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Marrakech and Fez are two extraordinary cities that alone justify a trip to Morocco. But to travel from one to the other, you can organize an equally special route through the desert. This 4-day Morocco tour takes you from Marrakech to Fez, through the Atlas Mountains and deep into the Sahara Desert. A fascinating experience from a natural, ethnological and monumental point of view.
Morocco’s nature is one of the country’s great attractions. And in this route you will understand why. In these 4 days of travel, we will take you through the most spectacular corners of the Atlas Mountains: high mountain passes, a national park populated by macaques… In addition, between these mountains and the Sahara desert stretch the so-called pre-Saharan valleys, which are very interesting from a natural point of view: oases, rocky canyons, wadis, hammadas… If you like to contemplate unspoiled and authentic landscapes, this circuit is made for you.
The Sahara desert is an overwhelming, imposing, overwhelming space. But its immensity hides unimaginable secrets… that we reveal in this route. From a scenic point of view, you will be enchanted by its sand dunes in the desert of Merzouga, known as Erg Chebbi. And from a social and ethnographic point of view, this package includes two surprises: an encounter with nomadic families to learn about their traditional way of life and a visit to a village inhabited by inhabitants of sub-Saharan origin who have preserved their folk music, as they will demonstrate in a concert.
The 4 days and 3 nights of this Morocco tour are distributed as follows, starting in Marrakech and ending in Fez:
This 4 days tour in Morocco will start where you tell us: we will pick you up wherever it suits you best, whether it is your hotel in the city, the train station, the airport or any other point. Our driver will take you there in the comfortable vehicle that you will use during the whole route.
After picking you up, we will head for the High Atlas to crown the Tizi n’Tichka pass, in a picturesque ascent between villages and mountain valleys. Shortly after, we will arrive at the kasbah of Telouet, interesting for having been the castle-palace of the powerful Thami El Glaoui, who conceived it as impregnable but decorated with refinement.
Less refined but more spectacular and imposing is the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, which we will visit shortly after. This fortified village is the best example of popular and defensive architecture of the Berber civilization, with a walled hamlet under a kasbah, of which only its ruins remain. We will enter and stroll through its narrow streets, evoking the times of its splendor, at the time of the caravanserai… and also evoking the many films and series that have been filmed here, such as Game of Thrones.
After leaving this World Heritage monument, we will continue the route that, not by chance, is called ‘of the Thousand Kasbahs’. One of the stretches is also known as the Valley of the Roses, due to the importance and abundance of the cultivation of this flower. In this way we will arrive at the Dades Valley and in one of its many charming villages we will spend the night in a genuine riad with all the comforts.
The kilometers of the Dades Valley that lie ahead of us are of great beauty, as we will understand when we cross the palm groves of Tinghir, Tinjdad and Touroug, almost a miracle of nature in this arid territory. In addition, we will momentarily deviate from the route to reach the Todra Gorges, a spectacular canyon at the bottom of which runs this small river. We will walk around the area to admire its vertical walls, which are so popular with climbers.
We will reach Erfoud, a city that has gained worldwide fame for its unique fossils. And from this city, we will continue to Merzouga, where the camels will take us to the heart of the desert: the dunes of Erg Chebbi. This is the best way to discover this fairytale landscape, but also the best way to feel the vibrations, colors and sounds of this unique environment.
Our walk will end in a luxury tented camp, where we will be welcomed with tea and dinner, in an atmosphere of peace and serenity difficult to find elsewhere in the world. In addition, the starry sky will add a touch of magic to the night.
Watching the sunrise in the desert, especially in the dunes, is a highly recommended spectacle. And you will be able to experience it on this third day of the circuit, before having breakfast in the tented camp and returning to Merzouga, where we will get into the off-road vehicle to start the route of culture and adventure that awaits us this day.
The folkloric note will be provided by Gnawa music groups, descendants of former sub-Saharan slaves who settled in this desert town, named Khamlia. We will attend a concert and admire their genuine percussion and tribal rhythms, as well as their colorful costumes.
After that, we will go into dirt tracks that years ago the Paris-Dakar Rally used to travel and that now take us through khol mines and French villages in ruins, from the time of the Protectorate. In this environment we will meet nomadic families who, despite their gradual process of sedentarization, continue to maintain a lifestyle unimaginable in the frenetic post-industrial society.
After spending time with these families, we will return to Merzouga, but not before stopping at a panoramic point to enjoy the view of the dunes and the desert. Once in Merzouga, we will rest in a beautiful hotel of maximum comfort, perfectly integrated in the environment.
The fourth day is the last day of this circuit, but it includes places and experiences of maximum interest until the last moment. Our route by road has a first stop right at the beginning, in Rissani, considered one of the most picturesque cities of the desert, especially its medina, where donkeys are still parked and spices are sold as in the past.
From Rissani we will head to the Ziz Valley, which we will travel along its entire length up to the Middle Atlas. As soon as we reach the top of the pass and reach the north face of these mountains, the landscape will become greener and wetter. It is not by chance that the Ifrane National Park, home to one of the largest colonies of Barbary macaques, is located here. The centennial cedars that stand here are its best habitat.
The route continues and will take us through a most unique town: Ifrane, whose gabled roofs evoke other mountain towns more typical of Europe or North America. This is explained by the copious precipitation in the form of snow that falls here during the winter.
And in this way we will arrive in Fez, the imperial city where the route ends. We will take you to the point of the city of your choice, whether it is the hotel, the medina or any other place. And here will end our services in this circuit, with the hope of having provided the best of experiences.
In the following list you can learn about all the services of this 4-day Morocco tour, which will provide you with a premium experience:
For organizational reasons or for travelers’ freedom of decision, the travel package does not include the following services, which are left to personal choice:
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
