Day 1 : MARRAKECH – AIT BEN HADDOU – OUARZAZATE
Pick up by a guide of our team Travelers in Morocco, in your Riad or Airport and depart to Ouarzazate crossing the High Atlas and arriving at the incredible port of Tizi n’Tichka at 2260 meters high, a great mountain range full of extraordinary landscapes that we will cross admiring the Berber territory with small typical villages, fortresses etc..
Shortly after crossing the Atlas we will take a track that will take us to visit the Kasbah of Pacha Glaoui located in Telouet, built in the eighteenth century to control the passage of commercial caravans. It is impressive the contrast that creates the ruined walls built with adobe with the decorative luxury of the main rooms adorned with mosaics, marble, silk tapestries etc … a highly recommended visit to make.
We will continue our route by track passing through various Berber villages and arriving at the magical village of Ait Ben Haddou, the ksar of the best preserved and enjoys the status of World Heritage Site, declared by UNESCO, its adobe houses very ornate agglutinated within a strong defensive wall and reinforced by turrets, This spectacular kasbah, built with mud and stones is miraculously still standing as in the time when it was inhabited, elevated on a hill and surrounded by the desert landscape of the Anti Atlas is undoubtedly one of the most magical places in Morocco.
After lunch we will head to Ouarzazate considered as the gateway to the great desert as it is the intermediate point linking the mountains and the desert, also called the Hollywood of Morocco, because of its location is the perfect environment for filming movies for its arid land environment.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 2 : OUARZAZATE – AGDEZ- DRAA VALLEY – MHARECH GORGE (Dakar track)
After breakfast we will visit Ouarzazate, one of the charms is its medina, the old part of the city with its many narrow streets full of life and the central square turned into a fantastic place to enjoy the daily life of its people. Also a strong point is the Taourirt kashba, a fortified palace where getting lost in its rooms connected by labyrinthine corridors and stairways is a joy. From the top of its towers we have a panoramic and impressive view of the medina.
We will continue towards Zagora taking the road that crosses the small mountain range of Anti-Atlas, which has been gaining popularity as it offers fantastic places full of peace and tranquility, the pink color of the rocks is complemented by the beautiful crystal clear waters that run down the river, we will enter the Draa Valley by track crossing several Berber villages and kasbahs, changing track that crosses villages lost in the desert will reach the Mharech Gorges a place of the most beautiful and simple but at the same time a deep simplicity that makes it immense, is a beautiful gorge with a small oasis of palm trees and communicating the northern tracks with the south, this small oasis is also called as (Portal of Bethlehem for its resemblance). Overnight at the lodge.
Day 3 : MHARECH – OASIS OF RAMLIA – DUNES OF OUZINA – MERZOUGA
We will continue by Dakar Rally track crossing more lonely villages in the middle of nowhere and crossing dry riverbeds, oasis and dunes we will arrive to Erg Chebbi the highest dunes of Morocco where we will eat the typical Berber pizza in family and we will know the secrets and the simple life of the people of the desert.
We will continue to Merzouga where we will have a welcome tea while we rest and prepare the camels that will take us to the foot of the Great Dune, during the journey of an hour and a half we can go taking pictures, an experience that you will certainly like. At nightfall you will see that the desert takes on a very different color and the weather changes as it cools down depending on the time of the year. To the rhythm of the timbales singing and playing we will be served dinner, and of course the big bonfire will keep us company until bedtime. So without any worries the best thing is to enjoy this magical and authentic night under the starry sky of the desert.
Day 4 : MERZOUGA – VISIT THE NOMADS – DUNES TOUR – DESERT:
Undoubtedly one of the greatest spectacles of the desert is to see how the sun rises, so today you have to get up early to see the wonderful sunrise, do not miss seeing the changing colors that the dunes are taking as the sun rises over the horizon. A visual spectacle that you will not forget.
The camels are waiting for us to return to the Riad and give us a good shower and a traditional Moroccan breakfast, our adventure continues to surround the great dune of Erg Chebbi over 250 meters high, an expanse of fine sand desert where natural scenes become an immemorial landscape bordering Algeria and connecting with the track of the old Paris-Dakar, We will continue along the track making several stops such as the Oasis of Tissardmin, we will continue through the desert arriving at a nomadic settlement in the area where we will share a tea and learn some secrets of their life and customs. Another mandatory stop is the village of Khamlia (people from black Africa, where we will enjoy their traditional music (gnawa) while drinking a delicious tea.
We will return to the Riad for lunch and free afternoon to enjoy the romantic sunset that the desert offers us. Today after dinner a Berber show awaits us to the sound of drums and chants.
Day 5 : DESERT – RISSANI – TODRA GORGE – DADES GORGE
After breakfast today we will leave for Rissani very famous for its market, this city shows with dignity and is proud to be the last commercial stopover before the desert, the atmosphere that you breathe walking through the souks of Rissani is not found anywhere else in Morocco, A half-light due to the roofs that filter the sun’s rays, an explosion of colors and smells that stand out to the combination of spices so well known, we will continue to Erfoud to visit the factory of fossilized marble and the Museum of Fossils and Minerals where they house a collection of fossils out of the ordinary. Our journey continues to the palm groves of Touroug and Tinjdad where we will reach one of the strongest points of southern Morocco: The Todra Gorges of more than 100 meters high, with its houses carved into the stone, a magical place of vertical rock walls caused by the erosion of water and air for centuries, a perfect place for climbers. Surrounded by a river of little flow but of crystalline water we will be able to enjoy this stop until lunch.
In the afternoon we will continue to the Dades Valley passing through Boumalne where the valley opens and its landscape value is spectacular, with a great architectural value, several ksur, and its numerous kasbahs, many of them in ruins and dotted along the narrow valley, we will arrive at the Gorges where we will spend the night.
Day 6 : DADES – VALLEY OF ROSES – SKOURA – HIGH ATLAS – MARRAKECH
Today and after a good Moroccan breakfast we will continue along the interesting Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, are curious fortified citadels and built with adobe, these superb buildings are fully integrated with the landscape and even some of them show high towers and decorated walls of Berber origin that sometimes appear silhouetted in white.
We will continue to the Valley of the Roses well known for the massive cultivation of roses, where we will discover an impressive landscape, nature in its living state and with its harmonious and impressive colors make this valley a landscape worthy of admiration, we will continue our way to the Palm Grove of Skoura with more than 700. 000 palm trees stands out as an important enclave of greenery and life in this arid plateau, the large concentration of kasbahs is scattered throughout the oasis and its surroundings, a stop worth visiting where it emanates a special beauty and where it seems that time has stopped to other times.
Following our route we will arrive to Ouarzazate where we will visit the famous Kasbah Taourirt, considered one of the best preserved kasbahs in Morocco, this kasbah so labyrinthine inside offers stunning panoramic views, at this point we will stop for lunch and continue to Marrakech by the mountain pass Tizi n’tichka, this mountain pass that winds between the peaks of the Atlas, marked by numerous curves but offers spectacular views of both the High Atlas and the peaks of Toubkal, its fertile valleys that stretch at his feet are an extraordinary place.