4 Days Marrakech Desert Tour to Fez

Cross Morocco from Marrakech to Fez by way of the Sahara. In four days you see Aït Ben Haddou, the Valley of Roses, the Dades and Todra gorges, the Erg Chebbi dunes at Merzouga – with a night in a desert camp – and the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas.

Day 1: Marrakech – Aït Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Dades Gorge

We leave Marrakech and head south over the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), with wide mountain views and Berber villages along the way. We stop for lunch at a traditional restaurant and visit Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that has been the backdrop for more than 20 films.

We continue through Ouarzazate, the gateway to southern Morocco, and the Skoura oasis with its huge palm groves, to the Valley of Roses around Kelaa M’Gouna. Roses are an important income for local families here, and every May the town celebrates its Rose Festival with music, dancing and a colourful parade. We arrive at the Dades Gorge for dinner and a night in a hotel.

Day 2: Dades Gorge – Todra Gorge – Merzouga

After breakfast we drive to the Todra Gorge, a narrow canyon with walls up to 300 m high, surrounded by palm groves and Berber villages. After lunch in the gorge we continue to Merzouga, on the edge of the great Erg Chebbi dunes. Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Merzouga.

Day 3: Merzouga Villages – Gnawa Music – Camel Ride

After a relaxed breakfast and a walk in the Merzouga oasis, we drive to Khamlia. The families of this village descend from people brought across the Sahara from West Africa, and they keep the Gnawa music tradition alive. You share mint tea with them and listen to a performance.

We continue to Mifis, south-east of the dunes, near the old mines where many local people once worked, and to the village of Merdani to meet Berber families, before returning to Merzouga.

In the afternoon you ride a camel into the dunes to enjoy the silence of the desert and watch the sunset. The evening is spent with dinner and Berber music under a sky full of stars, and the night in a desert camp.

Day 4: Merzouga – Rissani – Ziz Valley – Ifrane – Fez

After breakfast in the desert we drive to Rissani to visit its traditional Berber market and the ruins of Sijilmassa, the old caravan city. We then follow the Ziz Valley north through Errachidia, with a lunch stop on the way, to the cedar forests near Azrou, home to Barbary macaques, and Ifrane, often called the “Switzerland of Morocco”. We drop you at your riad or hotel in Fez in the evening.

Included

• Private transport in a 4×4 or minibus with air conditioning
• Driver-guide and fuel
• 2 hotel nights with dinner and breakfast
• 1 night in a desert camp, tent with private shower and toilet
• Camel ride
• Berber pizza lunch in the desert

Not included

• Flights
• Other lunches
• Drinks