DAY 1: Marrakech – High Atlas – Ksar of Aït Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate
After breakfast, we depart to Ouarzazate via the High Atlas through the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass (2260 m) with stops to enjoy the panoramic views. We will visit the Argan oil cooperative to learn about the making process and the benefits for the human body. We will continue south and take a detour to the site of Aït Ben Haddou, which is the famous ksar (fortified village) declared a World Heritage Site by the UNESCO. This is a striking example of southern Moroccan architecture. Renowned films such as Gladiator, The Jewel of the Nile, and Sahara (starring Penelope Cruz) have been shot in this spectacular setting. We will have lunch in the village and continue our trip to Ouarzazate, also known as the Desert Gate. Overnight stay in a hotel.
DAY 2: Ouarzazate – Agdez – Draa Valley – Tazarine – Mharech Gorges
After breakfast, we will continue towards Zagora crossing the Anti-Atlas mountains through the Tizi n-Tinifift mountain pass, at 1.600 meters high. We will enter the Draa Valley along a track, where we will see several Berber villages and Kasbahs. Leaving behind the N’kob, Tarazine y Alnif villages, we will take another track that crosses lost villages until we reach the Mharech Gorges. Many of these sections are covered during the Dakar Rally. Accommodation in a riad.
DAY 3: Mharech – Ramlia Oasis – Ouzina – Merzouga Desert
After breakfast, we will continue through the Dakar Rally track, passing more Berber villages, such as Ramlia and Ouzina. We will go through the Uadis (dry channels), oasis, and Ouzina Dunes and take the road towards Erg Chebbi, home of Morocco’s hightest dunes. Overnight stay in a hotel.
DAY 4: Merzouga – Khamlia Village – Nomad Families – Erg Chebbi – Dromedary ride – Overnight stay in jaimas (Berber tents)
This will be a day full of adventures in which we will discover another side of Morocco! We will start the trip in a 4×4 car and make our first stop in the Khamlia village to enjoy the Gnawa music. The inhabitants of this village are descendants of slaves who arrived from Sub-Saharan Africa. We will continue through mountains that at first glance seem rocky, but from close by, one realizes that they are made of fossilized sand deposited millions of years ago. We will walk to a place where dinosaurs remains are extracted. Experience the daily routine of an explorer at first hand by visiting the interior of one of the excavations and enjoy the calm of the arid landscape by the small village of Bega. We may also search for the Desert Rose and whoever finds it will have a surprise prize! Next, we will continue our trip along cobbled paths close to the border with Algeria until we reach an area where marine fossils are extracted. We will stop for a Berber-style picnic with a nomad family at a unique landscape, on one side the mountains and on the other the orange dunes of the Sahara. We will visit the French Cemetery at an abandoned town from the colonial era. We will then set off in a caravan of dromedaries that will take us to the Great Dune in about an hour and a half. There, we will watch a beautiful sunset. Dinner and overnight will be in a camp in the heart of the desert. At night, we will enjoy traditional Berber drums, singing, and dancing under a spectacular starry night sky.
DAY 5: Merzouga Desert– Rissani – Todra Gorges– Dades Valley
You are in the desert! Wake up early to contemplate the beautiful sunrise from the top of the dunes. After breakfast, we will ride back on the dromedaries and take our car. We will bid farewell to the desert and head towards Rissani, where we may go to the souk (market), provided we visit it in one of its opening days: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. We will then stop in Erfoud, with the possibility to visit the fossilized marble factory, before continuing to the palm groves of Touroug and Tinjdad. An hour later, we will reach one of the South’s strongest points: the Todra Gorges. The Todra riverbed has formed a beautiful gorge of vertical walls of enormous proportions. This unique place is a rock climber’s paradise. In the afternoon, we will continue to Dades Valley, where we will spend the night in a kasbah.
DAY 6: Dades Valley – Valley of the Roses – Skoura Oasis -High Atlas – Marrakech
After breakfast, enjoy the views and the colors from the Dades Valley. We will then follow the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, a road dotted with all kinds of beautiful kasbahs. The trip will continue to the Valley of the Roses and the great palm grove of Skoura. We will then arrive in Ouarzazate, where we will visit the Taourirt kasbah and have lunch. In the afternoon, we will depart to Marrakech by crossing the dramatic Tizi n’Tichka mountain pass, with stops to take magical photos. We will leave behind the lunar landscape that gradually gives way to the predominant green and ochre color. The trip ends in Marrakech.
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