7-Day Morocco Tour from Casablanca: the Sahara & Ait Ben Haddou

An early start for the crossing of the High Atlas. We climb out of the Haouz plain by the Tizi n'Tichka pass, around 2,260 metres, then drop into the pre-Sahara. 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.

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, in the Draa valley.

The return leg, north through the Draa to Ouarzazate, over the Tizi n'Tichka and on to the coast. Around nine hours in total, so we leave early and keep the stops short.

• Early departure through the Draa palm groves
• The Tizi n'Tinififft pass and the view back over the valley
• Ouarzazate for a short stop
• Crossing of the Tizi n'Tichka in the middle of the day
• Lunch on the northern slope
• Marrakech, then north across the Rehamna plain
• Evening arrival and drop-off in Casablanca

A long final day on the road. Ending in Marrakech instead removes around three hours, if that suits your onward plans.