4 days Marrakesh Sahara Tour

Your 4 days Marrakesh Sahara "Winding Roads & Camel Tracks" Tour starts when we pick you up from your hotel/riad in Marrakesh after an early breakfast. We’ll travel the winding roads into the High Atlas Mountains, crossing over Morocco’s highest road pass – the Tizi-n-Tichka pass at 2260m. We’ll stop at the top of the pass for refreshment and to take pictures of the stunning views.

We’ll then drive to Ait Ben Haddou, the oldest Kasbah in the south of Morocco, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the village was originally built in the 17th century, people still live and work there today. Homes are built right into the rock or with mud bricks, which are made locally using the same methods as in ancient times. Ait Ben Haddou has been used in many films, including The Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven.

After lunch in the village, you’ll have time to explore the Kasbah. It’s a gentle climb through winding streets to the top, where you can see in all directions.

Our next stop is the village of Skoura, where we’ll visit the picturesque Kasbah Amridil. The 17th century fortified village (ksar) along the river is mostly in ruins now, but the Kasbah (fortified mansion) on the south end was built in the late 19th century and is considered one of the most impressive kasbahs in Morocco. It is still owned and maintained by the same family today.

Leaving Skoura, we’ll travel through the winding Dades Valley to our next destination – Kalaat M’Gouna (“Valley of the Roses”). This lush valley is Morocco’s rose-growing hub. Every year, millions of rose petals are harvested to produce a wide variety of rose-infused products for culinary and cosmetic use. The harvest culminates in May with the annual Rose Festival – worth attending if you can arrange your visit around this popular festival. We'll make a stop here so that you can see, smell, and, if you wish, purchase some products made from local roses.

Later in the afternoon, we’ll detour to reach the impressive Dades Gorge and the nearby rock formation known as “Monkey Toes”. You’ll have dinner & stay the night in a Berber guesthouse overlooking the gorge.

The next morning you’ll have time for a walk along Dades Gorge before we start our drive to towards the Sahara Desert.

We’ll head to the town of Tinghir, a lush green oasis full of palm trees and farmers’ crops, and visit the nearby Todra Gorge. Steep rock walls 300 metres high make this a popular rock-climbing spot, while the narrow river makes this a popular picnic destination for Moroccan families. We’ll stop here and you’ll have a chance to walk along the river.

Afterwards, we’ll head to the town of Rissani for lunch and a visit to the local souk (market). The jumble of covered stalls contain just about everything. This is where local people buy food, clothing, household items – even livestock! On Tuesdays, the travelling market arrives, and people flock from nearby villages to shop.

From Rissani it’s not far to the Merzouga region of the Sahara Desert. We’ll leave the paved highway to travel off-road across flat rocky desert towards the magnificent sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. Erg Chebbi has the highest dunes in North Africa, and the sight of them rising suddenly out of the desert floor never fails to impress!

Arriving at the desert hotel in the afternoon, your camels will be waiting for you. You’ll leave civilization behind and camel-trek into the high dunes, watching the sands change colour as the sun moves across the sky. You’ll have time to explore, take pictures, and watch the sunset before camel-trekking back out of the big dunes.

After reaching the desert camp nestled among smaller dunes, you’ll enjoy a traditional Moroccan meal, followed by African music – drumming and singing and dancing – around a campfire. You’ll spend the night in tents surrounded by nothing but sand and sky.

On Day 3 of your 4-day desert tour from Marrakesh, we’ll leave the big dunes behind and drive through the lush, green Dra’a Valley Oasis – the longest valley in Morocco. We’ll pass through numerous villages, including Tazzarine, which was featured in the film “Babel”, starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchette.

Following the winding road back into the High Atlas Mountains, we’ll stop for lunch in N’Qob, and you can enjoy the stunning mountain views while you eat.

After lunch, we’ll cross the Dra’a River to Tansikht, where we’ll go off-road to follow the ancient caravan route through the palm-filled valley.

We’ll end the day inAgdz, where we’ll have dinner and spend the night.

In the morning of Day 4, we’ll drive a short way to Ouarzazate, known as the "Hollywood of Morocco" due to its thriving film industry. Ouarzazate is home to several film studios, both Moroccan and international. The surrounding barren landscape is a popular on-location site and has been used to portray everything from the Egyptian desert to the surface of Mars.

After touring a Moroccan film studio, we’ll wind our way back into the High Atlas Mountains. Just before reaching the top, we’ll take a side road to visit the ruins of Telouet Kasbah (Palace of Glaoui) in the Berber village of Telouet. Then we’ll once again cross over the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and descend towards Marrakesh.

We’ll reach Marrakesh in the evening and drop you off at your hotel/riad. This brings your 4 days Marrakesh Sahara "Winding Roads & Camel Tracks" Tour to a close.