Excursion to the Merzouga desert from Marrakech

After breakfast, you will ascend the Dades Valley by car, passing through some breathtaking hairpin turns (watch the Cadillac brakes test on YouTube) right before you get to the Dades Gorges. After extending your legs and admiring the scenery from the opposite side, you will proceed to Toudgha and its distinct gorges. From here, you take the Ziz Valley and Erfoud—famous for its abundance of fossils that have been honed and polished into exquisite artifacts—to the edge of the dunes by car.

You ride the camels from the edge of the desert to your opulent desert camp in the afternoon, where you are greeted with tea and biscuits. To see the breathtaking sunset, ascend to the top of the closest high dunes.

You eat dinner and spend the night in an opulent camp featuring king-sized beds, a private bathroom, exquisite Moroccan furnishings, and lamps that are thoughtfully placed to maximize your enjoyment of the solitude and beauty of the dunes.

The colorful and shadowy display of the sunrise makes getting out of bed early worthwhile. The Dra’a Valley is reached by driving west, with the Saghro mountains to the right, on the return trip. With only 100 mm of rain falling on the lower slopes and 300 mm on the hills, this is one of the driest regions in the nation. In order to have lunch with a view of the mountains, we travel through the villages of Tazzarine and N’Qob.

We head west in the afternoon to Tansikht, which is located on the banks of the Dra’a River. The Dra’a valley is dotted with old kasbahs and enormous palm trees, which are typical of this region of the south. We trace the path of the historic caravan route, which carried valuable goods from Mail and Niger all the way north from the Sahara to Agdez. Almost at the top of the valley is Kasbah Tamnougalte, the oldest kasbah in the area. On top of the mountains, many of the watch towers that were built to guarantee the safety of the camels and the men who accompanied them are still clearly visible.

Returning to the primary north-south route, we traverse the 1660-meter-high Tizi-n’Tinfifte pass to arrive at Ouarzazate. We resume our journey along the main road across the High Atlas to cap off this amazing desert excursion from Marrakech. By late afternoon, we get to Marrakech. Your driver will take you to your riad at the conclusion of your 3-day Sahara Desert tour from Marrakech to Merzouga Desert!