FES TO MARRAKECH SHARED DESERT TOUR

DAY 1: FEZ – IFRANE – ZIZ GORGE – MERZOUGA

To start the 3 days Fes to Marrakech desert group tour we will pick you up from your accommodation in Fes in the morning. Then we will set off in the direction of the Merzouga Desert. On the way, we will pass through Ifran, the capital of a Jewish Kingdom in the distant past, and then to the Ziz Valley. Starting just south of the Middle Atlas town of Rich and about 30km north of Er-Rachidia, the tremendous Ziz Gorges provide a rocky passage south through the Tunnel du Légionnaire.

Keeping on our way we will traverse the famous and largest cedar forest in Morocco, where you may well see Barbarian apes. The journey continues along the Ziz Oasis, stopping for panoramic views along the way. The landscape is dotted with welcoming Berber villages some of them still keeping a nomadic lifestyle. We will arrive at Erfoud and then Rissani, a major commercial center in the region, with a large souk, particularly lively on Tuesdays and Sundays.  After some kilometers, you will see the first dunes, welcome to the Sahara Desert.

Once in Merzouga, we will ride the camel camp crossing the sand dunes till reach the desert camp. You will stop in the dunes for sunset, a great opportunity to take magical photos of the sunset over the dunes. When we get to our Merzouga luxury desert camp, you’ll have time to walk and admire the sand dunes. In the desert, the time stops and you feel a deep tranquility. We will have dinner, Berber Drums music around a fire camp and you’ll have free time to walk to the nearest dunes to watch the stars. You can find more information about the Sahara experience here.

=►Driving distance: Approximately 500 km            =► Driving time: Approximately 8 hrs

DAY 2: MERZOUGA – TODRA GORGES – DADES VALLEY

If we wake up early enough, we can watch the spectacle of sunrise, when the color of the dunes combines with the play of shadows to make an awesome sight. After a complete breakfast and some time for a shower and get our things ready we ride the camels for around 45 minutes to come back to the road. We will set off in the direction of Dades Gorges where we spend the second night of this Fes to Marrakech shared desert tour. Today oasis, Valleys, and old Berber villages are waiting for us. The road passes through Tinejdad and the Todra Valley, one of the most spectacular canyons in the world. Later, we will continue to the Dades Valley and the Dades Gorges before spending the night in a hotel.

=►Driving distance: Approximately 310 km            =► Driving time: Approximately 5 hrs

DAY 3: DADES VALLEY – ROSE VALLEY – AIT BENHADDOU – MARRAKECH

After breakfast, we will continue the drive through the villages of this charming area with the peaks of the High Atlas as a fitting backdrop. Our journey will then continue towards Ouarzazate along the Valley of the Roses, famous for its Rose Festival in May. We will see the 1000 Kasbahs dotting the area of the valley and the Skoura oasis. The most impressive is the Ait Benhaddou kasbah, UNESCO World Heritage site. This is a fortified village made up of kasbahs made of adobe (sand, clay, water, and sometimes organic material such as straw or manure) which, once molded, is left to dry in the sun. A very peculiar way of building using materials from the ground itself, which generates the sensation that the construction emerges from the landscape.
Then we arrive in Ouarzazate, also known as Hollywood of Morocco. From here we will start crossing the highest pass in Africa, Tizi n’Tichka, where we will reach an elevation of 2260m above sea level. In the late afternoon, we will arrive in Marrakech. We will leave you in your riad hoping you had a great experience with us.

=►Driving distance: Approximately 350 km            =► Driving time: Approximately 6 hrs