6 Days Morocco Desert Tour: Marrakech to Fes

Your driver picks you up at your hotel or riad in Marrakech and you head for the High Atlas on the Tizi n'Tichka pass, a high, twisting road with stops for photos of the peaks and the Berber villages along the way.

On the southern side you reach Aït Ben Haddou, a fortified earthen ksar on a hill above the Ounila river. It has appeared in many films, from Lawrence of Arabia and The Man Who Would Be King to The Mummy and Gladiator. After your visit you continue to Ouarzazate to see the Atlas Film Studios and the Taourirt Kasbah.

Moment to remember: the view over the Ounila valley from the top of Aït Ben Haddou.

After breakfast you drive to the Skoura oasis to visit Kasbah Amridil, one of the best-preserved kasbahs in the south, surrounded by huge palm groves with the Atlas behind. You continue to the Rose Valley around Kelaa M'Gouna and stop for lunch.

The afternoon follows the Dades Valley, nicknamed the road of a thousand kasbahs for the earthen villages along it, then Tinghir and its oasis, with photo stops above the river. You arrive at the Todra Gorges in the evening and spend the night by the river.

Moment to remember: the palm groves of Tinghir seen from the road above the oasis.

Start the day with a walk through the Todra Gorges, where rock walls around 300 meters high rise on both sides of the river. You then drive to Tinejdad for lunch and on towards Erfoud, passing the khettaras, the old underground irrigation channels of the oases. In Erfoud you can stop at a workshop where the region's fossil marble is cut and polished.

At your hotel at the foot of the Erg Chebbi dunes, you meet your camels and ride across the sand at sunset to your luxury camp. The evening continues with dinner, music and dancing around the fire, and you can sleep in your tent or under the stars.

Moment to remember: riding into the dunes as the sand turns orange at sunset.

Wake early for one of the most beautiful sunrises of your life over the dunes, then have breakfast at the camp and ride your camel back to the hotel for a shower.

The rest of the day is for exploring the desert around Erg Chebbi: small villages, fossil sites and a visit to nomad families who still live in tents, sharing tea and learning about their way of life. In the evening you relax at your hotel with dinner and music.

Moment to remember: tea in a nomad tent with the dunes on the horizon.

The morning is free to sleep in or enjoy the dunes around your hotel. After lunch you head north to Rissani, where you see the mausoleum area of Moulay Ali Cherif, ancestor of the ruling Alaouite dynasty, and can wander through its busy souk, one of the best-known markets in the south.

The road passes Erfoud and the Aoufous oasis viewpoint to Errachidia and the Hassan Addakhil dam, then follows the Ziz river through its gorges and earthen ksour. After Rich you cross the Tizi n'Talghamt pass (1,907 m) and arrive in Midelt, at the foot of the Middle Atlas.

Moment to remember: the Ziz gorges and their palm groves seen from the road above.

After breakfast you drive north with views of Jebel Ayachi, often snow-capped in winter. In the cedar forest near Azrou you stop to see the Barbary macaques and take a short walk through the town.

In Ifrane, a mountain town of sloping roofs that locals call the Switzerland of Morocco, you can photograph the famous stone lion and pass Al Akhawayn University. The road continues through Imouzzer Kandar to Fes, where your driver drops you at your hotel or riad. The route can be adapted to your needs, and we plan it around comfortable driving times.

Moment to remember: the stone lion of Ifrane among the cedars.