3 Day Trip from Marrakech to the Merzouga Desert

Day 1: Marrakech - Atlas Mountain - Ait Ben haddo - Skoura - Valley of the roses - Dades

Morning departure from your hotel or riad in Marrakech to cross the mountains of the High Atlas. After the pass of Tichka, you leave the main road and take a side road towards the Kasbah, which belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, and now lies in ruins after the last Pasha fled the country after the departure of the French. From there, continue on the new and surprisingly beautiful connecting road to lunch in Ait Ben Haddou. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which you can visit. The road passes through Ouarzazate and towards the Oasis of Skoura, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some unfortunately in ruins, are raised among the palm trees. From here, the route passes through Kela'a M'gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see locally made cosmetics from the abundant roses in the valley. You stop at the Dades gorge in a guest house there.

2nd day: Dades - Boumalne - Todra Gorges - Tingdad - Erfoud - Merzouga

After breakfast at your accommodation, there is time to walk along the river before continuing to Toudra to the different gorges that are there. Lunch will be here in the gorges or later at the camp in the dunes of Erg Chebbi. It leads there through the valley of Ziz from the palm trees and the cities of Erfoud known by fossils and then to Rissani, which is where the family of the king originates. In the afternoon, after a cup of welcome tea, camel ride through the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m) and then dinner and night in a nomadic tent at the foot of the dunes.

3rd day: Merzouga – Alnif – Nkoub – Draa Valley – Ouarzazate – Marrakech

Wake up early enough, you can see the spectacle of dawn, when the color of the dunes and the play of shadows are a breathtaking sight. The return trip west to the valley of Dra'a takes us along the Saghro mountains through the villages of Tazzarine and Nkoub, where we have lunch with views of the mountains. In the afternoon we head to Tanasikht, where we arrive at the valley of the Draa, full of large palm trees and ancient kasbahs. Here we go along the track of the old caravan route to Agadez, and the oldest kasbah in the valley, Kasbah Tamnougalt. Back to the paved road, we return to Marrakech again on the High Atlas in the late afternoon.

NOTE: If the itineraries we offer do not match what you are looking for, please contact contact us and we will tailor the trip to your needs.