Fes to Marrakech Desert Tour – 3 Days

Depart Fes at 08:00 and climb into the Middle Atlas, pausing in alpine Ifrane—often dubbed “Morocco’s Switzerland”—for chalet-style photo stops and a quick coffee. Ten minutes farther on, the Cedre Gouraud forest fills the horizon; Barbary macaques bound across the mossy floor and will happily pose for photos (feeding is discouraged).

Continue south through open pastures to Midelt, the country’s “Apple City,” where roadside cafés serve orchard-to-table tajines. After lunch the highway snakes into the golden Ziz Gorge; lookouts reveal sheer rust-hued cliffs framing a ribbon of emerald palms—ideal for panorama shots.

By late afternoon you reach Merzouga; swap wheels for camels and sway 45 minutes across apricot dunes as the sun melts into the horizon, arriving at your luxury tent in time for mint tea, dinner under a sky plaze with stars, and Berber drumming. 

Wake before dawn to climb a nearby dune and watch first light ripple over the Sahara, then enjoy a hot shower and camp breakfast. A short drive delivers you to Rissani, former capital of the Alaouite dynasty, where the tri-weekly souk bustles with fossil marble, camel saddles, and spice pyramids. Fifteen minutes onward lies Erfoud, the “Date Capital,” whose October festival fills the streets with music, camel races, and tastings of sticky mejhoul.

Re-enter the High Atlas foothills and detour into Todra Gorge; 300-metre rose-gold walls squeeze the river to a ribbon—perfect for a leisurely canyon stroll. Late afternoon, follow the fabled “Road of a Thousand Kasbahs,” its turreted adobe forts punctuating oases of pomegranate and henna, then curl into a kasbah-style lodge perched above the switchbacks of Dades Valley for sunset on the famed “Monkey Fingers” rock formations.

After breakfast, roll through the Valley of Roses, where damask petals perfume the air each spring and co-ops distil fragrant rosewater. By mid-morning you reach Ouarzazate’s Atlas Film Studios; an optional guided tour reveals sets from Gladiator and Game of Thrones. A short hop away, the UNESCO-listed ksar of Aït Ben Haddou rises in layers of caramel mud-brick—a living postcard where merchants once taxed camel caravans bound for Timbuktu.

Cross the serpentine Tizi n’Tichka Pass, North Africa’s highest paved road, pausing for panoramic coffees before descending into Marrakech around 18:00—just as Jemaa el-Fna ignites with storytellers and sizzling food stalls.