3 Days Merzouga desert tour from Marrakech to Fes

Day 1: Marrakech – Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou – Boumalne Dades

Your desert excursion from Marrakech to Fez will depart from your hotel or riad at 08:00 in the morning, First, you will cross the High Atlas Mountains and the Tizi N’Tichka pass (2260 m above sea level).

Along the way, you will discover beautiful mud-brick Berber villages and meet shepherds grazing their flocks on lush green plateaus with snow-capped peaks on the horizon.

There are plenty of stops along the way to take photos, stretch your legs and have a cup of coffee.

At noon, you will arrive at the UNESCO World Heritage village of Kasbah Ait Ben Haddou, which has served as the setting for several Hollywood blockbusters such as Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Games of Thrones.

After a guided tour of the mud brick village, you will continue to Ouarzazate (the Hollywood of Africa), home to the largest film studios in Africa.

After lunch (at your leisure), you will visit the oasis of Skoura and one of the best preserved kasbahs in Morocco: Amridil.

From there you will head to Kalaa Mgouna passing through the Valley of Roses before arriving at your guesthouse in the Dades Valley for dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2: Dades Valley – Tinghir – Merzouga

The second day of your Sahara Desert tour from Marrakech to Fez will begin with a drive along the Route of 1001 Kasbahs to the oasis of Tinghir. You will enjoy the breathtaking scenery along the way to the remaining fortified villages that housed caravan routes until the early 20th century.

Upon arrival in Tinghir, a military post during the French occupation, you will turn onto a secondary road to reach the oasis. Don’t hesitate to walk along the stream and watch the locals cultivating and tending their livestock. Your walk will end with one of the most magnificent scenes of your tour: the Todgha Gorges.

After a free lunch in one of the local cafes, you will continue to Rissani, one of the holiest cities in Morocco. The founder of the current ruling dynasty of the kingdom, the Alaouites, is from here and is buried locally. Rissani is also famous as the starting point of the ancient caravan routes that crossed the Sahara Desert to Timbuktu.

In the afternoon, you will cross rocky terrain to Merzouga, where your camel caravan will be waiting for you. Before arriving at your camp in the Sahara Desert, you will enjoy a camel ride on the dunes of Erg Chebbi to admire a magnificent sunset.

You will dine under the stars while being entertained by your local nomadic hosts playing drums all night long. Then you will spend the night at your Sahara Desert camp.

Day 3: Merzouga – Midelt – Fes

After an early morning wake-up to enjoy a fantastic sunrise camel trek over the Erg Chebbi dunes, you will reach the camp operator’s lodge in Merzouga for breakfast and shower (if you choose the luxury camp, breakfast will be served at the camp, and showers are available at your tent).

Meet your driver/guide and depart for a panoramic drive to Fez crossing the Ziz Valley via Errachidia, which is the capital of the Tafilalt region.

Continue to Midelt, where we will have a free lunch before crossing the Middle Atlas with its cedar forests and the Berber towns of Imouzzar and Ifran, both of which are famous as winter ski resorts for Moroccans.

Your driver might spot Barbary monkeys on the way and take the opportunity to take pictures. and in the late afternoon your desert tour will end in Fes at your hotel or riad.