Activities

Day 1: Marrakesh/Ait ben Hadou/Ouarzazate/Zagora

Today you will cross the Majestic High Atlas! You will depart for an exhilarating drive across the olive groves and citrus tree orchards, to the Berber town of Toufliht set in the foothills of the Western High Atlas Mountains, a main trailhead with streams and paths branching in all directions. As you start ascend into the High Atlas valley, you will pass through the Berber town of Telouat, so hold on to your hats!

You will pass under the little town of Taddart, perched on a cliff overlooking the oued (river), and proceed past small, riverside irrigated plots, some of which are centuries old where you might see the hardy Berber women and men tilling their soil before you reach the market town of Telouat. This part of Morocco was once the residence of the Glaouis that are known as the Lords of the Atlas! Then, you stop to visit one of the jewels of Morocco, Ksar Ait Ben Haddou. In typical Moroccan fashion; the true treasures must be reached out and discovered, usually off the beaten path. In actuality, this setting has been used for more films than any other location in Morocco; films including, Lawrence of Arabia, Jesus of Nazareth, and recently The Gladiator. After lunch, visit Ouarzazate, home to the Atlas film Studios and the Tifoulotoute Kasbah, one of the strongholds of the Glaoui family. Then enjoy the dramatic Draa valley from Agdez to Zagora where you’ll have dinner and overnight. (The total drive is about 7 hours)

Dinner and Overnight in a typically Moroccan riad

Day 5: Zagora/ Erg Chgaga

In this leg of the trip, you will leave the urban Morocco behind and you will slowly venture to the wilderness of the Sahara Desert. First, you drive across the remote village of M’hamid where the paved road ends. Lunch is taken with a local family, after which, nicely rested, you begin the next part of your journey off-road, traveling into Morocco’s wildest Sahara region. The dramatic 300 meter-high dunes of Erg Chgaga undulate into infinity like a vast ocean of sand, and today is dedicated to fully absorbing the desert experience. Little disturbs the silence other than the sound of your feet as you trek among the dunes. You can meet Nomadic families of the Ait Atta Berber tribe that live here and learn about life in this wildest desert of Morocco. Here change your vehicle from four tires to four feet as you mount your dromedary camels “Ships of the Desert “on a ride that takes up to Erg Chgaga, the highest sand dunes in Morocco’s Sahara to witness a spectacular sunset coloring the sands from gold to purple as the sky darkens to show a canopy of a myriad of stars where you shall dine and stay in your Berber Desert Luxury Camp.

Dinner and overnight in a Berber Desert Camp (B D)

Day 6: Chgaga/Foum Zgid /Amerzagan /Marrakesh

Prepare yourself for a long drive today that is both diverse and arduous. For three hours you travel off-road through the ‘badlands’ of Erg Chgaga, passing the fifty mile-long dry lake bed of Lac Iriki, made famous by the Paris-Dakar rally. At Foum Zguid you stop for lunch before welcoming a good road that takes you through the heart of the High Atlas the longest mountain range in North Africa, sometimes called the rooftops of Morocco. Cross the highest pass in North Africa; Tichka Pass 2260 m.

Leaving back to Marrakech, the road dives slowly into the Alhaouz plain, over some small rivers (oueds) – the only source of irrigation in the region, irrigating the wheat and barley crops, and the olive, apricot or orange plantations. It runs for almost 750 kms. You may like to stop is in the village of Taddart known for its women Argan cooperative. The nuts of the Argan trees are used to produce many argan beauty products before you reach Marrakesh.

Day 7: Marrakesh/ Airport

After having breakfast you will say goodbye to Marrakesh! Your driver will meet you at your hotel and transfer to airport for your departure.

End of our services with many nice memories of a special trip to Morocco.