5 Days From Fes to Desert Merzouga via cedar forest, Kasbahs, Oasis, Gorges, and the Sahara Desert for camel trekking for and night in Erg Chebbi desert.
DAY 1: FEZ– IFRANE – MIDELT – ERFOUD – MERZOUGA
After breakfast, we will depart from Fez to Merzouga through the Middle Atlas region through Ifrane, the ‘Switzerland’ of Morocco, and the cedar forests of Azrou where we can stop to see the monkeys. We will continue to Midelt where we will have lunch. Then we will follow the valley full of palm trees before continuing to Merzouga for dinner and overnight at a hotel near the sand dunes.
DAY 2: MERZOUGA – ERG CHEBBI – MERZOUGA
Today we will explore the desert region and the marvel that is the Erg Chebbi desert dunes. We will make a circuit of the desert dunes where you will have the opportunity to see the nomad’s way of life and the amazing changing contrasts of the desert. We will visit the ‘black village’ of Khamlia to see the Gnawa musicians. We will have the chance to taste a traditional Berber pizza for lunch in the ancient capital of Rissani. We will then return In the afternoon to ride the camels to see the sunset over the dunes and spend the night including dinner in the desert camp and listen to traditional Berber music while watching the stars and the rising moon in the amazing desert dunes.
DAY 3: ERG CHEBBI – RISSANI – TODRA GORGES
After breakfast in the bivouacs, we will go on a camel trek back to the hotel in Merzouga for a quick shower. We leave the Sahara desert dunes of Erg Chebbi via an off-road drive across the hamada (black Desert) to get to the Sahara town of Rissani with an optional visit to the animated local market. Afterward, we drive to Erfoud which is known for its fossils. Here, we can stop to visit a fossil workshop before we continue to the impressive Todra canyons, known for rock climbing, where you can hike before we check into the hotel for dinner and night.
DAY 4: TODRA GORGES – ROSE VALLEY – SKOURA – OUARZAZATE
After breakfast at the hotel, we begin our journey along the road of a Thousand Kasbahs via Dades valley where there are enormous kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of these kasbahs are old fortified houses that have been restored but unfortunately, a lot of them are still in ruins. We will pass the valley and go up to the mountainous area through an off-road trail where many Berber villages but few nomads live in caves. Here we will have the chance to visit one of these families and take a look at their daily life and their main activities which are looking after herds of goats and sheep. We will be impressed by the landscapes of the colorful rose valley as we continue our journey to Ouarzazate via Skoura for dinner and a night in a hotel.
DAY 5 : OUARZAZATE – AIT BENHADDOU – HIGH ATLAS – MARRAKECH
After breakfast, we will visit Taourirt Kasbah before departing to Ait Benhaddou to visit the World Heritage Site. We will continue our journey to Marrakech which includes a visit to the traditional High Atlas Berber village of Telouet and the Kasbah Glaoui where we will have lunch in a local restaurant before descending the Tizi-n-Tichka back to your hotel in Marrakech or airport ( according to your flight details ).
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