Desert round trip · From Marrakech
The complete southern loop, with two nights around the dunes and time to breathe.
About this tour
Five days is enough to see southern Morocco without ever feeling rushed. This private loop from Marrakech travels out through the High Atlas, the kasbahs and the gorges, gives you two nights around Merzouga with a full day to explore the desert, then returns on the quieter southern road across the Anti-Atlas.
Along the way you visit Aït Benhaddou, the Dades Valley and the Todra Gorge, ride a camel into the dunes of Erg Chebbi for sunset, meet a nomad family and hear Gnawa music in Khamlia. On the way back, the route crosses the volcanic landscapes of the Jbel Saghro and the palm groves of the Drâa Valley before a relaxed final day in Ouarzazate.
It is our favourite loop for photographers and families: driving days are moderate, there is time to linger, and your driver-guide adapts every day to your pace.
Best for: Travellers who want the full southern loop at a gentle pace, including photographers and families with children.
Marrakech · Tizi n'Tichka · Aït Benhaddou · Ouarzazate · Skoura · Valley of Roses · Dades Valley · about 321 km · About 6 hours of driving, with stops
Your southern loop begins with a morning in the mountains. Leaving Marrakech at 8:00 am, the road climbs past argan and olive trees into the High Atlas, where you pass Berber villages of flat-roofed houses and small roadside stalls selling fossils and minerals. Near the top of the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 metres) there is time for photos and a coffee with a view.
On the far side of the range you visit Aït Benhaddou, a fortified ksar of earth and straw that has survived for centuries on the old caravan route between the Sahara and Marrakech. After lunch, the road continues through Ouarzazate and along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, past the Skoura oasis and the Valley of Roses. Because the loop is unhurried, your guide can add short walks along the way before you arrive at your hotel in the Dades Valley.
Dades Valley · Tinghir · Todra Gorge · Tinjdad · Erfoud · Merzouga · about 250 km · About 5 hours of driving
After breakfast in the Dades Valley, take a short detour up the gorge to the famous switchbacks and the Monkey Fingers rock formations, then continue east. At Tinghir, a green oasis framed by desert mountains, you walk into the Todra Gorge between walls of orange limestone about 300 metres high. Children love hopping across the stream, and there are cafés for a cool drink in the shade.
The drive to Merzouga crosses wide desert plains, the palm groves of Tinjdad and the fossil town of Erfoud. Late in the afternoon the golden wall of Erg Chebbi rises ahead, and your camel guide is waiting at the edge of the sand. Ride into the dunes as the light softens, stop on a high ridge for sunset and a try at sandboarding, then settle into camp for mint tea, dinner and Berber drumming beneath a sky thick with stars. Tomorrow you have a whole day to explore the desert at leisure.
Merzouga · Khamlia · Mifis · nomad camps · Erg Chebbi · About 2 hours of off-road driving
Wake in your tent before dawn and walk up the nearest dune to see the sun rise over the sand sea. After breakfast at camp, ride back to the village, where your driver swaps the minivan for an off-road loop around Erg Chebbi. The first stop is Mifis, an abandoned mining settlement where lead ore was once dug from the hills, now a haunting place of ruined buildings and old shafts. Then visit a nomad family in their woven tent for tea, bread and a glimpse of a life that still follows the seasons and the grazing.
In Khamlia, a small village of families whose ancestors came from sub-Saharan Africa, musicians play Gnawa rhythms on drums and iron qraqeb castanets. After lunch, walk through the palm gardens irrigated by old khettara channels and, if recent rains have filled it, look for flamingos on the Dayet Srji lake. In the evening you check in to a comfortable hotel at the edge of the dunes for a hot shower and a good night's sleep.
Merzouga · Rissani · Alnif · Tazzarine · N'kob · Agdz · Ouarzazate · About 6 hours of driving
After breakfast, drive through Rissani, whose souk is busiest on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, then head west on the southern road. Alnif is known for its trilobite fossils, and the landscape around Tazzarine and N'kob is spectacular, with dark volcanic ridges of the Jbel Saghro and small green oases.
Lunch in N'kob, a village with dozens of kasbahs, then follow the Drâa Valley to Agdz and cross the Tizi n'Tinififft pass to Ouarzazate, where you spend a quiet evening.
Ouarzazate · Taourirt Kasbah · Tizi n'Tichka · Marrakech · about 198 km · About 4 hours of driving
A shorter final day. Visit the Taourirt Kasbah or the Atlas film studios in the morning if you wish, then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with a last look back at the desert from the top.
You arrive at your riad or the airport in Marrakech in the 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.
