8 Days tour Marrakech to the Sahara Desert

Day 1: Airport – Marrakech:

Pick up at the airport of Marrakech and transfer to riad. Possibility of having a first contact with the famous Jemaa el Fna square, where you could enjoy its agreeable atmosphere among its storytellers, music, dance as well as tasting the food in the many stalls. Overnight in riad.

Day 2: Marrakech:

Breakfast and free day to visit the most important places in Marrakech, city which is famous due to its Jemaa el Fna square, in which you may spend most of your time: a memorable amalgam of scents, sounds and feelings. Besides, the city is composed of an endless number of places to walk around and enjoy: the Majorelle Gardens, the Menara, the Saadian Tombs, the pathway around the Medina or the Mellah—ancient Jewish quarter—the walk on the walls and the modern city (Gueliz) with its occidental style of life. Lodging in a riad near the square to make it easier for you walking there through the Medina.

Day 3: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Skoura – Dades Valley:

Pick up in hotel after breakfast and beginning of our route. Departure from Marrakech via the Tizi n’Tichka pass through the Atlas Mountains along which we’ll have some stopovers to enjoy the amazing views which this journey offer us. Optional visit to a small cooperative of women who process argan oil so as to allow you to see how this valued product is obtained, in addition to all the range of culinary as well as beauty products which it provides. We’ll keep on our journey towards Ouarzazate to visit the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, proclaimed a World Heritage Site. You’ll have spare time to wander around its streets and ascend to the top, from where you could watch the stunning views over the valley. In Ouarzazate you’ll be able to visit the cinematographic studios where many famous Hollywood films have been shot. Following, we’ll meet the town of Skoura, located in the heart of the Palms Valley. You could go for a walk around the vast and entangled oasis, whose exuberant vegetation covers splendid hidden kasbahs. You could also visit the kasbah of Amridil. From here, we’ll go on through the Valley of the Roses (famous by their seeding) towards the stunning Dades Gorges. Dinner and overnight in a gorgeous hotel on the mountain next to the river Dades.

Day 4: Dades Valley – Todra Gorges – Erfoud – Merzouga:

After breakfast, we’ll keep on moving through the edge of Boulmane Dades, which ends up in a road sprinkled with kasbahs (fortresses or castles) and ksour (citadels), whose landscape is ochre, red and mauve coloured. Around us, we’ll see rocky mesetas where dromedaries graze. Following this journey full of ksours, oasis and palms, we’ll arrive at Tineghir (where we’ll meet the astounding Todra Gorges) perched over a height of 1,350 m and surrounded by a palm grove.  Spare time to walk around the gorges. We’ll go on towards Erfoud (the city of fossils,) where we’ll see the quarries from where they are removed and observe how they are shaped and processed to be adapted to a wide range of uses.  Later, we’ll go through Rissani and, finally, we’ll arrive at Merzouga, opposite the high dunes of Erg Chebbi. In the evening, the dromedaries will be waiting for us to carry us into the desert during the sunset, until we arrive at the campsite in the middle of the desert of high dunes, where we’ll spend the night in bivouac. Dinner and overnight in bivouac below the stars.

Day 5: Merzouga – Khamlia – visit to the nomads – Rissani – Erg Chebbi desert:

In the morning, you could rise early to climb up the dune and look up the sunrise in the desert. Later, we’ll return on camel to the hotel to have breakfast and have a restful shower and relax, if you wish. Visit to Khamlia, a town from Mali, where we’ll have the chance to relax having some tea while listening to a little concert of gnawa music. Afterwards, we’ll depart to surround the dunes of Erg Chebbi by 4×4 around a stretch of the desert where the Great Dune of Morocco of over 250 m of height is located. We’ll connect with part of the former Paris-Dakar route with the edge mountains of Argelia on the horizon. Visit to the Khol mines and the remains of a forsaken French and Berber settlement, and stopover in a panoramic point from where it is possible to contemplate the whole Erg Chebbi. We’ll continue until a nomad settlement where we’ll be shown some of the secrets of their life as well as customs. We’ll go towards Rissani, the first imperial city, where we’ll have a look at its original market, the largest in the south, to which nomads and the nearest inhabitants go to trade. If you wish, you can taste the delicious Berber pizza (only cooked here.) Return to the hotel in the evening and free time to wander around the dunes and relax. Overnight in hotel near the dunes.

Day 6: Merzouga – Rissani – Alnif – Tazarine – Draa Valley – Agdz – Ouarzazate:

After breakfast, we’ll set off on our route to Ouarzazate. We’ll start from the large Tafilalet palm grove crossing the city of Rissani. We’ll go on towards Ouarzazate through the Draa Valley, the Berber town of Agdz and the Ait Saoun pass—with a height of 1,660 m. Arrival at Ouarzazate. Dinner and lodging in hotel.

Day 7: Ouarzazate – Marrakech

After breakfast, we’ll visit he Kasbah of Taourirt and return to Marrakech through the new High Atlas Mountains and its amazing natural scenery. Transfer to hotel.

Day 8: Marrakech – Airport:

At the agreed hour, transfer from your hotel to Marrakech Menara airport to catch your return flight. End of our services.