Desert round trip · From Marrakech
A round trip from Marrakech that shows you both faces of southern Morocco.
About this tour
This loop from Marrakech takes one road to the Sahara and a different one home, so every day brings new scenery. The outward journey follows the Drâa Valley and the wild southern road through N'kob and Alnif; the return passes through the Todra and Dades gorges, the Valley of Roses and the Skoura oasis.
Driving days are shorter than on the three-day tour, between about 200 and 370 km, which leaves time for guided visits inside Aït Benhaddou, the Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate and the gorges. Your night in the desert is spent in a Berber camp in Erg Chebbi, reached by camel at sunset.
You sleep in hotels in Ouarzazate and the Dades Valley on either side of the desert night, so you are always fresh for the next day's discoveries. It is a balanced, comfortable way to see the whole of the south.
Best for: Families and travellers who want the classic desert experience from Marrakech with shorter driving days and more time at each stop.
Marrakech · Tizi n'Tichka · Telouet (optional) · Ounila Valley · Aït Benhaddou · Ouarzazate · about 198 km · About 4 hours of driving
An easy first day. Cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 metres), stopping at viewpoints over terraced Berber villages. If you like, detour to Telouet, where the kasbah of the Glaoui pashas, famous for its tiled and carved interiors, can be seen from outside (its interior has been closed since the September 2023 earthquake), then follow the beautiful Ounila Valley down to Aït Benhaddou.
Explore the UNESCO-listed village on foot, crossing the river and climbing to the granary on the hilltop. In the afternoon visit Ouarzazate: the Taourirt Kasbah, once one of the largest Glaoui residences, and the Atlas film studios if you are curious (entrance fees not included). Relax at your hotel in the evening.
Ouarzazate · Agdz · Drâa Valley · N'kob · Tazzarine · Alnif · Rissani · Merzouga · about 367 km · About 6 hours of driving
Cross the Tizi n'Tinififft pass into the Drâa Valley near Agdz, an old caravan town, and follow the river past the ruins of Kasbah Tamnougalt and endless palm groves. At Tansikht the road turns east along the flank of the Jbel Saghro, a landscape of dark volcanic rock and table mountains, to the kasbah village of N'kob, a good stop for lunch.
The afternoon continues through Tazzarine and Alnif, famous for fossils, to Rissani. Then the dunes of Erg Chebbi appear. In Merzouga, meet your camels and ride into the sand for sunset, followed by dinner, drumming and a night in a Berber camp.
Merzouga · Erfoud · Tinjdad · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Dades Valley · about 265 km · About 5 hours of driving
Watch the sunrise from the dunes, then ride back for breakfast. Drive through Erfoud, where you can visit a fossil-marble workshop, and the palm groves of Tinjdad, with their lines of khettara irrigation wells, to Tinghir.
Walk through the Todra Gorge between its 300-metre walls, then continue to the Dades Valley. Before dinner, drive a little way up the Dades Gorge to see the Monkey Fingers rock formations and the famous hairpin road at Tissadrine.
Dades Valley · Kalaat M'Gouna · Skoura · Ouarzazate · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech · about 332 km · About 6 hours of driving
Head west through Kalaat M'Gouna, centre of the Valley of Roses. Each May the town celebrates the harvest of its Damascus roses with a festival, and cooperatives sell rosewater and creams all year. In the Skoura oasis, visit the restored Kasbah Amridil, one of the finest in the south, surrounded by palms.
After lunch in Ouarzazate, cross the High Atlas one last time and arrive back in Marrakech in the late afternoon.
Every tent is private. Pick the comfort level that suits you; tell us your choice when you book.
Private tents with their own en-suite bathroom, offering a good balance between comfort and the authentic feel of a Berber camp.
Spacious, elegantly furnished tents equipped with air conditioning and heating, so you stay cool on summer nights and warm in winter. Ideal for couples and families.
Absolutely. Every tour is private, so you can add or remove nights, change the camp style, combine routes or start on a different date. Tell us what you have in mind and we will adapt the plan and price.
A private, air-conditioned minivan or 4x4, depending on group size. Our vehicles are under five years old, regularly inspected and insured for tourist transport.
Yes, families travel with us often. Children love the camel ride and the camp. For young children we usually recommend a longer version of the route, with shorter driving days.
Comfortable clothes, a warm layer for the evenings, a hat or scarf, sunglasses, sun cream and closed shoes. For the desert night, a small backpack is enough; your main luggage stays safely in the vehicle.
Both camps have private tents with en-suite bathrooms, hot showers and comfortable bedding. The mid-range luxury camp offers a good balance between comfort and authenticity. The luxury camp adds air conditioning and heating in every tent, plus more spacious, elegantly furnished tents, so you stay comfortable on hot summer nights and cold winter ones.
Before you go
Where the dunes are, the best season to visit and what a night in Erg Chebbi is really like.
Day trips and short escapes from the city, from mountain villages to waterfalls and kasbahs.
A practical packing list for medinas, mountains and a night in the Sahara, with what to wear in each season.
Related tours
Short on time? Cross the High Atlas, walk the lanes of Aït Benhaddou, follow the palm-lined Drâa Valley and spend a night under Saharan stars near Zagora.
A one-way crossing that turns a long transfer into an adventure: kasbahs, the Dades and Todra gorges, a camel ride into Erg Chebbi, then cedar forests on the road to Fes.
Our most requested route. Two days of mountain passes, gorges and oases lead to a sunset camel trek and a night in a Berber camp beneath the tallest dunes in Morocco.
The same classic crossing at an easier pace, with an extra day in the dunes to explore nomad life, Gnawa music in Khamlia and the oasis around Merzouga.
