7-Day Morocco Tour from Agadir: Marrakech & 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.

We 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.

North out of the Draa to Ouarzazate, then the crossing of the High Atlas by the Tizi n'Tichka. Around six hours, arriving in Marrakech with the evening free.

• Morning through the Draa palm groves
• The Tizi n'Tinififft pass and the view south over the valley
• Ouarzazate and a stop at Ait Ben Haddou
• Lunch below the ksar
• Ascent of the Tizi n'Tichka, around 2,260 metres
• Photo stops on the northern switchbacks
• Arrival in Marrakech in the late afternoon

Overnight in Marrakech.

A morning in the Marrakech medina, then the drive south-west across the Chichaoua plain and over the Argana pass to the Atlantic. Around three and a half hours through the afternoon.

• Morning in the Marrakech souks and the Koutoubia quarter
• Lunch in the medina
• Afternoon departure west across the Chichaoua plain
• The Argana pass and the argan groves on the descent
• Stop at a women's argan cooperative
• The Souss valley and the first sight of the ocean

Evening arrival and drop-off in Agadir.