with a drive east of Marrakech past small suburban towns to the High Atlas Mountains. A few stops will be made to take photos, enjoy the scenery, stretch your legs and drink a cup of coffee.

Drive uphill on curvy roads to the famous Tizi Ntichka pass before you reach Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, the first major stop today for sighseeing. The Berber fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou is a UNESCO listed landmark and is also known a set for major Hollywood epics, just to name a few movies that used the village for shooting: Kingdom of Heaven, Lawrence of Arabia, and Gladiator. Cross the river separating the Kasbah from the main road and explore the village at leisure. Should you wish to hire a local guide, they are available onsite.

After lunch at leisure at one of the local cafes, continue to to Dades  driving past Ouarzazate, Skoura Oasis, Klaa Mgouna, the capital of the valley of the roses, and famous for its rose water artisanal distillation factories.

Reach your hotel late in the afternoon. Relax with dinner in Dades or Tinghir before retiring for the night.

Dinner and overnight at your hotel.

After breakfast, depart for the Erg Chebbi Sahara Desert in Merzouga. Vsite Tighir, where we will deviate to a minor road driving along the river to Todgha where you will stop for a walk in the oasis under the shade of palm trees and continue to Todgha Gorges.

After some time at leisure to enjoy the immensity of the huge cliffs, and lunch at a local café ( At leisure ), we continue early in the afternoon to to Errfoud, famous for its dates market, and being a starting point of the ancient trading caravans crossing the Sahara desert to Tomboctou.

After a quick stop, we will continue to Merzouga driving through some rocky desert landscape.

Meet our camel caravan, and ride your camels through the amazing color-changing sand dunes with the sunset in the horizon as a backdrop. We reach our Sahara desert camp before darkness.

After some time to admire the sand dunes and the surrounding landscapes, get ready for a Moroccan dinner served under the stars next to the campfire. Late at night, you local nomad hosts will be entertaining you with their drums.

After an early wake up to enjoy an amazing sunrise camel trek over the dunes of Erg Chebbi . 

Meet your driver / guide and depart on a scenic drive to Fes crossing the Ziz Vlley through Errachidia which is the capital of Tafilalt region.

We carry on our journey to Midelt where we will have lunch at leisure before we keep driving across the Middle Atlas Mountians with its Cedar Forests and Berber towns of Imouzzar and Ifran, which are both famous as winter ski resorts for Moroccans.

Your driver might spot some Barbary apes on the way and seize the opportunity to take some pictures.

We arrive at Fes late in the afternoon.