After breakfast. We leave Marrakech to begin our tour in the Dades Valley. We pass through
Tizi-n-Tichka in the high Atlas Mountains where we pause to appreciate the mountain views.
We visit the Ait Ben Haddou village which is recognized by UNESCO as a world patrimony. It
is famous as a backdrop for many films, including 'Lawrence of Arabia', 'Gladiator' and
'Alexander'. We take lunch here before continuing on our way enjoying the natural beauty of
the landscapes and historical monuments such as Taourirt Kasbah in Ouarzazate and Roses
Valley, which is renowned for the Festival of Roses. We also pass through the little Berber
villages of Skoura and 'El Kelaa des M'Gouna' and 'Boumalne Dades'. The latter is our final
stop for the day. We shall stay overnight in a hotel which includes dinner and breakfast.
From Boumalne Dades we head to Merzouga in one of the largest wind blown dunes in
Morocco, Erg Chebbi. Through the Berber village Tinghir we visit Todra Gorge where the
cliffs are as high as 600m and only 10m apart. We leave Todra passing through many Berber
villages to pass through Tinjdad where we can stop for lunch or if you preferrable continue to
Rissani where you could have the local speciality, Berber Pizza for lunch if we get there by
Midday. After lunch we make our way to Merzouga to meet the camels joining us on our trek.
The camels take us to a Berber camp in the middle of an oasis amidst the sand dunes of Erg
Chebbi. 20 km long and 5 km wide it is also reputed as the highest sand dunes in North
Africa. It is a unique and diverse environment. The camel trek takes about 1hr 30 min from
the hotel to the camp where we continue the spirit of the nomadic Berber lifestyle. There we
setup to Berber tents with additional restaurant and kitchen with the dunes naturally
providing basic facilities. The tents are well equipped and we provide mattresses, blankets,
and cushions. After dinner we gather round the fire and enjoy the desert night perhaps with
traditional Berber drums.
Early in the morning, your camel man will wake you up to watch what well may be the best
sunrise of your life. You’ll peacefully camel-trek back to the village of Merzouga. Over the
dunes, you couldn’t fail to appreciate the unique beauty of the spectacular Erg Chebbi sand
dunes - changing with the light as the day progresses. After breakfast in your riad, you will
start travelling to Fes via the Ziz Valley and Azrou. You will enjoy the fascinating landscape
along the magnificent Ziz Gorges carved through volcanic rock, and through the Tizi n’
Talghamt Pass to Midelt. After lunch, you will continue through the Middle Atlas Mountains
and the Cedar Forest, where you will see the Barbarian apes in the wild. Continue to Fes .