Marrakech to Agadir

Morning departure at 8am from your hotel in Marrakech 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 where lunch will be served (Ait Ben Haddou is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is also well-known as being the backdrop to many Hollywood blockbusters). In the afternoon, a visit to the oasis of Fint is scheduled, before continuing to Ouarzazate for the night in a riad.

After breakfast, departure from Ouarzazate to the Dades gorges, passing the oasis of Skoura, where we stop to visit the kasbah of Amridil. Our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the valley of roses. From here, 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 river before continuing to the Todra gorges for the night in a riad.

After breakfast, there is time for a leisurely walk in the Tinghir palm grove, before driving to the dunes of Merzouga via the Ziz valley and the oasis of Tafilalet, stopping in Erfoud for lunch. Having arrived in Merzouga, in the course of the afternoon there is time to take a walk and ascend the Erg Chebbi dunes so as to watch the sunset from the summit (250m). After sunset, the night will be spent in a luxury desert camp, which is also the venue for dinner.

In the morning, a three-hour camel ride across the great sand dunes and through the stony Sahara, is scheduled, stopping to prepare lunch among the dunes. In the afternoon, a camel ride for another three hours is programmed to reach the high dunes (Erg Chebbi). From here, at 250m, the sunset is a spectacular sight. Dinner and the night are in a luxury desert camp.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. After breakfast, the itinerary continues from Merzouga to the Dra’a valley via the villages of Rissani, Alnif, Tazzarine and N’Qob where we stop to have lunch. In the afternoon, the journey takes us to Tanasikht from where we drive along the ancient caravan route to discover the Dra’a valley, with its huge palm trees and ancient villages. At the end of the afternoon, Agdez offers dinner and a night’s rest.

After breakfast, we drive north from Agdez to Taznakht, famous for its Berber gelims and carpets. We continue to Agadir crossing the Tizi-n-Ikhsane and Tizi-n-Tighatine passes. We stop to have lunch in Taliouine (the heart of the saffron growing area of Morocco). In the afternoon, the road takes us on to Taroudant and then to Agadir which we reach by the end of the afternoon.