Toubkal Summit Hike & Morocco Sahara Desert Tour

08:00 pick-up from your Marrakech riad for the scenic drive into the High Atlas. On arrival in Imlil (1,740 m) meet your mountain guide, muleteers, and rent any missing gear (crampons in winter, walking poles, head-torch, etc.) from local outfitters. Excess luggage can be securely stored at the Imlil lodge where you’ll sleep on Night 2. Begin the gradual ascent past walnut groves, waterfalls, and tiny Berber hamlets. Picnic lunch at Sidi Chamharouch shrine (2,350 m), a popular waypoint for pilgrims. By mid-afternoon reach the Toubkal Refuge (3,207 m), a basic mixed-sex dormitory with bunk beds, shared facilities, and hearty home-style meals—keep expectations realistic and embrace the camaraderie. Enjoy sunset alpenglow over the jagged peaks while your cook prepares a carb-rich dinner. (Total trek: 11 km | 5–6 hrs walking | +1,460 m elevation gain.)

04:30 wake-up for hot tea and a light breakfast before tackling the switch-back trail to the summit. Crest the rocky ridge just after sunrise for panoramic views spanning the Anti-Atlas, Sahara fringe, and even the Atlantic on very clear days. Photo stop, snacks, and a congratulatory high-five before descending the same route to the refuge for brunch. Continue downhill to Imlil, arriving mid-afternoon. Reunite with your stored luggage and check into a private room at a family-run lodge—en-suite showers, Wi-Fi, and a balcony overlooking terraced valleys. Free evening to explore the village or simply rest tired legs over mint tea. (Trek: 17 km | 7 hrs walking | −2,427 m total descent.)

After breakfast depart Imlil, weaving through stone villages and juniper forests to join the N9 road over the Tizi n’Tichka Pass (2,260 m)—pause for snapshots at the highest highway pass in Morocco. Descend onto the arid southern slopes for a guided stroll within the UNESCO-listed Kasbah Aït Ben Haddou, backdrop to films like Gladiator and Game of Thrones. Lunch on a rooftop café, then continue to the palm-laden Skoura Oasis dotted with fortified kasbahs. Late-afternoon arrival in the Dades Valley, famed for its rose-colored canyons and winding “Monkey Fingers.” Check into a cliff-side guesthouse; sunset paints the limestone walls a fiery red.

Morning drive along the Dades switchbacks before heading east to Tinghir. Walk the date-palm oasis then enter the Todra Gorges, where limestone cliffs soar 300 m overhead—perfect for a leg-stretch and photo ops. Lunch at a local café. Cross the pre-Saharan plateaus past ksours (fortified granaries) to Rissani, ancient capital of the Alaouite dynasty and gateway to the desert. Arrive in Merzouga by late afternoon; swap the vehicle for a camel caravan across Erg Chebbi. Sandboard (optional) as the dunes blaze orange, then reach your en-suite desert camp. Dinner under Milky Way skies with drums echoing across the sands.

Wake early for a picture-perfect Saharan sunrise. After breakfast ride 4×4 jeeps out of the dunes. Travel north along the Drâa Valley, Morocco’s longest river flanked by sprawling date plantations. Coffee stop in Ouarzazate—nicknamed the “Hollywood of Africa”—where you can glimpse Atlas Studios or the Taourirt Kasbah. Traverse the High Atlas once more, arriving back in Marrakech around 19:00–20:00. Drop-off at your accommodation and end of services.