4-daagse woestijntour van Marrakesh naar Fes via Merzouga (ontspannen)

We leave Marrakech in the morning and climb into the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, at 2,260 metres the highest road pass in Morocco. On the other side the road drops to Ait Ben Haddou, the old clay ksar, where we walk through the lanes and climb to the top for the view over the valley. From there we drive on into the Dades Valley, where the road runs between red rock walls and green palm groves. We spend the night in a hotel or riad in the Dades Valley, with dinner included.

After breakfast we drive to the Todra Gorge, where the road runs between high rock walls and there is time for a short walk on the valley floor. Then the road turns south through the desert towns towards Merzouga, and the first dunes of Erg Chebbi appear on the horizon. In the late afternoon we ride camels at sunset into the dunes, up to 150 metres high, to the desert camp. Dinner is served in camp, with music by the fire, and we sleep in the camp under the stars.

This is the free day in the desert, the extra day that makes this tour the relaxed one. In the morning we visit the village of Khamlia, and there is time to try sandboarding on the dunes. The afternoon is yours: rest in the shade, walk the dunes or ride out again on a camel. We spend a second night around Merzouga, in the camp or in a hotel at the edge of the dunes, with dinner included.

We watch the sunrise in the dunes, then ride the camels back to the village and drive north through the Ziz Valley, where the road follows the river between long palm groves. The route climbs into the Middle Atlas and the cedar forest near Azrou, a green change after the desert, before dropping down to Fes. We arrive in the late afternoon, and the tour ends in Fes.