7-Day Morocco Tour from Marrakech: the Draa Valley & the Sahara

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.

The day the itinerary makes room for. With no transfer to drive, the desert opens up past the dune crest: nomad families still working the hamada, the Gnawa village at Khamlia, and the dry lake north of the erg.

• Sunrise over the dunes, then breakfast at camp
• Camel trek back to Merzouga
• 4x4 circuit around the erg
• Khamlia, the Gnawa village, for a session of their music
• Visit to a nomad family living out on the hamada
• Dayet Srji, the dry lake where flamingos gather after rain
• Afternoon at leisure, or sunset from the dune crest

Overnight in Merzouga.

West along the southern road below the Jbel Saghro, a quieter route than the way out, ending deep in the Draa where the palm groves run more or less unbroken for a hundred kilometres. Around six hours.

• Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
• Rissani and its souk, on the site of Sijilmassa
• The southern road below the Jbel Saghro
• Alnif, known for its fossil beds
• Nkob and its cluster of kasbahs
• Lunch en route
• Tazzarine and the descent into the Draa
• The palm groves along the river to Zagora

Overnight in Zagora.

North out of the Draa, stopping at Tamegroute for its Koranic library and pottery kilns, then over the Tizi n'Tinififft to Ouarzazate. Around four hours.

• Morning at the Tamegroute library and its thirteenth-century manuscripts
• The pottery kilns and their green glaze
• North through the Draa palm groves
• Agdz, below the Jbel Kissane
• The Tizi n'Tinififft pass and the view back over the valley
• Lunch en route
• Afternoon arrival in Ouarzazate
• The Taourirt Kasbah

Overnight in Ouarzazate.

The return crossing of the High Atlas, which looks entirely different travelling north in morning light. Around four hours with stops on the switchbacks.

• Morning departure from Ouarzazate
• Ait Ben Haddou, if you have not already stopped there
• Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres
• Photo stops on the northern switchbacks
• Stop in an Amazigh village on the mountain road
• Lunch en route
• Descent through terraced valleys to the Haouz plain
• Afternoon arrival in Marrakech

Drop-off at your accommodation in Marrakech.