5-day group tour from Marrakech to the Merzouga desert

Tour itinerary

Day 1

Marrakech > Tizi n’Tichka > Aït Ben Haddou > Ouarzazate > Dades:

The journey begins on the morning of departure itself: at around 8:00 the minibus collects you from your hotel or riad in Marrakech, which is why we recommend arriving in the city the evening before. Once out of town, the road climbs the hairpin bends of the High Atlas to the Tizi n’Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, where we stop for photographs and for the Berber villages clinging to the slope. At the wheel is one of the drivers on our team, who grew up in these valleys and already knows where it is worth pulling in on this climb.

Dropping south, we reach the ksar of Aït Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of the best preserved groups of earthen architecture in Morocco. We cross the bed of the Ounila river, climb between the fortified houses to the old granary at the top of the hill and take in the view over the valley, the backdrop to many international film productions.

In the afternoon we pass Ouarzazate and join the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, running through the palm groves of Skoura and the rose fields of Kalaat M’Gouna. We arrive in the evening in the Dades gorges, where dinner and the overnight stay are in a hotel, with the red walls of the valley just outside the window.

Day 2

Dades > Todra Gorge > Erfoud > Merzouga > desert camp:

After breakfast we drive a few kilometres up the Dades bends, stopping at the famous “monkey fingers” rocks, then head for Tinghir and its long palm grove. Here the Todra Gorge awaits: a canyon barely ten metres wide, with limestone walls rising more than 300 metres. You walk along the floor beside the stream, looking up all the way.

We continue east through Tinejdad and Erfoud, the town of fossils, and in the late afternoon the road opens onto the plain of Merzouga, facing the wall of sand of the Erg Chebbi. We leave the large luggage behind, take a light backpack and climb onto the camels for the sunset trek: an hour among the dunes, up to a high crest from which to watch the sun drop behind the erg.

The camp, our own Camel Trips Camp, lies a little further on, among the dunes. Mint tea on arrival, a Moroccan dinner served under the stars and, around the fire, the drums of the Berber musicians. You sleep in a tent, in the silence of the desert.

Day 3

A full day in Merzouga: dunes, Khamlia and nomad families:

Anyone who wishes can get up early for sunrise over the dunes, one of the finest moments of the trip, then have breakfast at the camp before heading down to the village. The whole day stays in Merzouga, with no long transfers: this is the main difference from the shorter tours, which spend only one night here.

During the day we reach Khamlia, the village of the descendants of sub-Saharan communities, where gnawa musicians play their hypnotic rhythms in a small earthen hall. We carry on to the black desert of hamada and the old kohl mines, and visit some of the nomad families who still live under wool tents on the edge of the erg: a shared glass of tea and a few words about life in the desert are worth more than any museum.

Depending on the season, the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji may also appear, visited by flamingos. Anyone who prefers can rest instead, or add one of the desert excursions on the spot. Towards sunset we return to the same camp among the dunes for a second night, with dinner served under the stars and another evening of Berber music around the fire.

Day 4

Merzouga > Rissani > Tinghir > Boumalne Dades > Ouarzazate:

After breakfast at the camp we leave the dunes and set off west. The first stop is Rissani, the old capital of the Alaouite dynasty and home to one of the most authentic markets in the south, selling dates, donkeys, spices and hardware; if the day coincides with the souk, the hour passes quickly among the stalls.

We then rejoin the road of the oases, with views over the palm grove of Tinghir and the ruined kasbahs looking out over the cultivated fields. We cross Boumalne Dades and the palm groves of Skoura, where we stop in front of the Amridil kasbah, one of the most photographed in Morocco.

We reach Ouarzazate in the afternoon. The town grew up around a military post and is today the capital of Moroccan cinema: if time allows, we visit the Taourirt Kasbah, a labyrinth of rooms and terraces that belonged to the Glaoui family. Dinner is at your own expense and the night is in a hotel in Ouarzazate.

Day 5

Ouarzazate > High Atlas > Marrakech:

The last day on the road. After breakfast we leave Ouarzazate and head north, skirting the El Mansour Eddahbi reservoir and the large film studios that have hosted the productions shot in these valleys. The road starts to climb again and we find the hairpin bends of the High Atlas, this time in the opposite direction: the Tizi n’Tichka pass is tackled in the morning light, with stops at the argan cooperatives and at the viewpoints over the Berber valleys.

Coming down the northern side, the landscape changes once more: red rock gives way to olive groves and the plain of the Haouz. We arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon and drop you off at your hotel or riad, where the group tour ends. If you are flying home the same day, book an evening flight to be safe; if you are staying on, there is still time for a walk to Jemaa el-Fna.