Fes Trip Overview
What a nice adventure on this 3 days desert tour from Fes to Merzouga desert and Marrakech enjoy the scenic road , beautiful landscapes with different colors and the berber villages along the way , visit the little Switzerland of morocco Ifran. Then Continue to Merzouga via the middle Atlas Mountains, a short stop in monkey’s forest at Azro city. We will cross the valleys and dry rives to reach Merzouga. enjoy a camel trek for a beautiful sunset over the sand dunes and overnight in a desert camp under the stars while enjoying a traditional Moroccan dinner. from Merzouga desert to Todra gorges and Dades gorges your journey continue through Skoura and Ouarzazate you will enjoy the Taourirt Kasbah and a UNESCO world heritage site of Ait ben Haddou Kasbah. Continue through high Atlas Mountains and valleys. Finally reach the magical ochre city of Marrakech.
Additional Info
* Duration: 3 days
* Starts: Fes, Morocco
* Trip Category: Cultural & Theme Tours >> Cultural Tours
Explore Promoted Experiences
What to Expect When Visiting Fes, Fes-Meknes, Morocco
What a nice adventure on this 3 days desert tour from Fes to Merzouga desert and Marrakech enjoy the scenic road , beautiful landscapes with different colors and the berber villages along the way , visit the little Switzerland of morocco Ifran. Then Continue to Merzouga via the middle Atlas Mountains, a short stop in monkey’s forest at Azro city. We will cross the valleys and dry rives to reach Merzouga. enjoy a camel trek for a beautiful sunset over the sand dunes and overnight in a desert camp under the stars while enjoying a traditional Moroccan dinner. from Merzouga desert to Todra gorges and Dades gorges your journey continue through Skoura and Ouarzazate you will enjoy the Taourirt Kasbah and a UNESCO world heritage site of Ait ben Haddou Kasbah. Continue through high Atlas Mountains and valleys. Finally reach the magical ochre city of Marrakech.
Itinerary
Day 1: Fez – Ifrane – Midelt – Ziz Valley – Merzouga.
Stop At: Ifrane, Ifrane, Fes-Meknes
Departure from Fes this is a long driving day, where we will meet different colors of the kingdom by leaving the old Moroccan city of Fes. On the way we will pass through the most modern and clean city in the country Ifran. This Berber name of Ifran means caves and it is nicknamed in Morocco as a little Switzerland since it is a very green town and is a ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco because of its high altitude at 1665 meters. Ifran is very known as well by The Brotherhood private university, established in 1997 by The king of Morocco Hassan II and the king of Saudi Arabia Fahd. Where all classes are taught in English, it is an international university.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Azrou Cedar Forest, Azrou Morocco
a short visit of the monkey’s park (optional)
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Midelt, Midelt, Meknes-Tafilalet Region
Lunch will be scheduled in a Berber village called Midelt which is situated on the foothills of the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. From vast plateau we start crossing up those tough mountains which are still settled by a big Berber community. The landscapes here includes palm tree oases at Jbel Ayachi (at 3747 m) before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Errachidia, Errachidia, Meknes-Tafilalet Region
a short break for toilet ect.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Erfoud, Erfoud, Meknes-Tafilalet Region
Erfoud, which is famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries. Fossils are a major industry in Erfoud, some 350 million years ago the region around Erfoud was a part of the huge ocean.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Merzouga Desert, Merzouga Morocco
Heading up to the red colored sand sea dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga. From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the huge sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon. in the evening we go on a camel ride about one hour and half to meet one of the most fascinating sight we will ever seen, the superb sunset in the middle of the high sand dunes of Merzouga. Overnight in Berber tented desert camp and enjoy a wonderful stars view.
Duration: 12 hours
Meals included:
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Merzouga Dunes Luxury Camp:
private sleeping camp with shower and toilet.
Day 2: Merzouga – Tinghir – Todra Gorges – Dades Gorges.
Stop At: Merzouga, Merzouga, Draa-Tafilalet
If you wake up early enough, you can see the spectacular of the sunrise, when the color of the dunes and the play of shadow are awesome. Then taking camel again for going back then departing to Khamlia.
