Kasbahs, Valley, & Dunes - 4 days 3 nights

1st day : Marrakesh – Ouarzazate 

We depart at 8 am. from Marrakesh, cross the High Atlas Mountains. After the Tichka pass, we leave the main road, take a side road to Telouet Kasbah, which belonged to the Glaoui family (Lords of the Atlas), it is in ruins now after the French left and the last Pasha fled. 

We continue along the beautiful connecting road and ea lunch at Ait Ben Haddou. When lunch is over we can visit the Kasbah. It is the most famous in Morocco and is a UNESCO World Heritage site. We spend the night a short distance away in Ouarzazate. 

 

2nd day : Ouarzazate - Mhamid 

We have breakfast and depart to Agdez, we stop and visit Kasbah Tamnougalte, the oldest Kasbah in the Dra'a Valley Then we take the caravan road between the river and the mountains. Along the way, we pass villages and gardens and you can get some perspective of the way of life along the oases. We stop for lunch in Once Zagora. We stop for lunch in a riad. Later in the afternoon, we drive to M’hamid, the gate to the desert. Here, you can take a one to two hour camel ride to the highest dune and see an incredible sunset. You’ll enjoy the rest of the night in a nomad tent close to the dunes of Erg Lihoudi. 

 

3rd day : M’hamid – Chagaga 

We have breakfast and then head back to M’hamid to visit an old village across the now often dry river, Dra’a. Later in the afternoon, we leave and head to the Erg Chagaga dunes (300m) with 60km of off-road. This route passes various characteristics of the desert ; ‘erg’, ‘reg’, ‘hammada’, oases. These dunes are far away from civilization, in the desert proper. where the silence and the expanse of the sand are an overwhelming site. You could have a second camel ride here, if you would like. Dinner and a good night’s sleep are in a bivouac of nomad tents. 

 

4th day : Chagaga – Marrakesh 

After we have breakfast, the road takes us through another 90km of desert with various scenery ; Lake Iriqui, the mountains and fossils. We will have lunch in Foum Zguid, it’s the first village after the desert. You can take a refreshing shower here. We drive back to Marrakesh on a paved road by way of the village of Taznakht, which is famous for its Berber carpets and rugs. Then, we cross the High Atlas to reach Marrakesh by the end of the afternoon.