To make the most of this second day of the circuit, we will wake up early in the tented camp. But also for another important reason: if we manage to contemplate the dawn in the dunes of Erg Chebbi, the spectacle of lights and silence will be an experience to remember.

After that and breakfast at the camp, we will return to Merzouga. Our vehicle will be waiting for us to continue our trip on asphalt, in this case through other valleys of the pre-Saharan region.

Rissani will be a first stop, still in closed desert territory. This town has a surprisingly genuine atmosphere, where you can still see donkeys parked in a parking lot next to the medina, stalls with handicrafts in its traditional market and historical and religious monuments, such as an important mausoleum (Ali Sherif) for the Alawite dynasty.

As the kilometers progress, we will come into contact with the Dades Valley, where kasbahs and peaceful villages intermingle with palm trees and farmland. And it is in this context that we will spend the night on this day, more specifically in Boumalne Dades, in a charming riad.

But before that moment arrives, the route takes a detour at Tinghir to another natural area of great value: the Todra Gorges. It is an extremely narrow valley, where this river has created sickles that seem improbable. But we will certify its veracity with an unforgettable walk at the foot of these walls of more than 100 meters high.

On this third and last day of the circuit, we leave the region south of the Atlas, in this case for the section corresponding to the High Atlas. But until that time comes, there is still much to see. As a continuation of the Dades Valley is the Valley of the Roses, so called because of the abundance of damascena rose bushes, cultivated mainly for cosmetic products, but not only.

Shortly after we will arrive in Ouarzazate, which preserves a wonderful Berber kasbah: it was the fortified residence of the El Glaoui family, one of the most powerful in the country at the time of the French Protectorate. Its austere exterior, with adobe bricks that create chiaroscuro, contrasts with the refined interior of Islamic taste.

Another outstanding example of Berber architecture will be discovered about 30 km later: the ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, a World Heritage Site. Its hamlet huddled around the ruins of the kasbah on top is protected by an impregnable wall. The intention of its inhabitants was to seek protection from external threats, as this was a key stop on the caravan routes centuries ago.

These caravan routes reached Marrakech, following the route that we will also do: ascending the southern face of the High Atlas, crowning in the port of Tizi n’Tichka and descending through gentle and fertile valleys towards the ‘red city’.

It will be there, in the place of Marrakech that you indicate us, where the trip will end and, therefore, our services. And we are sure that, despite the brevity, the imprint on the soul that this circuit will leave will be long lasting.