3-Day Tour from Marrakech to Fes via Merzouga Desert

Today we will depart Marrakech in the morning, heading south in your private air-conditioned vehicle toward the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n'Tichka Pass, the highest major mountain pass in North Africa at 2,260 metres, winding through switchbacks with sweeping views over terraced Berber villages and mineral-rich rock formations. Descending the far side, we stop at Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO-listed fortified ksar above the Ounila River and one of the best-preserved examples of pre-Saharan earthen architecture in the world, taking a guided walk through its narrow lanes to the old communal granary for panoramic views over the valley. A short drive brings us to Ouarzazate, the 'Hollywood of Africa', where we visit the Taourirt Kasbah, before continuing along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs into the Dades Valley, also known as the Valley of Roses for the Persian rose bushes cultivated here. We check in to a kasbah-style hotel with terrace views over the valley's dramatic folded rock formations for a relaxed dinner as the sun sets, ready for an early start tomorrow toward the Sahara. Lunch today is usually a brief stop in Ouarzazate, keeping pace with this efficient three-day crossing.

After breakfast overlooking the valley, we continue toward Todra Gorge, one of Morocco's most dramatic natural landmarks, where sheer pink and orange limestone cliffs rise up to 300 metres on either side of a narrow canyon in places barely 10 metres wide. We stop for an hour or so for a short walk along the canyon floor and photographs of the towering walls. Continuing south, we arrive in Merzouga on the edge of the Erg Chebbi dune sea in the late afternoon, where camel handlers meet us for an unforgettable sunset trek across the dunes, the changing colours of the sand difficult to describe and impossible to forget. After roughly 45-60 minutes of gentle camel trekking, we arrive at our exclusive desert camp among some of the highest dunes in Morocco. Enjoy a traditional dinner cooked over an open fire, and later, gather around the campfire as Berber musicians play traditional drums under one of the most spectacular starscapes anywhere on Earth — make the most of it, since tomorrow morning brings the final, long push north to Fes. The sunset camel trek and evening at camp make for a genuinely fitting reward after a long first day of driving through some of Morocco's most dramatic scenery.

For early risers, this morning offers the chance to climb a nearby dune in the dark and watch the sunrise transform the desert from soft pink to deep gold — well worth the early start, especially as today is largely spent driving. After a simple Berber breakfast at camp, we say goodbye to our camel guides and drive back to Merzouga village by 4x4, where your driver awaits for the final leg of this fast-track desert crossing. Heading north, we follow the dramatic Ziz Valley, a ribbon of palm groves and mudbrick ksour villages, before climbing into the Middle Atlas via Er-Rachidia and Midelt, a former mining town and gateway to the mountains, where we typically stop for lunch. The landscape shifts noticeably as we continue through Azrou's cedar forests, home to wild Barbary macaques, and the alpine-style town of Ifrane, before descending toward the plains surrounding Fes. We arrive in Fes, Morocco's spiritual and cultural capital and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the early evening, with time to check in to your riad and take an easy orientation walk — your fast-paced three-day crossing from Marrakech to Fes via the Sahara concludes here, having covered UNESCO kasbahs, dramatic gorges, and a night beneath the stars in the space of just seventy-two hours. On behalf of your driver, guides, and the entire Marokko Travel team, thank you for travelling with us on this fast-track desert crossing between Marrakech and Fes.