7-Day Morocco Tour from Essaouira: Todgha Gorges & 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.

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.

North out of the Draa to Ouarzazate, then the return crossing of 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 in afternoon light
• Descent through terraced valleys to the Haouz plain
• Evening arrival in Marrakech

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.