Tangier → Merzouga → Marrakech

The route

Itinerary

1. 1
   Day 1

   Tangier → Chefchaouen → Fes

   A scenic drive through the Rif Mountains and the town of Tetouan. You explore the blue village of Chefchaouen with its Spanish-style square and little shops. After lunch on a roof terrace you continue to Fes. Night in a riad.

2. 2
   Day 2

   Fes → Ifrane → Midelt → Ziz Gorge → Merzouga

   After breakfast you head south through Ifrane and Azrou in the Middle Atlas. In the cedar forests you can see the Barbary macaques. Over the Tizi n’Talghamt pass to Midelt and through the Ziz Gorge to Errachidia, then along the Ziz Valley to Erfoud, Rissani and Merzouga. Mint tea, then about an hour and a half by camel to the Berber camp in the Erg Chebbi dunes. Dinner and drums by the fire.

3. 3
   Day 3

   Merzouga → Todra Gorge → Dades Valley

   Rise early for sunrise over the dunes and ride back by camel. After breakfast, drive to Tinghir and the Todra Gorge with its towering cliffs. Dinner and night in the Dades Valley.

4. 4
   Day 4

   Dades → Skoura → Ouarzazate → Ait Ben Haddou → Marrakech

   Through the Dades Valley, along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, the Valley of Roses and Skoura to Ouarzazate, the “Hollywood of Africa”. Lunch at the kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, then over the Tizi n’Tichka pass (2,260 m) with a stop at an argan oil cooperative. Arrival in Marrakech in the afternoon.