Itinerary

Day 1

We will meet you at your riad or hotel, depart Marrakech and transport over the High Atlas mountains Tizi nTichka pass. We will take time to stop and enjoy impressive landscapes, and have coffee and fresh-squeezed orange juice. Tour World Heritage Site of Ait Benhaddou. This village of clustered Berber Kasbahs has been used as a backdrop for more than 20 films and was one of the most important fortress strongholds on the old Salt Road where caravans brought slaves, gold, ivory and salt from Saharan Africa to Marrakech and beyond. We pass through Ouarzazate and stop for lunch. Our next destination is Dades valley. You will pass through many Berber villages, and in the desert, see riverside oasis and barren red rock formations clustered with kasbahs (fortified dwellings that house many families and their livestock). Stay in Dades valley auberge (small country inn) with Moroccan dinner on the terrace, overlooking the valley gorge and gardens.

Day 2

After breakfast we have a one hour drive then walk through a massive fault dividing the High Atlas mountains. Todra Gorge sheer limestone walls rise over 300m. After our walk, we'll have lunch in a very nice desert auberge (small inn). Back in the car, we'll explore further until the Erg Chebbi dunes appear on the horizon. Our afternoon destination is the auberge near Merzouga, where you meet your camel guide and ride into the dunes to the bivouac (camp). Upon arrival you will have a traditional tagine dinner prepared (vegetarians welcome), under the evening stars shining brilliantly in the sky. Climb the dunes and watch the moon rise before retiring to your bed in the nomad wool tent. Or you have a choice of staying in the desert auberge with a sunset camel trek into the dunes, dinner in the auberge and breakfast early the next morning.

Day 3

Bivouac trekkers return by camel at sunrise to the auberge for breakfast and shower. Take your time to explore and enjoy the dunes, before going back to the High Atlas mountains. Along the way we pass through folded exposed rock slabs of fossils and we can stop and explore. Optional visit a fossil factory to see Sahara�s wonderful varieties of ancient life. After lunch, you can wander through palmery villages, gardens, and kasbahs for a close look at traditional Berber ways of life. Visit the women�s market in Tinihir and old kasbah quarter. We will stay in traditional old kasbah with evening Moroccan dinner.

Day 4

After breakfast transport through the Valley of the Rose, famous for Persian roses grown for soft fragrant oil, and Ouarzazate to have lunch and a tour through the old Pasha's kasbah. You may decide to visit the Atlas film studios where movies such as Cleopatra, Gladiator and The Mummy were made. Heading down the Tizi n�Tichka pass, we will arrive Marrakech approximately 6pm. Marrakech hotel this night optional with an extra cost.

Extra Information

Extras -

Everything included: transport and gasoil by 4x4 seating maximum 6 passengers; experienced driver; hotels with breakfast and dinner; lunch stops with swimming (April to September); personalised extended walks and exploration of oasis palmeries and kasbahs, offroad excursions, markets and medinas; night in nomad desert bivouac with camel guides and camels of course. Private or customized, it's your tour!