MOROCCO DESERT EXPERIENCE
5 Days Tour - Marrakech - Ouarzazate - Merzouga - Dades- Marrakech
Morocco mud brick village
Travel in Morocco Morocco-tours-holidays-trips-vacations
Tour Details:
This tour is interchangeable for pickup from Casablanca, Marrakech or Fes
Day 1 - Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate
Depart from Marrakech at 8am to travel over the stunning High Atlas mountains through Tizi n’Tichka (alt 2260 m). We will stop to enjoy impressive landscapes and visit the Argan oil cooperative and have a coffee. After lunch at a local restaurant we will have the afternoon to visit the UNESCO World Heritage site, Ait Ben Haddou. Your accomodation in Ouarazazate will be in a traditional Riad.
Overnight Ourrzazate, breakfast and dinner included.
Day 2 - Ouarzazate – Draa Valley – Merzouga
After a morning visit to the Kasbah Telouet, we will travel the scenic road along the Djebel Sarhro mountain range, down to the oasis and kasbahs of the Draa valley and along the Draa river, Morocco’s largest river on our way to the desert. We will pass through many Berber mud brick villages including Agdz and N’kob where we will stop for lunch at a local restaurant before arriving in Merzouga. We will have dinner and accommodation in a traditional Riad.
Overnight Merzouga, breakfast and dinner included.
Day 3 - Merzouga – Khamlia – Rissani – Erg Chebbi
Today we will explore the desert region. We will make a circuit of the desert dunes where you will have the opportunity to see the nomad’s way of life and the amazing changing contrasts of the desert. You will pass through tiny Berber villages like Tamrdanite and then visit the ‘black village’ of Khamlia to see the Gnawa musicians. On the way back to the hotel you will have a view of the lake of Ait Sareji which attracts pink flamingoes and many other birds. In the afternoon we will return to the hotel to prepare for departure on the camels. As the sun sets over the Erg Chebbi desert dunes we will ride the camels 90 minutes and see the magnificent sunset from the dunes of the Sahara. We will have a traditional tagine dinner and delicious mint tea while watching the stars and the rising moon in the amazing desert and enjoying drum music played by our camel men. We will spend the night in a traditional Berber tent.
Overnight Merzouga, breakfast and dinner included.
Day 4 - Merzouga – Todra Gorge – Dades Gorge
We will rise early to see the spectacle of the sunrise over the dunes of the Western Sahara before making our way back to the hotel for breakfast and a shower. After breakfast, we will travel through Rissani, through the Ksours and Kasbahs of Tafilet. We will also visit the Zaouia of Moulay Ali El-Charif, the mausoleum of the Glaoui founder on our way to Todra Gorge. We will take a short walk up in the towering Todra Gorges before continuing along the picturesque river valleys towards Dades Gorge. In the afternoon you can take a walk in the Dades Gorge. There are amazing rock formations in Dades called the Monkeys fingers and you will get some great photos.
Overnight Dades Gorge, breakfast and dinner included.
Day 5 - Dades Gorge – Telouet – Marrakech
We will take a morning walk in the gorge then we will follow the Dades Valley through El Kelaa Magona and oasis of Skoura. After lunch in Ouarzazate we will descend the High Atlas mountains to visit Telouet and the Kasbah el Glaoui. We will arrive early evening to Marrakech.
End of tour.
Inclusions
Inclusions: 4 breakfast, 4 dinners, all transportation costs. Accomodation during tour. Pick up and drop off at your prebooked accomodation or Marrakech airport prior to and after tour.
Price on application, pls use email form below.
OUR TIPS:
Tipping is normal in Morocco but entirely at your discretion. Desert nights can be cold so a warm jacket is recommended.
Roses festival... a snippet
The Roses Festival takes place in Kelaat M'gouna every year in May. It lasts 7 days to celebrate the season of Roses in Dadès and M'Goun. In 2015, the number of visitors to the festival reached 300,000. During the festival, people from all over the country and the world come to Kelaat' Mgouna to discover its beauty, and for its rose products that range from perfume, rose water, oil, to cosmetic products, and to experience the warmth and welcome of its generous people.
The festival is also an opportunity for the visitors to explore its fair of handicrafts and the agricultural products of the region.