Desert Experience

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Erg Chebbi > Agdez > Marrakech

5 days/4 nights

Day 1: Marrakesh – Ouarzazate

Morning departure from your hotel/riad in Marrakesh at 8 o'clock and driving across the High Atlas mountains. At panoramic viewpoints, there will opportunities to stop and take photos. The first scheduled stop is at the Kasbah of Telouet, which served as a palatial residence and the headquarters of the powerful Glaoui tribe. Then the route crosses the Oumila Valley and leads to the Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, the oldest and most famous Kasbah in Morocco and a UNESCO World Heritage site where we have lunch. After visiting the Kasbah, you continue to see another famous one of the area, Kasbah Tifoultoute. In Ouarzazate you spend the night in a riad.

Day 2: Ouarzazate – Toudgha Gorges

Morning departure to the Dades Gorge, passing the Oasis of Skoura, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins apartment, stand amongst the palm trees. From here, our route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, where we stop to see the cosmetic articles locally-made from the valley’s abundant roses. These products are well-known throughout Morocco and are highly valued. From here, you take an off-road route to have a better impression of the landscape. You stop in the Dades gorge for lunch. The trip continues a short distance to Tinghir and the very different Toudgha gorges, where you spend the night in a hotel or Kasbah.

Day 3: Toudgha gorges – Merzouga

After breakfast, there is time to walk by the river. Lunch will either be here in the gorges or later at the bivouac at the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Ziz Valley, the Oasis of Tafilalet, Erfoud and Rissani. In the afternoon you can take a two-hour camel ride in the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m) and afterwards there is dinner and the night in a nomad tent at the foot of the dunes.

Day 4: Merzouga – Agdez

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. The itinerary continues to the Dra’a Valley via the village of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’), and on the N’Qob for lunch. In the afternoon the journey takes us to Tanasikht, to drive along the ancient caravan route to discover the real Dra’a 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.

Day 5: Agdez – Marrakesh

After breakfast there will be a visit to the Kasbah itself before returning to Ouarzazate, via the mountain pass of Tizi-n-Tinfifte (1660m). Once in Ouarzazate, we visit the Kasbah of Taourirt, originally the residence of the Pasha of Marrakech and a symbol of the feudal period of the lords of Atlas. Afterwards, an unpaved track to the Fint Oasis nestling among the mountains, which once served as the crossroads of caravans, provides a hidden delight. The return to Marrakech will complete the trip at the end of the afternoon.