10-Day Morocco Tour from Essaouira: Fez & the Sahara

The crossing of the High Atlas. We leave Marrakech early, climb the Tizi n'Tichka pass at around 2,260 metres, and drop into the pre-Sahara on the far side. Around four hours of driving with stops.

• 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.

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.

The long return north, retracing the Ziz and climbing back onto the Middle Atlas plateau. Around eight hours, so we leave early and keep the stops brief.

• Sunrise over Erg Chebbi before breakfast
• North through Erfoud and Er Rachidia
• The Ziz valley viewpoint above the palm oasis
• The climb onto the high plateau
• Lunch at Midelt
• Azrou and the cedar forest, with macaques at the roadside
• Ifrane and the descent to the Sais plain

Overnight in Fez.

Fez el Bali is the largest car-free urban area in the world and the oldest of the imperial capitals. A full day is the least it takes to get any sense of it, and most of that day is on foot.

• Morning in Fez el Bali, entering by Bab Boujloud
• The Chouara tanneries, seen from the terraces above
• Al Quaraouiyine, founded in 859 and still in use
• The Bou Inania medersa and its carved cedar screens
• Lunch in the medina
• The souks by trade: coppersmiths, dyers, weavers
• Afternoon at the Merenid tombs for the view over the city

Overnight in Fez.

West out of Fez with a stop at Meknes, reaching the Atlantic in the afternoon. Around three hours of driving, with the rest of the day in the capital.

• Morning departure from Fez
• Bab Mansour and the imperial granaries at Meknes
• Lunch in Meknes
• West across the Sais plain and the Gharb
• The Kasbah of the Udayas above the river mouth
• The Hassan Tower and the Mausoleum of Mohammed V
• The Chellah necropolis, walled and overgrown

Overnight in Rabat.

South down the coast with a stop in Casablanca, then inland across the plain to Marrakech. Around four hours of driving.

• Morning departure from Rabat
• The coast road south through Mohammedia
• The Hassan II Mosque, built out over the Atlantic
• Lunch on the Casablanca corniche
• South across the Rehamna plain by Settat
• The Haouz plain and the first view of the Atlas
• Arrival in Marrakech in the late afternoon
• Evening on Jemaa el-Fna as the food stalls open

Overnight in Marrakech.

An easy final day. We leave Marrakech after breakfast and cross the Chiadma plains to the coast, arriving in Essaouira with the afternoon free on the ramparts. Around three hours.

• Morning departure from Marrakech
• West across the Chichaoua plain
• Argan country, with goats grazing up in the branches
• Stop at a women's argan cooperative
• Arrival in Essaouira around midday
• The Skala ramparts and the working fishing port
• Afternoon in the walled medina

Drop-off at your accommodation in Essaouira.