8-Day Fez to Marrakech Tour via the Sahara and the Rose Valley

Arrival and Fez el-Bali

Arrive in Fez and settle into your riad. In the afternoon we walk through Fez el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed medina founded in the 9th century, to the Bou Inania Madrasa, to Al-Qarawiyyin, one of the oldest universities in the world, and to a rooftop view over the Chouara Tanneries.

Airport transfer only

Riad Fez Mahal or similar, Fez medina

Fez to Merzouga via Ifrane, Azrou and Midelt

We drive south through the Middle Atlas, stopping in Ifrane, a town of alpine-style chalets, and in the Azrou cedar forest, where wild Barbary macaques come to the roadside. We continue through Midelt and the Ziz Valley gorges to Merzouga and the dunes of Erg Chebbi by evening, then go by camel or 4WD to your desert camp for the night.

About 7.5 hours on the road, roughly 460 km, plus stops

Tiziri Desert Camp or similar, Erg Chebbi

Sahara Sunrise to Todra Gorge

We climb a dune before dawn to watch the sunrise, then have breakfast at camp and return to Merzouga. We drive to Tinghir and walk the floor of Todra Gorge beneath limestone walls up to 300 metres high.

About 3.5 hours on the road, roughly 230 km, plus stops

Dades Paradise or similar, Dades Valley

The Dades Valley and the Rose Valley

We explore the Dades Valley, with its mud-brick kasbahs and the Monkey Fingers rock formations above the gorge. We then stop in the Rose Valley at Kelaat M'Gouna, where damask roses are grown at altitude and made into rose water each spring.

About 2 hours on the road, roughly 90 km, plus stops

Dades Paradise or similar, Dades Valley

Dades Valley to Ouarzazate

We drive west to Ouarzazate, a gateway to the south and a hub of the Moroccan film industry, and spend the evening there.

About 2 hours on the road, roughly 110 km, plus stops

Kasbah Yu Palace or similar, Ouarzazate

Ouarzazate to Marrakech via Ait Benhaddou

We start at Ait Benhaddou, a UNESCO ksar of red mud-brick kasbahs that has appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator and Game of Thrones, walking the fortified village and crossing the river to the old granary at its top. We then cross the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, 2,260 metres at the summit and one of the highest paved passes in North Africa, with views over Berber villages terraced into the mountainside. We then descend onto the Haouz plain and reach Marrakech in the afternoon.

About 4 hours on the road, roughly 210 km, plus stops

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Marrakech Medina

A full day with your guide takes in the Bahia Palace, the Saadian Tombs and the souks, then Jemaa el-Fna as it fills in the evening with storytellers, musicians and food stalls.

No driving today

Riad Aslal or similar, Marrakech medina

Departure

A last coffee on the riad's rooftop above the medina, then your airport transfer or onward journey from Marrakech.

Airport transfer only