The great South

Morning departure from your hotel in Ouarzazate to the Dades gorges and Todra gorges, passing the oasis of Skoura where we stop to visit the kasbah of Amridil. Afterwards, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna and the valley of the roses where we stop for a coffee break. From here, we drive off-road along the road of a thousand kasbahs to the Dades gorges for lunch in a guest house. In the afternoon, there is time for a walk alongside the Dades valley. We reach the Todra gorges by the end of the afternoon, dinner and night in a hotel.

After breakfast, we drive from the Todra gorges to Zagora along the Tizi-n-Tazzazert pass (2283 m) in the Saghro mountain range. We reach N’kob by the lunch time. In the afternoon, continuing south along the Draa valley and the ancient road of caravans till we reach the city of Zagora. Dinner and night in a riad.

After breakfast, we drive from Zagora to Erg Chegaga passing by Tamegroute for a visit to the potteries. They are famous throughout Morocco for the green glaze. Tamegroute has a small medina of covered desert streets and an ancient Quranic library which exquisite hand-written Arabic texts. Afterwards, the route continues south to M’hamid where we stop for lunch in a nice hotel with swimming pool. In the afternoon, we make our way across another 68km through the varying features of the Sahara desert; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oases, to the dunes of Chegaga (300m high and 45km long, are the largest in Morocco. These dunes afford a wonderful view of the setting sun) which we reach by the afternooon to take a camel ride or a walk and enjoy an unforgettable sunset from the summit of Erg Chegaga (300m). The night will be spent in a comfortable desert camp which is also the venue for dinner.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise. After breakfast, the road takes us from Erg Chegaga to Agdez and the Draa valley through another 100km of driving along the Sahara desert with varying scenery; dunes, stony desert, Iriqui lake, mountains and fossils. Lunch will be in Foum Zguid. In the afternoon, the return to the Draa valley takes us through Taznakht. We reach Agdez by the end of the afternoon, dinner and the night in a riad.

After breakfast, we visit the kasbah of Tamnougalt. Afterwards, we drive from Agdez to Ouarzazate via the Anti-Atlas and the mountain pass of Tizi-n-Tinfifte (1660m). Once in Ouarzazate, an unpaved track to the oasis of Fint, nestling among the mountains, which once served as the crossroads of caravans, provides a hidden delight. After lunch, we visit the famous kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou. The return to your hotel in  Ouarzazate will complete the trip at the end of the afternoon.