Duration: 1 day 6 hours
Stop At: Khamlia Gnawa Music, Najm el Khamlia Ksar Khamlia BP 86, Khamlia 52202 Morocco
Khamlia a village plenty of nomadic black people .We shall stop by a nomadic family to have tea and see what a nomadic life looks like. Let’s discover the nomadic life of Touareg people by visiting Alkhamliya, a village where nothing has been changed through centuries.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Rissani, Morocco
Rissani, the hometown of the Alaouist dynasty, where Moulay Ali sheriff started to unify Morocco under his red flag in the beginning of the 17th century. Visiting Rissani and the Mausoleum of the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, Moulay Ali Chrif. This silent town was the ancient capital of Tafilalet and its location as a crossroads between north and south brought the city to an important status of a former major caravan center.
Duration: 20 minutes
Stop At: Gargantas del Todra, Tinerhir 45800 Morocco
from Rissani to the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges are situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of the Colorado, with its high plateau, its gorges and great canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4000 m, with Jbel Saghro 2500 m and Jbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated by Berbers. Here you can enjoy a hike among those fabulous canyons.
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Dades Gorges, R704 Atlas Mountains, Boumalne Dades 45350 Morocco
from the great canyons of Todra we go to Dades valley
We pass through Boumalen city situated on the edge of Dades valley which rises in the High Atlas Mountains, giving life to a huge Berber community by its rich agriculture, to the great Dades Gorges.
Duration: 12 hours
Meals included:
• Breakfast
• Dinner
Accommodation included: Luxury Riad Dades:
Private room with shower and toilet+ heater/AC.
Day 3: Dades Gorges – Valley of Roses – Ouarzazate – Ait Ben Haddou – Marrakech.
Stop At: Valley of the Roses, Dades Valley near Bouteghrar, El Kelaa M’gouna 43000 Morocco
another valley called valley of roses appearing with the green colors of its Alfalfa plants, olive trees, fig trees and grapes. This valley gives birth to a rose from which locals produces different cosmetic products like soap, perfumes and skin creams. Locals here celebrate this rose by organizing a national festival each end of April.
Duration: 15 minutes
Stop At: Kasbah Amridil, Ouled Bourasse, Skoura Ahl El Oust 45502 Morocco
Getting to Ouarzazate along the road of 1000 Kasbahs, since there are enormous Kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of those old fortified houses are restored but unfortunately a lot of them are ruins. A visit to one of those Kasbahs is scheduled by seeing Amridil Kasbah.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Ouarzazate, Ouarzazate, Draa-Tafilalet
Ouarzazate (Hollywood of Africa, Noiselessly town, The door of the desert), is a city situated in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. It is mainly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent Kasbahs and building for which the area is known. One of those building is Taourirt Kasbah diverted in 17th century. Why this town is nicknamed as Hollywood of Africa? Simply because it has been noted as a film-making location, with Morocco’s biggest studios inviting many international film companies to shoot their movies like: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997) and Babel (2005)
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
Stop At: Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, Douar Ait Ben Haddou, Ait Ben Haddou 45000 Morocco
30 km from Ouarzazate there is the fortified Aït Ben Haddou, built in the 11th century. Once up on a time this Kasbah was the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. It is situated on a hill along the Ounila River and has some beautiful examples of Kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damage during each rainstorm and windstorms. Most of the town’s inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, around five families are still living within this Kasbah.Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Gladiator (2000) and Alexander (2004).
Duration: 1 hour
Stop At: Kasbah du Pacha el Glaoui, Proche Telouet, Telouet 45252 Morocco
Telouet Kasbah is a Kasbah along the former route of the caravans from the Sahara over the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. The kasbah was the seat of the El Glaoui family’s power, thus sometimes also called the Palace of Glaoui. Its construction started in 1860 and it was further expanded in later years.
(OPTIONAL VISIT)
From this beautiful Kasbah.
we head to Marrakech via high atlas mountains Tizn Tichka Pass (2200 meter of altitude) During the journey we will enjoy many beautiful scenes of the Berber villages, elevated views of the mountains.
Duration: 30 minutes
Stop At: Tizi n’Tichka, Tizi N’Tichka, Morocco
a quick stop at panoramic of Tizn Tichka at elevation of 2260.
Duration: 10 minutes
Stop At: Marrakech, Marrakech, Marrakech-Safi
after enjoying the spectacular mountains we get to the magical city of Marrakech and drop-off at your accommodation anywhere on Marrakech where your trip is up to end.
Duration: 10 minutes
Meals included:
• Breakfast
No accommodation included on this day.
