Marrakech to Fes — 5-Day Sahara Desert Tour

Your guide picks you up from your hotel or riad in Marrakech, and you head south through the plains toward the High Atlas Mountains, climbing to the Tizi n'Tichka pass (2,260 m) — the summit of one of North Africa's highest paved roads, with sweeping views in both directions, where we stop for a coffee break and photos.

We then arrive at Aït Ben Haddou — declared UNESCO World Heritage in 1987. You cross the river, walk through the kasbah's narrow alleys, and climb to the granary at the top for the panoramic view. Your guide shows you the exact filming locations from Gladiator (gladiator school), Game of Thrones (Yunkai), Lawrence of Arabia, The Mummy, and others. Lunch is at a restaurant on the opposite hillside, with the entire kasbah framed in front of you.

Continuing east, we stop in Ouarzazate with a brief visit to Kasbah Taourirt — the former Glaoui residence — and an optional visit to Atlas Studios for travelers interested in cinema. You then follow the legendary "Road of a Thousand Kasbahs" — fortified mud-brick villages, palm groves, and old caravan stops — arriving in the Dades Valley by sunset, when the rock formations turn from pink to deep red. Dinner is at the kasbah hotel.

🏨 Overnight: Dades Valley (kasbah hotel)

After breakfast, there's a short walk near the "Monkey Fingers" rock formations — distinctive eroded sandstone cliffs unique to this valley — before continuing to Todra Gorge, where 300-meter-high cliffs rise on both sides of a narrow valley with a small river running through it. We walk along the riverbed for about an hour through this dramatic landscape. Lunch is at the gorge.

You then continue east through Tinerhir, Tinjdad, and Erfoud — known for its fossils and as the gateway to the Sahara. The road opens and the first dunes of Erg Chebbi appear, rising from the flat plain. At the edge of the dunes, you meet your camels and Berber guide for the camel trek into Erg Chebbi as the sun sets and the sand changes color.

You arrive at the desert camp, welcomed with mint tea, with time to settle in and climb a dune for the last light. Dinner is a traditional Moroccan meal with Berber music around the campfire, followed by stargazing.

🏨 Overnight: Desert camp in Erg Chebbi

For travelers who want one of the most memorable experiences of the trip, there's the option to climb a dune above the camp at dawn to watch the sun rise over the endless Sahara. After breakfast, you ride the camels back to Merzouga village in the early morning light.

You then begin the journey north toward Fes — one of the most scenic drives of the tour, through an entirely different landscape from the southern routes. We follow the Ziz Valley, a long, narrow green oasis cutting through dry rock landscapes, with thousands of date palms lining the river; the panoramic viewpoint above the valley is one of the most photographed scenes in southern Morocco.

Lunch is in Midelt — known as the "apple capital" of Morocco — the midway point between the High Atlas and the Middle Atlas. Time permitting, there are brief stops at the orchards and viewpoints in the surrounding area before you check into a kasbah-style hotel or auberge. Dinner is at the hotel.

🏨 Overnight: Midelt (kasbah hotel or auberge)

After breakfast, you continue north into the Middle Atlas Mountains — increasingly green, alpine, and surprisingly cool compared to the desert. We enter the cedar forest of the Middle Atlas, one of the largest in North Africa and home to wild Barbary macaques, stopping briefly to view them in their natural habitat — no feeding, no interference.

We then stop in Ifrane — a clean, Alpine-style mountain town with European-pitched roofs and pine-lined streets that surprises most visitors — for a coffee break and a short walk, with lunch in Ifrane or Imouzzer.

In the afternoon, you make the final descent toward Fes through the green Saïs plains. You arrive in Fes in the late afternoon and check into your riad or hotel — typically in the old medina, with character and atmosphere — with welcome mint tea and a brief orientation. Dinner is at leisure, with recommendations ranging from traditional riads to rooftop terraces with views.

🏨 Overnight: Fes

The day begins with breakfast on the rooftop of your riad, with views over the medina rooftops and the green hills surrounding the city.

We start at the Borj Sud or Borj Nord — fortified hilltop viewpoints that reveal the full scale of Fes. Then we enter Fes el-Bali, the UNESCO-listed medieval medina, founded in the 9th century. Key stops:

• Bab Boujloud — the famous "Blue Gate"
• The Medersa Bou Inania — a 14th-century Quranic school
• The Karaouine Mosque & University — founded in 859 AD, considered the oldest continuously operating university in the world
• The Nejjarine Square and Fondouk (wood museum)
• The Chouara Tanneries — the iconic dyeing pits, viewed from a leather shop terrace

Lunch is in a traditional riad — pastilla (a Moroccan savory-sweet specialty originally from Fes), tagine, and Moroccan pastries.

In the afternoon, we visit traditional craft workshops — ceramics (the famous Fes blue), brass and copper, weaving, and leather. Depending on your departure plans, you then have free time in the medina, or we transfer you directly to Fes airport (FEZ) or your final accommodation.

End of the Tour