Leave the bustling medinas and souks behind and discover an altogether slower pace of life on this 3-day desert tour to Merzouga and Erg Chebbi from Marrakech. Take the Tizi-n-Tichka pass through the High Atlas Mountains and visit the UNESCO-listed Aït Benhaddou kasbah with your guide. Discover a lush oasis of palm trees at Skoura and travel along the Dadès River. Visit Rissani, the ancient capital of the Tafilalt region. Meet your camel caravan in Merzouga and enjoy an evening under the stars in the Sahara Desert. Group size is limited to 17 on this tour.
Inclusions & Exclusions
✔ Accommodation at hotel with breakfast and dinner (toilets and showers inside rooms)
✔ Dinner
✔ In-vehicle air conditioning
✔ Accommodation at desert camp with breakfast and dinner (toilets outside, showers in lodge)
✔ Breakfast
✔ English speaking Driver
✔ Hotel pickup and drop-off (hotels inside marrakech only)
✔ Camel trekking in Erg Chebbi
✖ Lunch & Drinks
✖ Local guide in Kasbah Ait Ben Hddou (available for an extra charge 2€ pp)
✖ Tips to driver
Departure & Return
Return: End right where it started.
Itinerary
Marrakech – Ouarzazate –Dades
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Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou
Following a morning pickup from your accommodation in Marrakech, head deep into the High Atlas Mountains in your air-conditioned minivan to begin your tour. Travel along the Tizi-n-Tichka pass and past rural Berber villages, where local shepherds herd their flocks the way they have for thousands of years.
First, visit the UNESCO World Heritage site of Aït Benhaddou kasbah, where locals and travelers alike have met to socialize and trade down the centuries. Soak up the atmosphere at your leisure, then head onward with your guide to a local restaurant for lunch in your (own expense).
In the afternoon, head onward with your guide to the oasis at Skoura. Pause to admire the lush, green palm trees rising like a mirage in the dry desert, then continue on along the Dadès River through deep gorges, where the ruins of ancient kasbahs lie among traditional Berber villages.
Arrive in Dades in the evening, where your dinner and accommodation await.
Overnight: at Kasbah Amazigh or kasbah chems
Duration: 5 hours
Dades– Merzouga – Erg Chebbi
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Merzouga Desert
After breakfast at your hotel, hop back aboard your minivan and travel out along the famous ‘Road of 1000 Kasbahs’ to nearby Tinghir. Stroll through the oasis to the mighty Todra Gorge, where a deep crevasse in the orange limestone provides spectacular views, then sit down to lunch at your leisure (own expense) in one of the local cafes.
In the afternoon, visit the holy town of Rissani — birthplace of Morocco’s ruling royal family and the age-old capital of the Tafilalt region. Continue on to Merzouga, a small village sitting on the borders of the Sahara Desert. Meet your camel caravan and, with the sun slowly moving across the afternoon sky, set off toward Erg Chebbi and your camp in the heart of the desert.
With traditional music from local nomads to entertain you, enjoy dinner and an evening under the stars before retiring to bed.
Overnight: campsite in the Sahara Desert
Duration: 6 hours
Erg Chebbi – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
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High Atlas Mountains
Following an early-morning stroll before breakfast to enjoy sunrise among the sand dunes (optional), ride your camel back to Merzouga and meet your driver for the start of your return journey to Marrakech.
Stop for lunch in Ouarzazate (own expense), then head onward through the spectacular scenery of the High Atlas Mountains. Arrive back at your Marrakech accommodation in the mid-evening to conclude your tour.
Duration: 9 hours
Additional info
• Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
• Specialized infant seats are available
• Not recommended for pregnant travelers
• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Good walking shoes, sunscreen and sunglasses are recommended
• It can be cold at night and in the winter so please bring appropriate clothing.
• luggages allowed to carry, there’s enough space for it in the trunk of the bus
• Dress code (seasonal recommendations
• Meals included are dinner and breakfast (vegetarian option: available).
• Return time to Marrakech : around 8 pm .
• Drop off place : once you specify your drop off address , just inform our driver on your return day.
