4 Days Marrakech to Merzouga Desert Tour
4 Days Marrakech to Merzouga Desert Tour
Overview:
In this 4 days Marrakech to Merzouga Desert tour in Morocco, you will visit many cultural sites, admire the natural beauty of Morocco, explore traditional villages, and experience the life of Moroccan desert people. Starting our trip from Marrakech, we will drive through Tizi-n-Tichka in the High Atlas Mountains and visit Ouarzazate and Ait Ben Haddou village, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our next stops will be Roses Valley and the little Berber villages of Skoura, El Kelaa des Mgouna, Boumalne Dades, Todra Gorges, and Erfoud. Upon arriving in Merzouga, the desert experience begins. Your camels will take you to a Berber camp, where you will spend the night, reviving the nomadic Berber lifestyle. After leaving Merzouga, we will head to Rissani, Agdz, Alnif, Tazarine, Draa Valley, and Ouarzazate. On the final day, we will return to Marrakech, where the tour concludes. Book your trip today!
Itinerary:
Day 1: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Roses Valley – Dades Gorges
The first day of our 4 days Marrakech to Merzouga Desert tour, we will pick up in the morning from the hotel in Marrakech. Welcome and the route begins! We will cross the High Atlas (Tizi N’Tichka) with panoramic view stops. We will continue through the High Atlas, crossing the port of Tizi N’Tichka with stops with panoramic views. Optional: We will visit the argan oil cooperative, where they will teach us the production process. We will cross the beautiful fertile Zat valley / a small Berber paradise in the heart of the High Atlas. Here we find the small Berber villages with traditional architecture built on the hillside. Most of the potatoes, turnips, olives, figs and tomatoes from Morocco are grown here. We will visit Ait Ben Haddou ksar here movies such as Gladiator, the Jewel of the Nile, Games of Thrones were shot. After lunch we will continue to Ouarzazate (Great Desert gate). We will visit the Kasbah of Amridil. From here we will go to Kelaat M’gouna, capital of the Rose Valley, and finally we will reach the Dades Gorges, where we will spend the night. Bed and dinner
Day 2: Dades Gorges – Todra Gorges – Merzouga Desert
Today we will cross the Dades Valley, a grazing area for nomadic tribes, it is a strip of greenery enclosed between red mountains of great natural beauty. Here crops of wheat, almond trees, fig trees and poplars stand out. On the route you can see different kasbahs (valley of Dades they call it valley of a thousand kasbahs). We will pass between the palm trees and the adobe castles. At the end of the day we will reach the Todra Gorges, a gorge with a crystalline river surrounded by palm groves and Berber villages. We will pass through Palmeral de Jorf (where the best dates are said to come from) and the fossil town of Erfoud also highlighted for its typical Berber houses. At the end of the day we will arrive in Merzouga we will take the dromedaries to reach our camp in the Erg Chebbi desert (with 150 m high dunes). Along the way (if the weather is nice) we will contemplate the unforgettable sunset over the dunes and the starry night. Accommodation and dinner in the jaimas in the heart of the desert accompanied by Berber music.
Day 3: Merzouga Desert – Rissani – Draa Valley – Agdez – Ouarzazate
It is worth getting up early to contemplate sunrise in the desert. Around 9 a.m. we will take the dromedaries again to return to the hotel where we can take a shower and have breakfast. Back in Ouarzazate we will cross the hammada (stony desert) We will pass the Palm Grove of Tafilalet and the town of Rissani (former capital of the Alawi sultans) where we will visit authentic souk of the town. We will arrive in Alnif, it is one of the places with the highest concentration of fossil deposits in Morocco, we will pass through the oasis of N’Kob famous for its adobe ksur. We dive into the Draa Valley, we will pass the Berber village of Agdez / small agricultural population offers magnificent Kasbas, such as the Kasba del Caid, a visitable hotel and the Kasba Glaoui, used during the reign of Hassan II as a secret prison. The town is dominated by Mount Jebel Kissane of 1535 meters of altitude*, we will cross the Anti Atlas by the ascent of Tizi n’Tinififft (1660 meters) we will reach Ouarzazate, where we will spend the night in a riad.
Day 4: Ouarzazate – Telouet – High Atlas – Marrakech
After breakfast, departure for Oasis de Fint, located just 10 kilometers south of Ouarzazate. (Fint means “hidden” in Berber). It is a place so green and exuberant with vegetation and full of life that it could well be the desert garden. Here time stopped many years ago and everything seems unchanged. The locals of the Oasis are of dark skin, originally from Mali, formerly nomads who accompanied the caravans of merchants and also some slaves who took refuge here. One of the very interesting places to see is the artisan bread oven. Lunch on the way. In the evening we will arrive in Marrakech. Transfer to your hotel/riad and end of our 4 days Marrakech to Merzouga Desert tour.
Included
- Private tour & Transportation with A/C and seat-belt.
- Pick you up & drop off at your accommodation in Marrakech.
- 1 night hotel accommodation in Dades Valley.
- 1 night accommodation in desert camp.
- 1 night hotel accommodation in Ouarzazate.
- Experienced driver/guide English speaking.
- Fuel, tolls and all associated expenses.
- Dinners and breakfasts (Vegetarians are welcome).
- Camel warden.
- Camel ride for 1 hour. (If you are not interested to ride the camels, it is possible to drive you to the camp with the 4×4).
- Sand boards ( available in the camp without charge).
Not Included
- Airfare (Flight Ticket)
Noon meal. (Possibility of picnic or restaurants). - Drinks at meal.
Tips and personal miscellaneous expenses. - Entry fees to Monuments / Museums / Kasbahs
- Travel insurance
- Anything not mentioned in the program