5 Days Fes to Marrakech Desert Tour via Merzouga

Day 1: Fes → Ifrane → Azrou → Midelt → Ziz Valley → Erfoud → Merzouga

This 5-day desert tour starts with an early pick-up from your hotel in Fes. We will travel south toward Midelt, passing through the Middle Atlas Mountains and the cedar forest, home to the Barbary monkeys. You may even see some of them in their natural habitat. Along the way, we will pass by Ifrane, a charming ski resort, and Azrou, an important handicraft center known for cedar wood.

Next, we will drive through the Zad pass (2,178m/7,146ft) and arrive in Midelt for lunch. In the afternoon, we will continue to Erfoud via Errachidia and the Ziz Valley, famous for its vast date palm trees. Finally, we will head toward the dunes of Erg Chebbi for your desert adventure. Dinner and overnight accommodations will be provided at a hotel or riad in Merzouga.

Day 2: Merzouga Desert → Erg Chebbi Dunes → Camel Ride & Night in Desert Camp

After a traditional, tasty Berber breakfast, we will explore the dunes, passing by the two oases of Merzouga, the village of Khamlia, famous for its Gnaoua music, and the mines of Mfiss. Then, we will go to meet some Berber nomads of the desert. We will see the oasis of Tissardmine, and then we will return to the hotel around mid-afternoon to prepare for the departure with our caravan of dromedaries into the golden dunes.

We will enjoy watching the sunset, having dinner, listening to local music, spending the night in a Berber-tented camp in the middle of the dunes of the Sahara desert, and enjoying the star-studded sky around us.

Day 3: Merzouga → Todra Gorge → Boumalne Dades → Dades Gorges

We recommend an early morning start to experience the wonder of the sunrise. Then, we will return by camel or 4WD to the hotel, where you can have breakfast and refresh.

Our trip continues as we depart the desert for Rissani and Erfoud. We visit the workshops where marble and fossils are cleaned and crafted into outstanding projects. We continue to Touroug and Tinjdad to see the palm groves and arrive in the Todra Gorge, where we will have lunch and explore this canyon with its 300-meter-high vertical walls and crystalline clear water.

Later in the afternoon, we will drive to Dades Gorge via Boumalne Dades for our overnight stop. Here, you can enjoy dinner, and we will sleep in a traditional local hotel to rest and prepare for the next leg of our adventure.

Day 4: Dades Gorge → Dades Valley → Roses Valley → Kelaat M'gouna → Skoura Oasis → Ouarzazate

After breakfast, we will return down the windy road to Dades Valley so you can visit the Kasbah of Ait Youl, the track road crossing Rose Valley with its Kasbah and sours, and the strange rock formations known as "the fat monkey fingers." This stretch of the road gives you incredible landscapes as we travel to Kelaat M'gouna, where we will have lunch.

In the afternoon, we will discover the palm groves of Skoura and visit the Kasbah of Amridil. We continue to Ouarzazate, where we stay for dinner and overnight in a local hotel or riad. This region, often referred to as the "Gateway to the Sahara," offers scenic views and historical sites.

Day 5: Ouarzazate → Kasbah Ait Benhaddou → High Atlas Mountains → Telouet → Marrakech

After breakfast, we will explore and discover some of Ouarzazate's wonders: the Kasbah of Taourirt, Tifoultoute, and the cinema studio. Then, we will drive to the Kasbah of Ait Benhaddou, a critical UNESCO site known as a film set, where we visit the old fortified village.

After lunch, we depart across the High Atlas Mountains for Marrakech in the afternoon via the Tizi n'Tichka pass. We arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon, and this 5-day tour from Fes ends with a drop at your accommodation.