5 Day Desert and Gorges Tour from Marrakech
A round trip from Marrakech that gives the Sahara the time it deserves. Over five private days you cross the High Atlas, sleep in the Dades Valley, walk Todra Gorge, spend two nights at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes (one of them in a desert camp) and return through the palm groves of the Draa Valley and the film studios of Ouarzazate.
- Duration: 5 days, 4 nights
- Starts and ends: Marrakech
- Route: Marrakech → Ait Ben Haddou → Dades → Todra → Merzouga → Nkob → Draa Valley → Ouarzazate → Marrakech
- Price: on request, depends on group size and camp level
Highlights
- Two nights in the Merzouga area, including a camp in the dunes
- A free day for a 4x4 tour of the desert, nomad families and Khamlia music
- Dades and Todra, the two great gorges of the south
- A different road home through the Draa Valley palm groves
- The kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou and Ouarzazate's Atlas film studios
- No backtracking: the loop never repeats a road until the Atlas pass
Day by Day
Day 1: Marrakech → Tizi n'Tichka → Ait Ben Haddou → Dades Valley
Cross the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass, visit the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou with a local guide, then drive along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs to the Dades Valley.
Day 2: Dades → Todra Gorge → Merzouga
Morning in the Dades Gorge, then a walk through the 300-metre walls of Todra Gorge. Arrive at a hotel at the foot of Erg Chebbi in the afternoon, with time for a swim and the sunset from the first dunes.
Day 3: A day in the desert
A 4x4 tour around Erg Chebbi: the Gnawa musicians of Khamlia, a nomad family tent, the fossil quarries and the dry lake of Merzouga. In the late afternoon, camels take you deep into the dunes for dinner and a night at camp.
Day 4: Merzouga → Alnif → Nkob → Draa Valley → Ouarzazate
Sunrise over the dunes, then a scenic drive west through the Jbel Saghro foothills and the kasbah village of Nkob, joining the Draa Valley and its date palms before Ouarzazate.
Day 5: Ouarzazate → Marrakech
Optional visit of the Atlas Film Studios, then back over the High Atlas to Marrakech, arriving mid-afternoon.
Included
- Private air-conditioned vehicle with professional driver
- 4 nights: hotel in Dades, hotel in Merzouga, desert camp and hotel in Ouarzazate, with breakfast and dinners
- Camel trek and 4x4 desert tour
- Guide at Ait Ben Haddou
- Fuel and bottled water
Not included: lunches, entrance fees, tips.
Good to Know
- Best for: travellers who want the desert without the rush of a 3-day trip.
- Shorter version: the 3 day Marrakech to Merzouga tour or the 2 day Zagora trip.
- Seasons: spring and autumn are ideal; summer days are hot, so we plan early starts.