Fez to Marrakech sahara desert trip 3-day Atlas, Kasbah & Camels Trip.
This authentic intimate Morocco tour from Fez to Marrakech sahara desert trip 3-day provides a journey of a lifetime through one of the best, diverse and unbelievably beautiful parts of Morocco. Starting in Fez and finishing in Marrakech, we explore some of the most scenic places in Morocco ‘ Atlas Mountains & Sahara Desert. We navigate routes that are embedded into Moroccan History and Berber Culture: we follow the Ziz valley River as we leave Fes Medina, make our way to the Majestic Sahara Desert and Rocky Atlas Mountains before following the Caravan Trade Routes to Todra gorge and Ait Benhaddou Kasbah. Along the way, you will experience distinctly Moroccan activities that will deepen your understanding of southern Moroccan berber culture, nature and landscape. Be sure to pack your binoculars for this real life experience tour!
Notes: Please be aware that travellers in Fes are being approached by locals offering excursions before their desert trip commences. This has been particularly prevalent in and around the hotels. These guides are in no way connected to Morocco Tour Guide and we cannot guarantee the safety or quality standards of their tours. We strongly advise customers not to join any tour offered by unauthorised guides. we assesses the safety of all optional excursions offered by our tour leaders. If you would like more information on the excursions available, please contact us before you travel or see our website.
DAY 1: FES – MIDELT – ZIZ VALLEY – ERFOUD – MERZOUGA SAHARA DESERT
Meet at your hotel in Fes at 8am and embark on long driving day, where we will meet different colors of the kingdom by leaving the old Moroccan city of Fes.
In the way we will pass through the most modern and clean city in the country Ifran. This Berber name of Ifran means caves and it is nicknamed in Morocco as a little Switzerland since it is a very green town and is a ski resort in the Middle Atlas region of Morocco because of its high altitude at 1665 meters. Ifran is very known as well by The Brotherhood private university, established in 1997 by The king of Morocco Hassan II and the king of Saudi Arabia Fahd. Where all classes are taught in English, it is an international university. Lunch will be scheduled in a Berber village called Midelt which is situated on the foothills of the eastern part of the High Atlas Mountains. From vast plateau we start crossing up those tough mountains which are still settled by a big Berber community. The landscapes here includes palm tree oases at Jbel Ayachi (at 3747 m) before driving down the curves and join the pre-Saharan zone passing first by Errachidia and Erfoud, which is famous for its pottery and the interesting fossil quarries. Fossils are a major industry in Erfoud, some 350 million years ago the region around Erfoud was a part of the huge ocean. Heading up to the red colored sand sea dunes of Erg Chebbi at Merzouga via Rissani, the hometown of the Alaouit dynasty, where Moulay Ali sheriff started to unify Morocco under his red flag in the beginning of the 17th century. From a vast plateau you will get impressed by the huge sand dune of Merzouga appearing from the horizon. We meet our camel men, embark on a 1 :30 min camel ride into the desert to spend a wonderful night enjoying these dramatic dunes, wonderful skies and stars at night, you may get involved in some drumming round the fire with the berbers tonight, dinner in the campsite. Car : 7 hours
Accommodation : www.bivouac-azawad.com
Tour Highlights : Wildlife in Azrou Cedar forests (wild Monkeys )
Photography
Camel Trekking
Meals included : Breakfast, Dinner
DAY 2: MERZOUGA – RISSANI – TODGHA GORGES – OUARZAZATE (280 KM)
Visiting Errisani and the Mausoleum of the founder of the Alaouite Dynasty of Morocco, Moulay Ali Chrif in the 17th century. This silent town was the ancient capital of Tafilalet and its location as a crossroads between north and south brought the city to an important status of a former major caravan center. Up to now Rissani remains a major commercial center in the region, with a large souk, particularly lively today on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sunday. It was noted for its leather and goat skin trading in ancient ages.
127 km from Errisani the great canyons of Morocco Todgha Gorges are situated beyond the central high Atlas Mountains. Here, the contrasting landscapes remind visitors of the Colorado, with its high plateau, its gorges and great canyons, and its peaks sometimes splintered by erosion. Several peaks in this area exceed 4000 m, with Jbel Saghro 2500 m and Jbel Mgoun at 4068 m being the highest peak in this part of the High Atlas. The area is populated by Berbers. Here you can enjoy a hike among those fabulous canyons.
Today we go along the road of 1000 kasbahs, since there are enormous Kasbahs on both sides of the road. Some of those old fortified houses are restored but unfortunately a lot of them are ruins. We drive up to visit the Dades gorge & valley, and we head to the Berber family for tea, cooking course, a walk to discover the valley and spend some time wit the Berbers. we drive along the Dades valley which rises in the High Atlas Mountains, giving life to a huge Berber community by its rich agriculture. Along this valley another valley called valley of roses appearing with the green colors of its Alfalfa plants, olive trees, fig trees and grapes. This valley gives birth to a rose from which locals produces different cosmetic products like soap, perfumes and skin creams. Locals here celebrate this rose by organizing a national festival eachend of April. Getting to Ouarzazate (Hollywood of Africa, Noiselessly town, The door of the desert), is a city situated in the middle of a bare plateau, south of the High Atlas Mountains. It is mainly inhabited by Berbers, who constructed many of the prominent kasbahs and building for which the area is known. One of those building is Taourirt Kasbah diverted in 17th century.
Accommodation : http://www.darchamaa.com / OR / www.riadtama.com
Tour Highlights :
Guided walking tour of the valley and Gorge
Berber family
Carpets co-operative
Meals Included : Breakfast / Dinner
DAY 3: OUARZAZATE – MARRAKECH (350 KM)
Why this town is nicknamed as Hollywood of Africa? Simply because it has been noted as a film-making location, with Morocco’s biggest studios inviting many international film companies to shoot their movies like: Lawrence of Arabia (1962), The Living Daylights (1987), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), The Mummy (1999), Gladiator (2000), Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Martin Scorsese’s Kundun (1997) and Babel (2005).
We start our day visiting the fortified city of Aït Benhaddou, built in the 11th century. Once up on a time this Kasbah was the former caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakesh. It is situated on a hill along the Ounila River and has some beautiful examples of kasbahs, which unfortunately sustain damage during each rainstorm and windstorms. Most of the town’s inhabitants now live in a more modern village at the other side of the river; however, around five families are still living within this Kasbah.
Aït Benhaddou Kasbah has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987 and several films have been shot there, including Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Time Bandits (1981), The Jewel of the Nile (1985), Kundun (1997), Gladiator (2000) and Alexander (2004). From this beautiful fortified house we head west to the city of Marrakech. It is called the “Homeland of God in Berber”. The ramparts of the town are nearly 30 kilometers long.
Accommodation : None
Tour Highlights :
Sleep Sahara desert camp
Visit Date Markets
Visit Studios
Ait Benhaddou Kasbah
Meals Included : Breakfast
Visited Places
• Sahara Desert
• Ifran
• Ziz Valley
• Tizi n’Tichka Pass
• Ait Benhaddou Kasbah
• Ouarzazate
• Dades & Todra gorge & Valley
• Valley of roses &
• Errissani Traditional Markets
• High Atlas Mountains
• Berber villages
Travel Experience
• Moroccan Culture & People, Food & History
• Berber Culture
• Camel trekking
• Berber music and animation
• Sleeping in desert camp
