3-Day Desert Tour from Marrakech to Fez

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Begin your journey early, leaving Marrakech’s bustling streets behind as you ascend the High Atlas Mountains. Wind through Tizi n’Tichka Pass, where hairpin roads reveal terraced villages and valleys dotted with almond trees. Stop for mint tea in a Berber hamlet, learning about local life amid the rugged peaks. Descend to Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO-listed clay fortress that has starred in films like Gladiator. Walk through its labyrinthine alleys, imagining centuries of traders and caravans. Continue to Ouarzazate, the “Gateway to the Sahara,” and settle into a traditional riad for the night, savoring tagine as the sun sets over the desert’s edge.

After breakfast, drive through the Dades Valley, nicknamed the “Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs,” where crumbling mud-brick castles rise above date palms. Pause at Todra Gorge, a sheer 300-meter canyon carved by turquoise rivers—stretch your legs with a short hike between its towering walls. Lunch in a village shaded by pomegranate trees, then journey deeper south. By late afternoon, arrive in Merzouga, where the Erg Chebbi dunes begin. Swap wheels for camelback, trekking into the Sahara as the dunes glow amber in the fading light. At camp, sip sweet tea with nomadic hosts, feast on couscous, and fall asleep under a blanket of stars, the desert silence broken only by the whisper of shifting sand.

Wake early to climb a dune and watch the sun rise over the Sahara, painting the landscape in soft golds and pinks. Return to Merzouga for a hearty breakfast, then begin the drive north. Pass through the Ziz Valley, a lush ribbon of green palms cutting through arid hills, and stop in Midelt for lunch amid apple orchards at the foot of the Atlas. Cross the Middle Atlas Mountains, where cedar forests shelter Barbary macaques, and descend into Fez as evening falls. Your tour ends in the medieval heart of Fez’s medina, its maze of alleys and ancient tanneries a vivid contrast to the Sahara’s vast, open skies.