January 23, 2019

3-Day Private Desert Tour From Marrakech to Fes

Written By TogetherSahara

DAY 1: MARRAKECH – SKOURA – BOUMALNE DU DADES

Following a morning pickup from your accommodation in Marrakech, meet your guide and take the Tizi-n-Tichka pass through the Atlas mountain range, where local Berber farmers work the land as they have for centuries. Head through Ouarzazate — also known as ‘The Gate of The Sahara’ — and onward for lunch (own expense) at the UNESCO-listed Aït Benhaddou kasbah. Follow your guide on a tour of the kasbah and hear of the many famous films and photo shoots that have taken place there. Travel onward past the palm trees and olive groves of the Skoura oasis to Kasbah Amridil and gain insight into its construction and history from your guide. Continue on through the Valley of Roses to Kelaa Mgouna, a local rose plantation. Visit one of the rose-growing cooperatives and watch as workers blend their ingredients to make rose-scented perfumes, then head on to your guest house in Boumalne du Dadès for dinner and your overnight accommodation.

DAY 2: BOUMALNE DU DADÈS – TINGHIR – ERG CHEBBI

Depart Boumalne du Dadès after breakfast and take the famous Road of 1,000 Kasbahs through the Dadès Valley. Visit one of the valley’s traditional kasbahs and listen as your guide details the role it has played in the region’s history. Head into the foothills of the High Atlas to the oasis of Tinghir and enjoy a 1-hour walk along the Todgha River, where olive groves and palm trees flourish by the riverbanks. Visit Berber villages with your guide to meet one or two of the locals, then head into the mighty Todgha Gorge for lunch (own expense). Travel through the oasis towns of Erfoud and Merzouga, then meet your camel train in Erg Chebbi for the onward journey by camelback into the Sahara Desert. Enjoy beautiful views of the Saharan sunset, then arrive at your desert camp for a traditional Moroccan dinner under the stars while local nomads play traditional folk songs.

DAY 3: ERG CHEBBI – MIDELT – FEZ

Wake early to watch the morning sun rising over the dunes. Enjoy breakfast in the desert, then hop back into your vehicle for the onward journey to the holy town of Rissani, the birthplace of 17th-century ruler Moulay Ali Cherif — founder of Morocco’s ruling Alaouite Dynasty. Continue on to Midelt for lunch (own expense), then head along the Ziz River where fortified kasbahs (traditional Moroccan fortresses) lie among dense palm groves. Travel through the cedar forests of the Middle Atlas mountains and onward through the fertile Saiss plains, where native flora and fauna thrive. In the early evening, arrive at your riad or hotel in Fez where your 3-day tour will come to an end.