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Do you plan to visit Marrakech and Fez during your vacations in Morocco? For organizational reasons, are you arriving in the country via Marrakech and leaving via Fez? In that case, we have an unbeatable proposal to travel from one city to another: a road route that takes you to the Atlas, the desert and the pre-Saharan valleys. In this way, you will get to know the fascinating attractions hidden beyond this mountain range, thus completing an unforgettable vacation in Morocco.
The Sahara desert has a special magnetism for all travelers. Therefore, if you are going to travel to Morocco, you will not be able to resist visiting its most iconic places. And the most authentic is probably Erg Chebbi: spectacular sand dunes where a peaceful camp of Berber luxury tents is located. In addition, getting here is an experience: for the camel ride that we will take and for the route through the pre-Saharan valleys that we will have to do by road. These valleys, especially the Dades and Ziz, are an extraordinary mix of hammada, oasis and adobe fortresses that leaves no one indifferent.
The Atlas Mountains are a seemingly impassable barrier that hides places of great beauty. And during this 3-day tour, we will discover them. For example, the fertile and wild valleys of the northern slopes of the High Atlas Mountains, just outside Marrakech. Or the Cedar National Park, also called Monkey Forest, in the Middle Atlas, not far from Fez. On the other hand, the southern slopes provide a striking counterpoint, more arid and desert-like, with a different kind of beauty but the same charm of unspoiled nature.
The great peculiarity of this 3-day Morocco tour is that it starts in Marrakech but ends in Fez. The following is the detailed travel program:
This 3-day tour starts at the hotel in Marrakech or at the agreed meeting point: our driver will pick you up in our comfortable private vehicle, which will be used for the entire trip.
From there, we will depart for the High Atlas Mountains, ascending through cool and fertile valleys, dotted with picturesque villages, against the backdrop of the highest peaks of this mountain range. In winter, in fact, they are white because of the snow. We will cross these mountains through the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters.
Shortly after starting our descent, we will stop at the Kasbah of Telouet, one of the fortress-residences of the powerful El Glaoui family in the area. Its style and architecture will partly remind us of the ksar that we will visit soon after: Ait Beh Haddou, a spectacular walled village, built in adob following the fundamental criteria of the Berber tradition. Not in vain, it was a strategic enclave on the caravan routes centuries ago. Today it is for tourist routes, protected by its World Heritage distinction by Unesco.
After admiring both traditional buildings, we will head to the Dades Valley, one of the most beautiful in the south of the country, dotted with villages that have sprung up in the shelter of the oases that this river leaves in its path. In one of them, Boumalne Dades, we will spend the night in a magnificent riad with lots of charm.
The Dades Valley will remain the axis of our route at the beginning of the second day of the circuit, reaching charming villages such as Tinghir, called ‘the mountain village’ in the local language, Tamazight.
But just at that point we will turn off to enter the Todra Gorges, an amazing and magical canyon, chiseled by the Todra River to create a gorge of vertical walls that rise up to about 200 meters in some points.
After discovering and photographing this ‘miracle’ of nature as it deserves, we will continue by road, between ancient kasbahs, palm groves, steep hills and farmland, until we reach the gates of the desert. We will stop in Rissani, one of the most picturesque destinations in the area, with a medina that maintains its traditional life, as evidenced by its donkey parking.
The next stop will be Merzouga, in this case to leave the motor vehicle and get on the back of camels for an exciting ride: we will cross the dunes of Erg Chebbi, probably the best preserved of the (few) that Morocco has in its territory.
This journey will turn us into real Tuaregs and will take us to the tented camp in the heart of the desert. In these Berber tents we will enjoy a comfortable and intimate night, not only because of the welcome tea, the included dinner and the fire of the hearth that is usually lit in the center, but also because of the incomparable brightness of the stars in the sky.
The third day of the circuit is the last, but it will bring us great emotions and images that will remain forever in our memories. One of them will be the sunrise in the desert dunes, which are tinged with warm lights with a thousand shades. After that, we will have breakfast and return to Merzouga for a shower and return to our vehicle.
Already on the road, the route will take us to Erfoud, known worldwide for the richness of its fossils, in some cases with species that inhabited this land millions of years ago. Afterwards, we will continue north up the Ziz Valley until we reach the Middle Atlas Mountains.
Passing to the north face of this mountain range, we will come into contact with the greenest and wettest Morocco. In fact, a very important National Park is located here: the Ifrane National Park, also known as the National Park of the Cedars or the National Park of the Monkeys, because both the Atlas cedars and the Barbary macaques are the most characteristic and numerous species of its flora and fauna.
After visiting this green place, we will only have to head towards Fez, passing through the village of Ifrane, known as the Switzerland of Morocco for its gabled houses, as in that alpine country. Shortly after, we will arrive at the aforementioned city of Fez, where the circuit will end, at the point that suits you best.
These are the services included in this travel package, which will allow you to enjoy the route to the fullest:
These other services will be paid for separately, as they are not included in the circuit package:
Fill out the form below to receive a free, no-obligation, tailor-made quote from an agency specialized in Morocco.
Travel agency and DMC specialized in private and tailor-made trips to Morocco.
Mandala Tours, S.L, NIF: B51037471
License: C.I.AN-187782-3
