Morocco Splendid Tours

Following a morning pickup from your accommodation in Marrakech, you will be heading deep into the High Atlas Mountains to begin your tour. You will travel along the Tizi-n-Tichka mountain pass and go by rural Berber villages, where local shepherds herd their flocks the way they have done it for thousands of years. First, you will 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 and then you will be heading to Ouarzazate for lunch at a local restaurant and perhaps visit Taourirte Kasbah — a popular meeting place for people from the Atlas, Drâa and Dades valleys. In the afternoon, you will head onward with your guide to the oasis in Skoura. You will have the chance to pause to admire the lush green palm trees rising like a mirage in the dry desert and then continue along the Dades River through deep gorges, where the ruins of ancient kasbahs lie among traditional Berber villages. You will arrive in the evening to Boumalne Dades, where dinner and accommodation await, and there you will spend the night at a hotel or riad.

After breakfast at the hotel, you will resume the trip and travel along the famous ‘Road of 1000 Kasbahs’ to the nearby city of Tinghir. You will be strolling through the oasis to the mighty Todra Gorge, where a deep crevasse in the orange limestone provides spectacular views, then you will stop for lunch at your leisure (own expense) in one of the local cafes. In the afternoon, we will visit the holy town of Rissani — origin of Morocco’s ruling royal family and the age-old capital of the Tafilalet region. Then, we continue to Merzouga, a small village sitting on the borders of the Sahara Desert. You will meet your camel caravan and, with the sun slowly moving across the afternoon sky, you will set off toward Erg Chebbi and the camp at the heart of the desert. With traditional music from local nomads to entertain you, you will enjoy dinner and an evening under the stars before retiring to bed. Overnight: campsite in the Sahara Desert.

Following an early-morning stroll before breakfast to enjoy sunrise among the sand dunes (optional), you will ride your camel back to Merzouga and meet your driver for the start of your return journey to Marrakech. You will stop for lunch in Ouarzazate (own expense), then head onward through the spectacular scenery of the High Atlas Mountains. When you arrive back to your Marrakech accommodation in the mid-evening the tour will be concluded.