5-Day Morocco Tour from Marrakech: Todgha Gorges & the Sahara
Overview
A 5-day private tour of Morocco, beginning and ending in Marrakech. It runs south over the High Atlas to the edge of the Sahara and back by a different road, so no stretch is driven twice.
Highlights
- The Marrakech souks, and Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open at dusk
- The UNESCO-listed ksar at Ait Ben Haddou, and the climb through its kasbahs to the granary at the summit
- The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah on the old road east
- The Dades gorge and its switchback road
- The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
- A camel trek into Erg Chebbi and a night at a desert camp beneath the dunes
The route
Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Skoura – Dades Valley – Todgha Gorges – Merzouga – Alnif – Agdz – Marrakech
5 days, 4 nights. The day-by-day itinerary is below.
Good to know
- One night is spent at a desert camp, reached by camel in the late afternoon.
- The tour runs as a round trip, starting and finishing in Marrakech, with pickup and drop-off at your accommodation.
Included/Excluded
- Private air-conditioned vehicle
- Driver throughout the tour
- 4 nights accommodation
- Breakfast & Dinner
- Camel Ride at Erg Chebbi
- One night in a desert camp
- Pickup and drop-off at your accommodation
- International flights and airport taxes
- Lunches, except where stated in the itinerary
- Drinks and beverages
- Entrance fees to monuments, museums and sites
- Travel insurance
- Tips and gratuities
- Personal expenses and anything not listed as included
Tour Plan
The crossing of the High Atlas, and the day the landscape changes entirely. We climb out of the Haouz plain by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres, then drop into the pre-Sahara on the far side. Around four hours of driving, with the day given over to stops. We collect you from your accommodation in Marrakech after breakfast.
- Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, with photo stops on the switchbacks
- Views back across terraced valleys and scattered Amazigh villages
- Ait Ben Haddou: the fortified earthen ksar that guarded the old caravan route, now UNESCO listed
- Time to walk up through the kasbahs to the granary at the summit
- Lunch below the ksar
- Ouarzazate and the Taourirt Kasbah
- Optional stop at the film studios on the edge of town
Overnight in Ouarzazate.
An easy day east along the old kasbah road. We follow the valley through the Skoura palm oasis and the rose-growing villages below Kelaat M'Gouna, reaching the mouth of the Dades gorge in the afternoon. Around three hours of driving.
- The Skoura palm oasis and the Amridil Kasbah
- The old kasbah road along the Dades valley
- Kelaat M'Gouna, where the rose harvest is distilled each spring
- Lunch en route
- The Valley of Roses and its terraced fields
- Arrival at Boumalne Dades
- Late afternoon walk up the gorge to the switchback viewpoint
Overnight in the Dades Valley.
A day that ends on foot. We follow the road east through Tinghir to the Todgha Gorges, then cross the hamada to Merzouga, timed so the camels leave in the late afternoon and you reach camp as the light goes.
- Morning through the Dades gorge and its switchback road
- Tinghir, with its palm oasis strung along the valley floor
- The Todgha Gorges, where the cliffs close to a few hundred metres apart
- Lunch in Tinghir
- Afternoon across the hamada by Tinejdad and Erfoud
- Arrival at the edge of Erg Chebbi
- Camel trek into the dunes, roughly ninety minutes
- Dinner and Gnawa drumming at camp
Overnight in a desert camp at Erg Chebbi.
We leave the dunes after sunrise and take the southern road west, running below the Jbel Saghro through Alnif and Nkob before dropping into the Draa. It is a quieter road than the way out, and the palm groves along the river are the longest in Morocco. Around six hours.
- Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
- Rissani and its souk, on the site of the caravan city of Sijilmassa
- The southern road below the Jbel Saghro
- Alnif, known for its fossil beds
- Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
- Lunch en route
- Descent into the Draa valley
- The palm groves running north along the river
Overnight in Agdz.
The return leg, north through the Draa palm groves to Ouarzazate and then over the Tizi n'Tichka a second time. Around six hours, so we start reasonably early and take lunch on the road.
- Morning through the Draa palm groves
- Agdz and the Jbel Kissane behind it
- Ouarzazate for a short stop
- Lunch before the climb
- Second crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka, in afternoon light
- Descent to the Haouz plain
- Evening arrival and drop-off in Marrakech
Drop-off at your accommodation in Marrakech.
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Amodou Tours offers expertly planned multi-day trips across Morocco, from Marrakech to the Sahara and beyond. Our local guides create authentic, stress-free experiences.
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