DAY 1: Marrakech to the bosom of Dades Valley

Marrakech → Atlas Mountains → Ait Benhaddou → Ouarzazate → Skoura Oasis → Roses Valley → Dades Valley

On the first day in our 4 day Marrakech Desert Trip, we will meet you upon your arrival in Marrakech or directly from your accommodation, and escape the hustle and bustle of the city towards the High Atlas Mountains. Through the highest mountain pass in North Africa and across the Glaoua territory, we will pass countless ancient kasbahs and fortified granaries that dot the countryside.

From there we continue on to Ouarzazate, a bustling southern city often referred to as “The Hollywood of Morocco” owing to the many famous films shot on location such as Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia, and Kingdom of Heaven, as well as several seasons of the hit show, Game of Thrones. Here, we will stop for lunch and explore the nearby Kasbah Ait Benhaddou, the most famous kasbah in Morocco, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the backdrop for many of the films and shows shot on location. As the afternoon sun wanes, we will wind through several oases and end our drive for the day in the lush Dades Valley.

DAY 2: Dades Valley to the Golden dunes of the Erg Chebbi Desert, Merzouga

Dades Valley → Todra Canyon → Rissani → Merzouga → Camel Trekking into the Erg Chebbi Sand Dunes

Following breakfast we continue our drive along the banks of the Oued Todra, where olive, pomegranate, and orange trees flourish, until we reach the Todra Gorge, where we will take some time to wander among the towering rock walls of the narrow corridors. As we descend into the desert plains, the landscape gives way to a vast stony plain that marks the edges of the Sahara Desert.

Upon our arrival, we will leave all unnecessary luggage behind in safe rooms at a nearby hotel before mounting our camels and trekking into the towering dunes of the Moroccan Sahara Desert. Here we will have ample free time for you to explore and take in the beauty and vastness of the desert dunes. Once the sun sets, a Moroccan dinner will be served alongside live music around the campfire, after which you are free to explore again – this time in the company of a million stars exploding against the pitch-black sky, and the all-encompassing silence of the Sahara at night.

DAY 3: Desert to The Cinema city

Merzouga → Rissani authentic market → NKob → Tazarine → Draa Valley → Agdz → Ouarzazate

If you would like to wake up early so that you can watch the spectacle of sunrise, when the color of the sand contrasts beautifully with the play of shadows on the dunes – after which you might want to try your hand at sand-boarding down them. After a refreshing shower and breakfast before starting our journey into the Draa Valley. Besides the natural, historical, and architectural wonders found in the valley, there are also countless villages that seem to have remained untouched by the modern world.

Our road will take us through the millions of palm trees of the Draa Valley and Agdz, a village on the ancient caravan route that linked Marrakech to Timbuktu. In the afternoon we will arrive in Ouarzazate (pronounced Warzza-zat), a city in the middle of a barren plateau at the crossroads of all routes going north, south, east, and west, a geographical position which has made it an important trading post since ancient times. Known as the “Hollywood of Morocco”, the film studios of Ouarzazate have produced films including “Alexander the Great”, “The Last Temptation of Christ” and “The Living Daylights”. After checking in at our hotel, you can enjoy an afternoon beside the swimming pool and enjoy the clean desert air before spending the night in Ouarzazate.

DAY 4: Atlas Mountains Journey back to Marrakech

Ouarzazate → Atlas Mountains → Telouet Kasbah → Marrakech

After breakfast we will visit Ouarzazate’s museum of cinematography before leaving the city and continuing our journey into the Ounila Valley, along the former route of the caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech, we will stop to visit  the abandoned salt mine, once inside the cavern is led with gas lamp and your eyes had adjusted to the darkness, you will see the knobbly salt crystals that still covering part of the damp rocks like the corals found in tropical waters, we will continue to Telouet Kasbah, the seat of the El Glaoui family’s power, built in the 18th and 19th centuries.

From there we will have an amazing view of the imposing mountains that our route will lead us into, winding up their spectacular valleys and over the Tizi n’Tichka Pass, which offers stunning views over the mountains before descending past Berber villages to the plains surrounding Marrakech. We will arrive in Marrakech in the early evening, and your guide will escort you through its winding streets to your Riad, concluding our 4 Days Marrakech desert trip.