Discover the Magic: 3-Day Sahara Desert Journey from Marrakech to Merzouga

After breakfast, you will drive up the Dades Valley, including some amazing hairpin bends (cf. YouTube Cadillac brakes test) just before reaching the Dades Gorges. Having stretched your legs by walking through the gorges and taking a peak at the landscape on the other side, you will continue to Toudgha to the very different gorges there. Lunch will either be here in the Gorges or later at the bivouac in the Erg Chebbi dunes. You drive there via the Ziz Valley, and the towns of Erfoud, famous for its fossil finds turned into beautiful artifacts, and Rissani, which is where the king’s family originates,. In the afternoon, after a welcoming glass of tea, you can take a one- and a half-hour camel ride in the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m). You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings, and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the color of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. The drive back west to the Dra’a Valley takes us along the length of the Saghro mountains, one of the driest areas in the country, with about 100 mm of rain at the bottom and 300 mm on the hills. We pass the villages of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’) and N’Qob, where we have lunch overlooking the mountains. In the afternoon, we drive further west to Tansikht on the banks of the Dra’a River. The Dra’a valley is full of large palm trees and ancient kasbahs, typical of the landscape in this part of the south. We go along the track of the ancient caravan route, which worked its way north from the Sahara to Agdez with its precious cargo from Mail and Niger. The oldest kasbah in the valley, Kasbah Tamnougalte, is situated almost at the top of the valley. Many of the watch towers to ensure the safety of the camels and the accompanying men are still very visible on the tops of the mountains on the side of the river. Back on the main north-south road again, we cross the Tizi-n’Tinfifte pass, 1660m, to reach Ouarzazate. We end this unforgettable Marrakech desert trip by continuing along the main road over the High Atlas again. We reach Marrakech by the end of the afternoon. Your 3-day Sahara Desert tour from Marrakech to Merzouga Desert comes to an end as your driver escorts you to your riad!