From Marrakech 5 Days Tour To Merzouga Desert & Nomads

This desert tour starts with a pick-up by an air-conditioned vehicle at 08:00 AM from your accommodation in Marrakech. Departure to the south by crossing the High Atlas at the Tichka pass to Ouarzazate. Stop for lunch in Ouarzazate before continuing on to the palm of Skoura, created in the 12th century by Yacoub El Mansour. It is dotted with many fortresses of land resembling gigantic sandcastles, like dar Aït Sidi El Mati or the Kasbah Amerhidil. The palm grove is irrigated by a network of small canals called Khetara. Under palm trees, fruit trees, apple trees, almond trees, walnut trees, pomegranate trees, fig-trees … and at the foot of trees, wheat or alfalfa, depending on the season. Dinner and overnight in a typical kasbah in the heart of the oasis.

After a traditional breakfast, our 5 days desert tour will continue to the Dades Valley. The road runs again, a black line in the middle of a palette of intense ochres. The paths cross and get lost to the High Atlas Mountains or the peaks of Jebel Sarhro. Then the landscape changes. The grass becomes scarce, the wadi turns into streams or cascades. And the foothills of the Atlas appear, abrupt, with the Dades gorges. Continuing towards the Tinghir palm grove, the gorges plunge into the mountain through impressive cliffs. In Todra, here you are facing two steep cliffs 300 meters high, separated by a narrow corridor of twenty meters: an unforgettable spectacle to photograph. Lunch en route or picnic in the palm grove of Tinghir. Take a stroll in the gorge at the end of the afternoon, when the tourist coaches left them before continuing to Tijndad. Continue to Erfoud an ancient fortified village in mud earth built in the nineteenth century and recently restored through international cooperation. Half of the houses of Ksar are still inhabited. Others have been rehabilitated and intended for several functions: guest houses, museums, and craft workshops for women of the village. Arrive in Merzouga night in a hotel at the foot of the dunes.

Early wake up in the morning to enjoy also atypical breakfast then go for a discovery day of Merzouga, the road crosses a succession of ksour, oases and palm groves. This region was one of the obligatory passage points for slave caravans and gold traffic from Sudan and Guinea, but also a place for meetings and exchanges between Arabs, Berbers, and Africans. They created in the south a unique culture in Morocco. Visit the nomads of the desert and drink a tea of hospitality, after continuing to discover the desert and its secrets. Lunch in a local restaurant before joining the hotel for a moment of relaxation and preparation for a ride on the back of the camels to attend the sunset and spend an unforgettable night in the desert under the Berber tents. Dinner and overnight under the traditional tent.

Early wake up in the morning to enjoy a spectacular sunrise over the golden sand dunes of Erg Chebbi and enjoy also atypical breakfast in a Berber tent, then, you will join your driver to go to Agdz, which is also the beginning of the Draa Valley. The road runs along Jebel Ougnate and Saghro, with desert and lunar landscapes punctuated by tiny oases where the nomads of Ait Atta and their herds settle for the winter. After a picnic and can be a tea with a nomad family, we drive to Nkob, then Agdz, to reach the oasis of Tamnougalt, whose lush vegetation will bring you a breath of fresh air. Located in the huge palm grove of Agdz, the ksar Tamnougalt which means ‘meeting place’ was an important crossroads at the time when large caravans were trading between Tafilalet and Timbuktu, because it controlled the entrance to the Draa Valley. It was also a strategic point because gold was transformed and coined. Always inhabited by the same families, it has preserved its authentic architecture. Dinner and overnight in a typical kasbah in the heart of the oasis.

After a traditional breakfast at your kasbah. You will leave quietly for Marrakech. You will stop at the fortified village of Ait Ben Haddou, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Sites, it’s about half an hour from Ouarzazate. In this village, you will also have your lunch. After, we drive towards Marrakech and arrive at the end of the day after crossing the High Atlas mountains at the Tichka pass. Drop off at your accommodation in Marrakech. End of service.