This 3-day desert tour from Marrakech to Fez is designed for travelers who want to experience the captivating beauty of the Sahara Desert within a short timeframe. The journey leads to the iconic Erg Chebbi dunes, one of Morocco’s most authentic and magical desert landscapes. Here, you will spend the night in a peaceful Berber luxury camp, surrounded by golden sands and a star-filled sky. Reaching this destination is an adventure in itself: from a scenic camel ride across the dunes to the discovery of impressive pre-Saharan valleys, the route offers a perfect blend of nature, tradition, and pure desert emotion.
Along the way, you will explore the dramatic landscapes of the Dades Valley and the lush oases of the Ziz Valley, where hammada plains, palm groves, and ancient adobe fortresses create an unforgettable visual experience. These contrasting environments showcase the raw beauty and cultural richness of southern Morocco. Unlike circular tours, the unique feature of this itinerary is that it starts in Marrakech and ends in Fez, allowing you to continue your journey across northern Morocco without backtracking. This 3-day Morocco tour is the perfect introduction to the Sahara’s wonders and Morocco’s diverse landscapes.
This 3-day tour starts at the hotel in Marrakech or at the agreed meeting point: our driver will pick you up in our comfortable private vehicle, which will be used for the entire trip.
From there, we will depart for the High Atlas Mountains, ascending through cool and fertile valleys, dotted with picturesque villages, against the backdrop of the highest peaks of this mountain range. In winter, in fact, they are white because of the snow. We will cross these mountains through the Tizi n’Tichka pass, at an altitude of more than 2,200 meters.
Shortly after starting our descent, we will stop at the Kasbah of Telouet, one of the fortress-residences of the powerful El Glaoui family in the area. Its style and architecture will partly remind us of the ksar that we will visit soon after: Ait Beh Haddou, a spectacular walled village, built in adob following the fundamental criteria of the Berber tradition. Not in vain, it was a strategic enclave on the caravan routes centuries ago. Today it is for tourist routes, protected by its World Heritage distinction by Unesco.
After admiring both traditional buildings, we will head to the Dades Valley, one of the most beautiful in the south of the country, dotted with villages that have sprung up in the shelter of the oases that this river leaves in its path. In one of them, Boumalne Dades, we will spend the night in a magnificent riad with lots of charm.
The Dades Valley will remain the axis of our route at the beginning of the second day of the circuit, reaching charming villages such as Tinghir, called ‘the mountain village’ in the local language, Tamazight.
But just at that point we will turn off to enter the Todra Gorges, an amazing and magical canyon, chiseled by the Todra River to create a gorge of vertical walls that rise up to about 200 meters in some points.
After discovering and photographing this ‘miracle’ of nature as it deserves, we will continue by road, between ancient kasbahs, palm groves, steep hills and farmland, until we reach the gates of the desert. We will stop in Rissani, one of the most picturesque destinations in the area, with a medina that maintains its traditional life, as evidenced by its donkey parking.
The next stop will be Merzouga, in this case to leave the motor vehicle and get on the back of camels for an exciting ride: we will cross the dunes of Erg Chebbi, probably the best preserved of the (few) that Morocco has in its territory.
This journey will turn us into real Tuaregs and will take us to the tented camp in the heart of the desert. In these Berber tents we will enjoy a comfortable and intimate night, not only because of the welcome tea, the included dinner and the fire of the hearth that is usually lit in the center, but also because of the incomparable brightness of the stars in the sky.
The third day of the circuit is the last, but it will bring us great emotions and images that will remain forever in our memories. One of them will be the sunrise in the desert dunes, which are tinged with warm lights with a thousand shades. After that, we will have breakfast and return to Merzouga for a shower and return to our vehicle.
Already on the road, the route will take us to Erfoud, known worldwide for the richness of its fossils, in some cases with species that inhabited this land millions of years ago. Afterwards, we will continue north up the Ziz Valley until we reach the Middle Atlas Mountains.
Passing to the north face of this mountain range, we will come into contact with the greenest and wettest Morocco. In fact, a very important National Park is located here: the Ifrane National Park, also known as the National Park of the Cedars or the National Park of the Monkeys, because both the Atlas cedars and the Barbary macaques are the most characteristic and numerous species of its flora and fauna.
After visiting this green place, we will only have to head towards Fez, passing through the village of Ifrane, known as the Switzerland of Morocco for its gabled houses, as in that alpine country. Shortly after, we will arrive at the aforementioned city of Fez, where the circuit will end, at the point that suits you best.