Overview
The Atlas Mountains and the Sahara, plus a day to yourself, before a camel trek and night in a Berber camp and through the Atlas mountains to Marrakech or back to Fes.
- 3 Days
- Group
- Departure Every Day
- groupdeserttours@gmail.com
- +212689100646
- Join our Groups, Tours available every day
3 Days / 2 Nights Desert Trip from Fes to Marrakech
180 € / Per person
| Destination: | Merzouga Erg Chebbi Dunes |
| Start: | Fes |
| Finish: | Marrakech |
| Departure Time: | 8 am |
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Itinerary
01
Day 1 : Fes - Atlas Mountains - Merzouga
we will pick you up from you hotel or Riad at 8 am for the fabulous journey up into the Middle Atlas Mountains. The first stop will be the delightful town of Ifrane, built by the French in the 1930's and known as Morocco's Switzerland. Next you will travel through the huge cedar forests around the Berber village of Azrou, The Rock in the local Berber dialect where the famous Barbary apes, actually macaque monkeys will attempt to share your lunch in their natural habitat. Then, passing through the Atlas Mountains, that are said to hold up the sky, winding your way through forested peaks, twisting mountain streams and springs and spectacular, rough rock walls, you will arrive at the important Sahara's edge town of Rissani, then continuing on south to merzouga. At dusk, you will find your camel prepared to carry you off into the glorious sunset on an unforgettable ninety minute camel trek through the shifting desert sands before you arrive at a traditional Berber desert encampment to spend the night in a tent, surrounded by mountainous dunes. Your guide will cook you an authentic Moroccan repast while you just take it easy, watching the stars, so many and so bright, you feel you could reach out and touch them, and listening to the soft sounds of time-honoured Berber music. A truly memorable day.
02
Day 2 : Sahara Desert - Todra Gorges - Ouarzazate
An early start, as you are awoken to experience the splendour of the sun rising over the sand dunes, then you will ride your camel gently back to a hotel for breakfast, during which ride, you cannot fail to notice the shifting and changing of the shadows cast by the dunes, lengthening and shrinking as the day progresses. After breakfast, the journey to Ouarzazate begins with a drive through the 300 meters deep canyon of the Todgha Gorges cut through the easternmost tip of the High Atlas Mountains where you can enjoy some hiking around the pretty village of Tinghir. The Tinghir and Todgha gorges are the highest and narrowest in Morocco and, some would say, the most beautiful. The next stop is Rose City the Berber town of Kelaat Mgouna, where every year, usually in mid-May (though the times may vary), at rose harvest time, there is a celebration of the Festival of Roses. This provides an opportunity for the local growers to meet up and sell their wares, most notably rose water which will leave your clothes, body and bed linen smelling sweetly long after it is applied. After this you will travel on to the fertile oasis of Skoura, surrounded by huge groves of palm trees with stunning views of the mighty Atlas Mountains. Finally, you'll finish your day with an evening arrival in Ouarzazate where you will enjoy your dinner and stay overnight in an hotel.
03
Day 3 : Ouarzazate - Ait Ben Haddou - Marrakech
After a hearty breakfast explore the film sets and studios of Ouarzazate, Africa's Hollywood whose astonishing scenery and topography have lured some of the world's leading film-makers and directors to make use of the landscape. These are the most famous and largest film studios in all of the African continent. You may visit the studio museum where you can see props and other items of interest from films such as Gladiator, The Mummy and Indiana Jones as well as parts of the popular TV series Game of Thrones. Afterwards, take a pleasant stroll to examine the traditional Moroccan architecture that comprises the Ait Ben Haddou Kasbah. This central region of the country is vibrant and exciting and surely one of the most romantic regions in Morocco, huddled between fertile, green river valleys with their extensive palmeries and burnished mud-brick houses burning under the blazing Moroccan sun in dazzling colors beneath the azure sky. Then it's time to continue on your journey, though the High Atlas Mountains , through the astounding Tizi n'tichka Pass, over two and a quarter kilometres above sea level, along twisting, turning mountain roads dotted with picturesque Berber villages and crystal clear waterfalls, until you reach journrey's end, Marrakech. The desert tour ends when Fes Desert Trips drops you off at your hotel or riad.
