3-day Desert Tour to Merzouga from Marrakesh, Morocco

Discover the magnificent Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, Dades Gorge, the beautiful cities of Ouarzazate and Merzouga. Gaze at the beautiful landscapes of the Atlas Mountains and Tichka Pass. Take a camel ride in the middle of the desert. Spend a night in a desert camp.

Highlights:

• High Atlas Mountains

• Ait Ben Haddou

• Ouarzazate

• Dades Valley

• Todra Gorges

• Merzouga Desert

• Camel ride

• Draa Valley
  

Includes:

• Driver-guide

• Pick-up and drop-off

• Transfer from and to Marrakesh

• Transportation according to the program

• One night in a hotel and the other night a desert camp

• 2 dinners

• Breakfast

• Camel ride

• Sand boarding
  

Discover the magnificent Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, Dades Gorge, the beautiful cities of Ouarzazate and Merzouga. Gaze at the beautiful landscapes of the Atlas Mountains and Tichka Pass. Take a camel ride in the middle of the desert. Spend a night in a desert camp.

Day 1. Marrakech - High Atlas - Ait Ben Haddou - Ouarzazate - Dades Valley

You will be picked up from your accommodation in Marrakech at 8 o'clock in the morning, and we will depart to the High Atlas, Sof Moroccan Atlas mountains, going through Tizi N'Tichka port with stops for panoramic views and taking pictures of the Berber villages that camouflage in the landscape. Then we continue south to the ksar (fortified village) of Ait Ben Haddou, where we will visit the famous Kasbah (declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986). Famous films have been shot in this spectacular stage, including Gladiator, Obelix, The Mummy, The Jewel of the Nile, Sahara with Penélope Cruz… etc. Free time for lunch in town. Then we continue to Ouarzazate also known as “The gate of the desert” that in Berber language means “noiseless or without confusion”. Here we'll see the Taourirt kasbah, one of the most spectacular ksars in Morocco. The next site to visit is the Rose Valley, going through the big Skoura palm grove - a beautiful place to contemplate more than 700,000 palms and numerous kasbahs, built in the surrounding area. In this Valley roses are raised for cosmetic use such as the valued rosewater. The Rose Festival is held here annually in May, it is an important museum for Moroccan culture. Finally, we reach the Dades valley, where we'll spend the night in a hotel.

Day 2. Dades Valley - Todra Gorges - Merzouga - Camel ride and overnight in Berber camp

After breakfast, we'll enjoy one of the most beautiful views of the Dades Valley from one strategic lookout in the mountains, from there we can appreciate the great number of kasbahs and the scenic characteristics of each one. A very good asphalt road leads up the valley from the city of Tinerhir to the gorge and then to the desert. After some stops on the way, we'll reach the Todra Gorges. The scenery is spectacular. Local people live in the area and can be seen in their adobe villages. Thanks to its rock sides with many uneven surfaces, these gorges are popular among rock climbers. After a short walk in the Todra gorges, you'll have free time for lunch in Tinejdad or Touroug, and then we continue our way to the desert to reach the spectacular dunes of Merzouga. We'll take a 1-hour camel ride there to our nomad camp, located in the middle of a sea of dunes (Erg Chebbi). Before dinner, we'll see the sunset at the top of a dune, then sleep in a tent under a beautiful starry sky.

Day 3. Merzouga Dunes - Draa Valley - Ouarzazate - Marrakesh

Following an early-morning stroll before breakfast to enjoy sunrise among the sand dunes (optional), ride your camel back to Merzouga and meet your driver for the start of your return journey to Marrakesh. Stop for lunch in Ouarzazate (own expense), then head onward through the spectacular scenery of the High Atlas Mountains. Arrive back at your Marrakesh accommodation in the mid-evening to conclude your tour.