6 Days from Agadir to the Anti-Atlas and Desert

Overview

Highlights

• Anti-Atlas villages and the Ammeln valley
• Pink granite and painted rocks of Tafraoute
• Saffron cooperative in Taliouine
• Draa valley and Zagora palm groves
• Camel ride and camp in Erg Chebbi
• Todra and Dades gorges

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Day 1

   Day 1: Agadir – Aït Baha – Anti-Atlas villages – Tafraoute

   Your driver picks you up at your hotel in Agadir. You drive inland to Aït Baha and climb into the Anti-Atlas, where stone villages sit on the hills. You arrive in Tafraoute, a town surrounded by pink granite rocks. You visit the painted rocks, large stones coloured blue and red by an artist, and the Ammeln valley with its almond trees. Night in Tafraoute.

   Overnight: Tafraoute

2. 2

   Day 2

   Day 2: Tafraoute – Igherm – Taliouine

   Today you cross the Anti-Atlas on quiet mountain roads to Igherm, a remote Berber town. You continue to Taliouine, the main area for saffron in Morocco. You visit a saffron cooperative to learn how the red threads are picked by hand from purple flowers each autumn. You can buy good-quality saffron directly from the producers. Night in a kasbah hotel in Taliouine, with views of the old kasbah.

   Overnight: Taliouine

3. 3

   Day 3

   Day 3: Taliouine – Tazenakht – Agdz – Zagora

   You drive to Tazenakht, a town known for its carpets woven by local women. You can see how they work. Then you go down to Agdz and follow the Draa valley, with long palm groves and old kasbahs. You arrive in Zagora in the afternoon and can walk in the palm groves. Zagora is famous for an old sign that says 52 days to Timbuktu by camel. Night in Zagora.

   Overnight: Zagora

4. 4

   Day 4

   Day 4: Zagora – N'Kob – Alnif – Merzouga camel ride and camp

   You drive east through N'Kob, a village with many earth kasbahs, and Alnif, famous for trilobite fossils. The landscape is wide and dry, with black hills and old riverbeds. You can visit a small fossil shop in Alnif. In the late afternoon you arrive in Merzouga and ride camels into the Erg Chebbi dunes at sunset. Dinner and night in a desert camp under the stars, with drums by the fire.

   Overnight: Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)

5. 5

   Day 5

   Day 5: Sunrise – Todra Gorges – Dades

   Wake up early to watch the sunrise over the Sahara. After breakfast you drive west to Tinghir and walk inside the Todra Gorges, with their high limestone walls. On the way you pass the green palm grove of Tinghir. In the afternoon you continue to the Dades Valley, with red mountains and a winding road. Dinner and night in a kasbah-style hotel.

   Overnight: Dades Valley

6. 6

   Day 6

   Day 6: Dades – Ouarzazate – Taroudant – Agadir

   This is a long day, so you leave early. You drive through the Rose Valley to Ouarzazate, then south-west across the plateau to Taroudant, a market town with strong earth walls, sometimes called the little Marrakech. You can have a walk and lunch there. Taroudant also has good shops for argan oil and leather. You arrive back at your hotel in Agadir in the evening. End of the tour.

Route map

Agadir → Tafraoute → Taliouine → Agdz → Zagora → N'Kob → Alnif → Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) → Todra Gorges (Tinghir) → Dades Valley → Ouarzazate → Taroudant → Agadir

Accommodation by category

Choose your hotel category. The final hotel names are confirmed when you book, depending on availability.

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Frequently asked questions