3 days desert getaway
from marrakech

welcome to Morocco

This morning, meet your driver riding east into the desert, reaching the High Atlas mountains. Try to identify Mount Toubkal, the tallest peak at 4,167 meters. You’ll travel through numerous Berber settlements with characteristic mud-brick structures along the route. then visit the local Argan Oil Cooperative to learn how the local women collect this valuable oil, before continuing on the twisting route to the Tizi n’Tichka pass and stopping to take in the panoramic panorama. Stop for lunch in Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, which is a UNESCO heritage site. After lunchtime, you have time to visit Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou. Continue east to Ouarzazate, a desert center and movie destination. Join a movie studio tour to learn which of your favorite films were shot in the adjacent desert regions. Travel in the Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs towards Boumalne Dades, passing through several small communities where traditional farming practices are still practiced. Keep an eye out for nomads caring for their livestock as you go through the fragrant Kelâat M’Gouna, or “Valley of the Roses.” You’ll finally arrive in Boumalne Dades.

Sahara Today, you’ll travel further east to your final destination: the Erg Chebbi Sand Sea outside of Merzouga. Stop in Tinghir along the way to view the river oasis that spreads on both sides of the town. The surrounding desert scenery has spectacular buttes, mesas, and plateaus. Nearby, you may visit the Todra Gorge, a 300-meter-deep valley created by the Todra River. Continue to Erfoud, a desert village. 

You’ll notice the beginnings of the huge dunes of Erg Chebbi towering on the horizon. When you arrive at Merzouga, change gears and transfer to your personal camel to begin your journey across the sand dunes to your Bedouin-style tent. Hike to the top of a local dune to watch the beautiful sun set, then relax by the fire with a warm supper and traditional music.

Watch the dawn before renting a sandboard to put your talents to the test. Leave the dunes and travel to the west to enter Rissani through a spectacular gate. Rissani, a market town, has a cattle auction and a “donkey parking lot,” a sight worth hearing and experiencing. Pass through the acacia woodlands, which have umbrella-shaped trees, and the stone desert to reach Alnif, where you will take a road that crosses the Anti Atlas mountain range, passing by Tizi N’tfarkhin. You will continue your way through the city of Tinghir and the Dades Valley. We will arrive at Klaat M’Gouna at noon, where you will stop to eat and rest before resuming the road to Marrakech via Ouarzazate and the High Atlas mountains. We will be back at your hotel in Marrakech. The 3-day Desert Tour ends.