Day of Arrival
We’ll pick you up at the airport, and get you checked in to your comfortable Riad or hotel (as you prefer). Depending on your arrival time and how you’re feeling we may take the opportunity to give you a taste of Marrakech before settling in for your first night in Morocco.
Day One
Today we drive south, across the High Atlas Mountains with breath-taking scenery at every turn. This drive is utterly spellbinding and has a way of sweeping you up into the dramatic landscape. We’ll stop for tea along the way and have plenty of scenic photo opportunities. You’ll visit Kasbah Telouet, built in the 1800’s and known for its stunning mosaics and crumbling walls before heading to have a traditional Moroccan lunch at the World UNESCO site of Kasbah Aït Benhaddou. This world famous Kasbah is being preserved by UNESCO and is a stunning example of an authentic Kasbah made in the traditional way, with mud and straw. You’ll get to walk through the Kasbah, visit some small shops and take in the glorious view of the city of Ouarzazate which lies below. You will spend the night at a comfortable Riad or Hotel in Ouarzazate.
Day Four
We’ll leave the camp after breakfast and visit some nomads at their village on our way out of the desert by a different route through the Black Desert (the transitional land between the Sahara and civilization). We’ll end up at the oasis of Agdz which is the beginning of the Dráa Valley and a classic oasis village with pristine palm groves, ancient mud-brick Kasbahs and a secret desert prison. You’ll spend the night here in a Riad.
Day Five
Today you get another opportunity to experience the Atlas Mountains as we travel back to Marrakech. Here you’ll have the opportunity to visit this Imperial City, experience the Souks, Palaces, Marjorelle Gardens and get a taste of this eclectic spirited city for as long as you have before heading home with a treasure trove of memories.
Day Two
Next morning, we’ll head to the large oasis of Skoura which was the main trading center at one time for Tuareg desert traders (these days Ouarzazate is the main commercial center in the region). The town boasts beautiful Kasbahs including the famous Amridil Kasbah as well as prolific palm trees and a verdant lush landscape. If you happen to be here on Monday or Thursday we can catch market day at the Souk which will be brimming with intensely flavorful desert produce. We will then travel on through The Rose Valley, and take Moroccan tea at picturesque El-Kelaâ M’Gouna. In spring the roses are nestled all around in the hedgerows here and the town finds its main source of revenue in the production of rosewater as well as the tourism that The Rose Festival attracts around harvest time in May. Then we go off-road again taking the less-traveled and beautifully scenic route to lunch at Bou Thrarar. Your third night will be spent in the Vallée du Dades, (a series of scenic gorges carved out by the Dades river), at either a Riad or Hotel (your choice).
Day Three
Following breakfast, we head to the Gorges du Todra, a magnificent canyon carved out by the Dadés river. It is the stunning rock formations and lush variety of trees and fauna situated along the twisting river together with the winding road full of hairpin turns that is the main attraction and why this is known as one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We’ll continue on to the oasis of Meski, and Omar’s family for a couscous lunch before heading into the Sahara and Erg Chebbi which boasts the grandest dunes in the Sahara. We’ll arrive at the start of the dunes in time for a sunset camel trek to the camp. You’ll have dinner when you arrive and enjoy traditional Saharan music around the campfire before your fourth night under the stars of the Sahara.
