Great discovery

Transfer from the airport of Marrakesh to the hotel for having dinner and spending the night.

Morning departure from Marrakesh to Ouarzazate, crossing the High Atlas mountains and the pass of Tizi-n-Tichka (2260m). At panoramic viewpoints, there will opportunities to stop and take photos. Later there is a stop to visit the kasbah of Telouet, which once served as a palatial residence and as the headquarters of the powerful Glaoui tribe. A side road crossing the Ounila valley leads to the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou (one of the oldest and most well-known of Morocco’s Kasbahs. In 1987 this Kasbah became one of the several UNESCO World Heritage sites in Morocco) where lunch will be served. In the afternoon, a visit to the Kasbah itself is scheduled, before continuing to Ouarzazate for the night in a hotel.

Morning departure from Ouarzazate to the Dades gorges and Todra gorges, passing the oasis of Skoura, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the valley of the roses, where we stop for a coffee. Later, we drive off-road along the road of a thousand kasbahs to the Dades gorges for lunch. If anyone would like to, it can gladly be arranged to share lunch with a berber family. After lunch, there is time for a walk alongside the Boumalne Dades river before continuing to the Todra gorges for the night in a hotel.

After breakfast there is time for a leisurely walk in Todra gorges and in the Tinghir palm grove, before driving by the 4×4 to the dunes of Merzouga via the Ziz valley and the oasis of Tafilalet, stopping in Erfoud on the way for lunch. Having arrived in Merzouga, in the course of the afternoon there is time to take a camel trek for a couple of hours and ascend the Erg Chebbi dunes to watch the sunset from the summit (250m). After sunset, the night will be spent in a nomad tent, which is also the venue for dinner.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise. The return to the hotel in Merzouga for having a shower is on camel back and, after having breakfast, the itinerary continues to the Draa valley via the villages of Rissani, Alnif, Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’) and N’Qob where we stop for lunch. In the afternoon, the journey takes us to Tanasikht from where we drive along the ancient caravan route to discover the Draa valley, with its huge palm trees and ancient villages. At the end of the afternoon, the kasbah of Tamnougalte offers dinner and a night’s rest.

Departure in the morning from Agdez through the Dra’a valley along the track of the ancient caravan route to Zagora. From here the trip continues along paved roads to the village of M’hamid, which marks the end of the paved road and the beginning of the Sahara. Here we pause for lunch. In the afternoon, we leave for the dunes of Chagaga (300m) with 65km of off-road driving. This route passes different features of the desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oases. By the afternoon, we have arrived to Erg Chagaga, there is time for taking a walk to watch the sunset from the summit (300m). After sunset, the night will be spent in a nomad tent, which is also the venue for dinner.

After breakfast, the road crosses another 100km of off-road driving in the Moroccan sahara desert, passing the Iriqui lake and the mountains as well as fossils, for enthusiasts. The first village beyond the desert, Foum Zguid, is the place for lunch. In the afternoon, we travel north to Ouarzazate past hills and oases of palm trees until we reach Taznakht, a small Berber town famous for its rugs and gelims. We reach Ouarzazate by the end of the afternoon for the night in a hotel.

After breakfast, we visit the famous kasbah of Taourirt (originally the residence of the Pasha of Marrakech and a symbol of the feudal period of the Lords of the Atlas) and the Atlas Film Studios. Afterwards, an unpaved track to the oasis of Fint nestling among the mountains, which once served as the crossroads of caravans, provides a hidden delight. We then take the road back to Marrakech over the High Atlas. Alternatively lunch will be in the mountains. We reach Marrakesh by the end of the afternoon, dinner and night in a hotel.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport of Marrakesh.