7 Days from Marrakech to the Desert and South Morocco

Overview

Highlights

• Telouet kasbah and a night in Aït Ben Haddou
• Skoura oasis, Rose Valley and Dades Gorges
• Two nights in Merzouga with Khamlia and Rissani
• Palm groves of Zagora
• Tamegroute pottery and its old library
• Draa valley kasbahs on the way back

Day-by-day itinerary

1. 1

   Day 1

   Day 1: Marrakech – Tichka – Telouet – Aït Ben Haddou

   Your driver picks you up at your riad after breakfast. You cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass and take a quiet side road to Telouet kasbah, with its painted ceilings and tiles. You follow the valley of Ounila down to Aït Ben Haddou. Tonight you sleep in the village, so you can walk in the ksar in the evening when the day visitors have left. Dinner and night in Aït Ben Haddou.

   Overnight: Aït Ben Haddou

2. 2

   Day 2

   Day 2: Ouarzazate – Skoura – Rose Valley – Dades

   After breakfast you drive to Ouarzazate, a desert town known for its film studios and the Taourirt kasbah. Then you cross the Skoura oasis, with palm trees and old earth houses. You continue to the Rose Valley, famous for rose water and a rose festival in May. In the afternoon you enter the Dades Valley. Dinner and night in a hotel with valley views.

   Overnight: Dades Valley

3. 3

   Day 3

   Day 3: Todra Gorges walk – Merzouga camel ride and camp

   In the morning you visit Tinghir and walk inside the Todra Gorges, between high rock walls. Then you cross the desert plain to Merzouga. In the late afternoon you ride camels into the golden dunes of Erg Chebbi for sunset. Dinner is served in the camp. After dinner, you can listen to drums by the fire and look at the stars. Night in a desert camp.

   Overnight: Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)

4. 4

   Day 4

   Day 4: Merzouga full day: Khamlia, Rissani, nomads and dunes

   Watch the sunrise from the top of a dune. Today you explore around Merzouga. You visit Khamlia, our home village, to hear Gnawa music, and Rissani, an old market town near the ruins of Sijilmasa. You may visit a nomad family to drink tea and learn about their life. In the late afternoon you can walk in the dunes or try sandboarding. Second night in Merzouga.

   Overnight: Merzouga (Erg Chebbi)

5. 5

   Day 5

   Day 5: Merzouga – Alnif – N'Kob – Zagora

   You drive west on a quiet desert road. You pass Alnif, a village famous for fossils, and N'Kob, a village with dozens of earth kasbahs. The landscape is wide, with black hills and dry riverbeds. In the afternoon you arrive in Zagora, a town surrounded by palm groves on the Draa river. You can walk in the palm groves before dinner. Night in a hotel or camp in Zagora.

   Overnight: Zagora

6. 6

   Day 6

   Day 6: Tamegroute – Draa valley – Agdz – Ouarzazate

   In the morning you visit Tamegroute, a village known for its green pottery and an old library with very old Quran manuscripts. You see potters working with simple wood fires. Then you drive north along the Draa valley, one of the longest palm groves in Morocco, with many kasbahs. You stop in Agdz and arrive in Ouarzazate in the afternoon. Night in a kasbah hotel.

   Overnight: Ouarzazate

7. 7

   Day 7

   Day 7: Ouarzazate – Tichka – Marrakech

   After breakfast you cross the High Atlas for the last time by the Tizi n'Tichka pass. You can stop at a women's argan cooperative and for lunch in the mountains. You arrive in Marrakech in the afternoon, and your driver takes you to your riad, hotel or the airport. On the way you pass small Berber villages and walnut trees in the valleys. End of your south Morocco desert tour.

Route map

Marrakech → Tizi n'Tichka pass → Aït Ben Haddou → Ouarzazate → Skoura → Dades Valley → Todra Gorges (Tinghir) → Merzouga (Erg Chebbi) → Alnif → N'Kob → Zagora → Agdz → Ouarzazate → Marrakech

Accommodation by category

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

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