7 Days from Fes to the Desert and Marrakech

Pick-up around 8:00 am at your hotel or riad in Fes (we can also pick you up at the airport). Departure in a private air-conditioned vehicle.

Ifrane, the “Switzerland of Morocco”: an alpine town with red roofs, gardens and lakes in the heart of the Middle Atlas.

The Azrou cedar forest, where Barbary macaques live in the wild.

Midelt, between the Middle and High Atlas, famous for its apples and minerals.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant on the way (lunch not included) and for photos at the viewpoints you like best.

Arrival in Midelt in the afternoon and overnight at the accommodation.

Breakfast and departure from Midelt towards the Ziz Valley.

The Ziz Gorges and Valley, a canyon with a vast palm grove considered one of the most beautiful in Morocco.

Erfoud, the capital of dates and fossils: visit to a workshop where they work fossilised marble that is millions of years old.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant on the way (lunch not included) and for photos at the viewpoints you like best.

In the late afternoon we arrive in Merzouga, where the camel caravan is waiting. We leave the big luggage at the guesthouse and, with a small backpack, cross the Erg Chebbi dunes by camel (approx. 1 h 30 min) as the sun sets over the Sahara. Arrival at the camp, welcome tea, Berber dinner and music around the fire under a sky full of stars.

After watching the sunrise over the dunes and having breakfast, we set off by 4x4 to explore the area around Erg Chebbi. We visit the village of Khamlia, where Gnawa musicians welcome us with their traditional music; we meet a nomad family in their tent for tea; and we stop at the seasonal lake of Dayet Srji (with flamingos in winter and spring), the old Mifis mines and a fossil site. At midday we have lunch in Rissani or Merzouga (the famous Berber pizza, “madfouna”). In the afternoon there's free time to relax or go sandboarding on the dunes, and at sunset we climb back up the dunes to watch the sun go down. Second night at the camp, with a Berber dinner and music by the fire.

We get up early to watch the sunrise from the top of the dunes. Breakfast at the camp and return by camel (or 4x4) to the guesthouse, where there are showers and we pick up the luggage. Departure towards Erfoud.

Erfoud, the capital of dates and fossils: visit to a workshop where they work fossilised marble that is millions of years old.

Walk through the Todra Gorge, a canyon with walls up to 300 metres high and a crystal-clear river, a paradise for climbers.

The Dades Gorge and its famous mountain bends, with reddish rock formations (“the monkey fingers”) and villages perched above the river.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant on the way (lunch not included) and for photos at the viewpoints you like best.

Arrival at the Dades Gorge in the afternoon and overnight at the accommodation.

Breakfast and departure from the Dades Gorge towards Kelaa M'Gouna.

Kelaa M'Gouna, the Valley of Roses, famous for its rose water, its cooperatives and the rose festival in May.

The Skoura palm grove, an oasis dotted with old kasbahs such as Amridil, one of the best preserved in the south.

Ouarzazate, the “gateway to the desert”: view of the Taourirt Kasbah and the Atlas film studios, where dozens of international productions have been shot.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant on the way (lunch not included) and for photos at the viewpoints you like best.

Arrival in Ouarzazate in the afternoon and overnight at the accommodation.

Breakfast and departure from Ouarzazate towards Ait Benhaddou.

Walking visit of the ksar of Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the setting for films such as Gladiator and series such as Game of Thrones. We climb up to the fortified granary to see the whole Ounila valley.

We cross the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m), with viewpoints over valleys, adobe Berber villages and peaks that are snow-capped in winter.

Marrakech, the red city: Jemaa el-Fna square, the Koutoubia mosque and the souks of the medina.

We stop for lunch at a local restaurant on the way (lunch not included) and for photos at the viewpoints you like best.

Arrival in Marrakech in the afternoon and overnight at the accommodation.

A day to discover Marrakech (with an optional official local guide). In the morning we visit the Koutoubia mosque (exterior), the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the Ben Youssef madrasa. After lunch we wander through the souks of the medina —spices, leather, lamps, carpets— and finish in Jemaa el-Fna square, which at nightfall fills with food stalls, musicians and storytellers. Optional: Majorelle Garden.