4 Day Marrakech Desert Tour to Merzouga

We pick you up at your hotel to begin your 4-day desert tour with a memorable drive from Marrakech to the Dades Gorges across the High Atlas Mountains. Climbing to the 2,260-m Tizi n’Tichka pass, you’ll see stunning villages perched over the mountain crests.

We then travel through the arid stone desert to Ouarzazate to explore the Kasbah of Taourirt and the renowned film studios. After lunch, enjoy the drive into the Dades Valley along the famous Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, through the intriguing town of Skoura and on to Kelaat M’Gouna, renowned for its roses. When you arrive at Boumalne Dades, you can dine, relax, and sleep for the night.

Leave early in the morning to enjoy the changing scenery on the road to the Merzouga dunes. After crossing the Tinghir oasis, you drive through palm groves towards the Todra Gorges, where limestone cliffs split the stunning mountains of the Todra Massif before dropping to the flat bed of the river.

The walls rise up to 320 metres above the gorge, whose river flows down from the High Atlas. After a break, explore the valleys and palm groves. Then, after a hearty meal, stroll through Tinjdad or Erfoud among the palms.

Your tour continues to its most beautiful destination: the Merzouga desert, where you ride a camel through the captivating, windswept dunes of Erg Chebbi. It’s your chance to enjoy stunning sunsets over the golden sand, which shifts like floating sculpture.

Watch the desert change colour with the light — the dunes become living walls, the tallest reaching an astounding 150 metres. It’s a sight that will leave you amazed and inspired.

Then immerse yourself in a unique cultural experience: a magical night under the stars in traditional nomad tents. After a delicious meal, enjoy an evening of Berber music with the locals — a highlight of your four-day tour, if not your entire time in Morocco.

Get up early to catch the stunning sunrise, then refresh yourself with breakfast at the camp before riding back to the starting point. Your tour continues through Merzouga towards the Tafilalet palm grove and the village of Rissani, where the Alaouite dynasty began.

Explore this old capital of the Alaouite sultans before heading to the town of Alnif, following the road through the Jbel Saghro chain of the Anti-Atlas. Watch for the grey-black mountains and their unique shapes as you travel between the Berber settlements of Tazzarine and N’kob, and finally drive into the Draa Valley with its majestic rows of palms.

In the afternoon, we cross the Anti-Atlas over the Tizi n’Tinififft pass to Ouarzazate, where a comfortable, relaxing night at a riad or kasbah awaits you.

We leave Ouarzazate early in the morning for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ait Ben Haddou — home to Morocco’s most stunning kasbah and best-preserved fortresses, and a window into the country’s rich history.

The site has appeared in many films, including The Mummy, Gladiator, Seven Years in Tibet, Alexander, and Babel. From Ait Ben Haddou, we head for the imposing Atlas Mountains and cross the High Atlas on Morocco’s most awe-inspiring road, the Tizi n’Tichka at 2,260 m, with stunning views of mountains, valleys, and Berber villages. You check in for the night.