Day 1 :
Marrakech - Ait Benhaddou Kasbah - Skoura Oases
Roses Valley - Boumalene Dades
I will pick you up from the your Riad or Hotel and leave Marrakech to begin our tour in the Dades Valley. We pass through Tizi-n-Tishka in the high Atlas Mountains where we will stop to appreciate the mountain views from different viewpoints. Continuing on we will visit the Ait Ben Haddou village which is recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. It is famous as the backdrop for many films, including 'Lawrence of Arabia', 'Gladiator' and 'Alexander'.
We take lunch here before continuing on our way enjoying the natural beauty of the landscapes and historical monuments such as Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate and Roses Valley, which is renowned for the Festival of Roses. We also pass through the little Berber villages of Skoura and 'El Kelaa des M'Gouna' and 'Boumalene Dades'. The last is our final stop for the day. We will stay overnight in a Riad which includes an authentic Moroccan dinner and breakfast.
Morocco is known for its many varieties of tea unique to the region
Day 2 :
Dades Gorge - Todra Gorge - Tinjdad - Merzouga
After enjoying breakfast we will leave Boumalene Dades and head to Merzouga, the site for one of the largest wind blown dunes in Morrocco, Erg Chebbi. Through the Berber village Tinghir we visit Todra Gorge where the narrow gorge cliffs are as high as 600 meters and only 10 meters apart. We leave Todra passing through many more Berber villages of Tinjdad and onto Rissani for lunch. We can stop for lunch along the way (we should be there midday) or in Rissani if you prefer, where you could have the local specialty, Berber Pizza for lunch.
After lunch we make our way to Merzouga where we will leave our luggage in a safe storage room. Riding camels into the desert will take us to a Berber camp in the middle of the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. 20 km long and 5 to 8 km wide it is also reputed as the highest sand dunes in North Africa and is a unique place to Morocco. The camel trek takes about 1hr 30 min from the hotel to the private camp. We continue the spirit of the nomadic Berber lifestyle setting up 3 traditional Berber tents that feature additional restaurant and kitchen equipment. The dunes naturally provide basic facilities. The tents are well equipped and we provide mattresses, blankets, and cushions. After an authentic Moroccan dinner we gather round the fire and enjoy the desert sky with traditional Berber drums.
Day 3 :
Merzouga - Ziz Valley - Midelt - Ifran - Fez
Before sunrise, our camel guide will wake you to ascend the dunes and see the sun emerge from behind the dunes on the horizon. Then return back to camp for packing. During the winter season, when the days are short, we will start the camel trek before daylight and meet the sunrise while we ride back to the city. When we arrive at the Riad we will be able to have showers and breakfast, before continuing our journey to Fez.
We leave Merzouga en route to Fez, passing through many places: Arfoud, Errachidia, Ziz Valley, Meditlt, Cedar Forests of Azrou, Ifrane and Fez. On a good day you might be able to catch a glimpse of the monkeys that live in the forests. We will stop for lunch along the way in one of the many restaurants we will travel by. We can decide while we are on the road. I will make sure you reach your chosen Riad or Hotel as our final destination. Here we will leave at your Riad or Hotel at the end of the 3 days tour.
