3 Days
From Marrakech
3-Day Marrakech to Merzouga Desert Tour
The classic short Sahara trip: gorges, kasbahs and the great dunes.
from€289 /person
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A one-way desert crossing linking Morocco's two great cities.
A one-way desert crossing linking Morocco's two great cities. This 3-day private journey begins in Fez and is designed to give you the best of the route without the rush — with hand-picked accommodation, an English-speaking driver-guide and plenty of freedom to stop wherever catches your eye.
Highlights include ziz valley & erg chebbi, todra gorge, aït ben haddou to marrakech. Like every Edita itinerary it is fully flexible: we can lengthen or shorten it, upgrade your riads and desert camp, or change the start and finish cities to fit your flights.
Keep exploring: Morocco Tours from Fez · all 39 Morocco tours · Fez to Merzouga: Desert Route Guide
One of the great road days in Morocco, carrying us from the medieval north to the edge of the Sahara across ever-changing landscapes. We climb into the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, a curiously alpine town of pitched roofs and gardens nicknamed 'little Switzerland', then into the cedar forests around Azrou where troops of wild Barbary macaques gather at the roadside. Beyond Midelt the mountains give way to the dramatic gorges and endless palm groves of the Ziz Valley, a ribbon of green threading through bare desert rock. By late afternoon the first dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon. We swap the vehicle for camels and ride out over the sand as the light turns molten, reaching a Berber camp for tea, dinner and drumming beneath a blaze of stars.
Leaving the great dunes behind, we set off west along the fabled Road of a Thousand Kasbahs. First we pause in Rissani, the market town built on the ruins of Sijilmassa, once a wealthy caravan capital at the gateway to the Sahara, and pass through Erfoud, centre of the date and fossil trade. The route then climbs into the Atlas foothills to the magnificent Todra Gorge, where sheer rose-coloured limestone walls soar 300 metres and close to just a few metres apart above a clear river — we walk a stretch on foot, dwarfed by the cliffs. Continuing through Tinghir's palm oasis and a string of earthen ksour, we reach the Dades Valley in the late afternoon, checking in near the dramatic gorge with its famous switchback road for the night.
A grand finale of a driving day, linking the desert to Marrakech across some of Morocco's most cinematic scenery. We follow the valley through the Skoura palm oasis, with its old mud-brick kasbahs, to Ouarzazate, the 'door of the desert' and the country's film capital, where epics from Lawrence of Arabia to Gladiator were shot. Nearby stands the jewel of the route: Ait Ben Haddou, a UNESCO World Heritage ksar of fortified earthen towers rising above the river, its lanes and rooftops instantly familiar from countless films. We take time to climb through the old village to the granary at the top for sweeping views. Then we cross the High Atlas by the spectacular Tizi n'Tichka pass, winding past Berber villages, and descend to Marrakech by evening.
“Impeccably organised and completely private. We changed the plan twice and Edita made it effortless. The Sahara sunrise was unforgettable.”
“From Fez to Marrakech we saw a side of Morocco most tourists miss. Comfortable 4x4, wonderful riads and a driver who knew every hidden spot.”
3 Days
The classic short Sahara trip: gorges, kasbahs and the great dunes.
3 Days
Fly into the desert and ride straight to the Erg Chebbi dunes.
2 Days
A fast, scenic overnight in the Erg Chebbi dunes from Fez.