Marrakech Sahara Desert Trip

Four days from Marrakech to the Sahara and back: the High Atlas Mountains, the Dades Valley and Todra Gorge, a full day exploring the Erg Chebbi dunes by 4×4, and a night in a luxury desert camp.

Day 1: Marrakech – Ouarzazate – Dades Valley

We pick you up at your riad or hotel in Marrakech at 8:00 am and cross the High Atlas Mountains over the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m), passing colourful Berber villages and dramatic mountain scenery.

In Ouarzazate you visit the historic Taourirt Kasbah and stop for lunch. We then continue southeast through the Skoura palm grove and the Valley of Roses to the Dades Valley, where you spend the night in a hotel with dinner and breakfast.

Day 2: Dades Valley – Todra Gorge – Merzouga

We leave at 8:00 am along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge, where you can walk between canyon walls up to 300 m high. After lunch on the way, we drive on until the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon. Overnight in a comfortable hotel in Merzouga.

Day 3: 4×4 Desert Safari – Nomads – Black Desert – Gnawa Music

Today is for exploring around the Erg Chebbi dunes. We visit the small villages of Merdani, Khamlia and M’fis, keeping an eye out for desert wildlife. In Khamlia you are welcomed with mint tea – the famous “Berber whisky” – and a performance of Gnawa music, a spiritual tradition brought to Morocco from West Africa.

We head towards the Algerian border for a picnic lunch among the golden dunes, visit a nomad family to see how they live in the desert, and explore the black volcanic rocks of the “black desert”.

In the late afternoon you ride a camel into the dunes to watch the sunset and spend the night in a luxury desert camp in a tent with its own bathroom.

Day 4: Merzouga – Ouarzazate – Aït Ben Haddou – Marrakech

After sunrise over the dunes and breakfast, we drive back west. In Ouarzazate you can visit the Atlas Film Studios, known as the “Hollywood of Africa”, then explore Aït Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed kasbah seen in Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Game of Thrones.

We cross the Tizi n’Tichka pass again, with a lunch stop in the mountains, and drop you at your riad or hotel in Marrakech in the early evening.