Marrakech to Fes desert tour 3 days – overview

This 3-day desert tour from Marrakech combines the two most significant and most-visited Imperial cities of Marrakech and Fes. The absolute highlight of the trip is the luxurious night in the popular dunes of Erg Chebbi in Merzouga and crossing both the High and the Middle Atlas Mountains.

Local cultural highlights of Berber history are the Kasbahs of Telouet, Aït ben Haddou and Amredhil in Skoura. Landscape highlights are the Valley of Roses and fruit blossom in early spring, the Dades and Toudgha gorges, the Ziz Valley’s extensive date palms.

Desert highlights are riding camels in Erg Chebbi, the sunset and sunrise, an evening of Berber music and your own private tent at a luxury camp set within the dunes.

Experience the trip of a lifetime with our awe-inspiring 3-day Fes Desert Tour from Marrakech all the way to Fes. Book your trip now and discover the environmental beauty and authenticity of Moroccan culture

desert tour

Visiting Kasbah Telouet, Kasbah Aït ben Haddou, the small museum of Kasbah Amredhil
Observing the geological splendour of strange rock formations in the Dades and Toudgha Gorges
Sleeping in a private luxury desert camp plus a leisurely camel ride in the Erg Chebbi dunes
Listening to Berber music and drumming around a fire camp with the nomadic camp staff
The Middle Atlas Mountains and Barbary apes in the cedar forests near Ifrane

Day 1 :

Marrakech – Dades Gorges

Your morning departure for this 3-day tour from Marrakech to Fes is from your hotel or riad at 08.30. After the Tichka pass in the High Atlas mountains, you leave the main road and take a side road to the Telouet Kasbah. This Kasbah was the seat of the controllers of the High Atlas, the Glaoui family. It consists of three main buildings, two of which are now ruins. The wind and the rain have left visible traces after the abandonment of the palace.
Regrettably, the entire Kasbah is now closed because of the damage caused by the earthquake in Morocco in September 2023. However, it’s well worthwhile looking at the outside with a local guide to learn about its interesting history.
The tour continues along the lovely and winding Ounila Valley where surprises at rock and soil colours await. You will pass a great many Berber villages and gardens, as well as smaller Kasbahs. After about an hour, you reach Aït Ben Haddou in time for a welcome lunch. This is the most famous of all the thousands of Kasbahs in Morocco and is one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The road passes Ouarzazate and continues to the Skoura Oasis, where olives, almonds, lucerne, barley and fruit trees are grown. Here you will visit the very famous Kasbah Amredhil which has been beautifully restored. It is famous everywhere as it used to be depicted on the old 50-dirham banknote. The route goes through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see cosmetic articles locally-made from the valley’s abundant roses. You stop in the Dades Valley in a guest house there.

Day 2 :

Zagora — Marrakech

After breakfast, you will drive up the valley via an awe-inspiring switchback (cf youtube Cadillac brakes test) to reach the Dades gorges. The Toudgha gorges are very different, being much higher and generally more accessible. You drive on through the Ziz Valley, and the towns of Erfoud, famous for its fossil finds and Rissani, which is where the king’s family originates.
In the afternoon, you can take a camel ride to your camp, where you will be greeted with tea and biscuits. From here, you can climb up the nearest high dunes from where the sunset is a wonderful display over many minutes.
You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury camp with a private bathroom, king-sized beds, and tasteful Moroccan furniture, all designed to provide a great sense of calm and relaxation.

Day 3 :

Merzouga – Fes

After breakfast, you leave for a return through Rissani and Erfoud. In Erfoud you will stop to see how locally found fossils are worked into furniture and artefacts. From there the road leads north to the largest town in the area, Er Rachidia. You drive through the Ziz Valley, remarkable for its innumerable palm trees and a vast quantities of high quality dates.
Lunch is in Midelt, which is called “the apple capital”, in the Middle Atlas Mountains at the foot of the Ayachi Mountain. We cross the Tizi-n-Talremt pass and reach Azrou, where you can see Barbary apes in the cedar forests looking out for tidbits.
We reach Fes at the end of the afternoon. Your 3-day tour from Marrakech to Fes comes to an end as your driver escorts you to your riad.

Marrakech to Fes desert tour – 3 days

Overview

Itinerary

Cost