10 days from Tangier to Marrakech by Sahara desert
Day 1: Tangier – Chefchaouen
From the riad where you are staying we will start or from the airport or seaport we will start this 10 day route whose first destination will be Chefchaouen, in the Rif.
The mountainous north of Morocco, the Rif has a great botanical interest, being inhabited by Rif Berbers. This area has a Mediterranean climate with mild winters and mild summers which makes the whole area an orchard. Its slopes are full of Berber villages full of life, we can go to admire all the villages and how life goes on in these mountains.
Arrival to Chefchaouen, also called Chaouen or Xauen, a charming village located between two mountains and surrounded by fields of crops that highlight even more the indigo blue and white of their houses. Accommodation and dinner at Riad Dar Chaouen or similar.
Day 2: Chefchaouen – Fez
After breakfast we will continue towards Fez, the Imperial City and religious and cultural centre of the country, arriving in the mid-afternoon where we will be able to make a first contact with this city from an exceptional viewpoint located on one of its hills. Accommodation at Riad Dar Skalli or similar.
Day 3: Fez
Our professional local guide will show us the thousand and one details of this city. The Fez medina is the largest in the Maghreb, with its labyrinthine streets. To appreciate it, we will tour it during the day but, then, at sunset as well, since it changes completely, during the day it is a bustling city full of people wandering around the shops, shopping or just watching, but at sunset it acquires another more relaxed dimension. Accommodation at Riad Dar Skalli or similar.
Day 4 : Fez – Ifrane – Azrou – Midelt – Erfoud – Merzouga
After breakfast we will leave for the desert of Merzouga, we will cross the Middle Atlas mountains where beautiful and surprising landscapes await us.
We will cross the town of Ifrane “The Moroccan Switzerland”. Due to its altitude, 1630 meters, is surrounded by cedar, in fact, we will enter the Cedar Forest, we will see their “nice” people: the monkeys of Barbería, cross all the volcanic geological area of Azrou and, little by little, the landscape begins to change again leaving behind the trees and greenery and becomes an arid landscape.
Our route will continue through the amazing canyon of the river Ziz and then its valley with about 9000 palm trees.
We will arrive at the riad located at the foot of the desert where we will have a welcome tea while the camels prepare us to go into the dunes until we reach the camp of tents.
At night we can see the desert turns color and low temperature gently. To the rhythm of Berber music we will have dinner, and a large fire will keep us company until it is time to go to sleep.
Accommodation in tents with private bathroom in Tassili Luxury Desert Camp or similar.
Day 5: Merzouga desert – Ouzina desert
After breakfast we will start the great route of the dunes, through the track of the old Rally Paris Dakar . We will visit the Khamlia village where we will stop to enjoy the music of Gnawa, a spiritual music of great beauty, probably inherited from the ancient black people enslaved in sub-Saharan Africa.
Continue the route to the village of Taouz where we will return to the track of the Rally Paris Dakar in the direction of the Erg of Ouzina and the village of Ouzina. Ouzina is an old Berber settlement very close to the Algerian border. Then we will go to the dunes of the Erg of Ouzina where we will stay in the Riad Ouzina TGM, their second house in the desert.
After dinner, Berber music with live drums, an unforgettable experience.
Day 6: Ouzina – Erg Ouzina – Nomadic Cultura at Sahara desert
For the early risers we propose to see the sunrise among the dunes. After breakfast, we will go to the village of Ouzina to learn more about the way of life of its inhabitants. We will visit the bread oven, its orchards. We will eat “Berber pizza”, maybe we can get a henna tattoo if someone wants it and in the afternoon we will see the fossil mines.
Then we will return to the Ouzina desert to try to find a real nomad family and have a tea with them.
Dinner and overnight at Riad Ouzina TGM
Day 7: Ouzina – Berber Villages – Ramlia – Tafraoute – Alnif – Tinerghir – Dades Gorges
We will leave the Riad Ouzina TGM towards the village of Ramlia, we will follow the same track of the Rally Paris Dakar.
On the way we will be accompanied by desert landscapes full of dunes, nomads and dromedaries for about 3 hours until we reach Alnif and the Todra River Gorges near the city of Tinerhir.
At the end of a valley of palm trees and adobe villages, surrounded by steep and barren mountains. It is one of the most famous natural sights of Morocco, about 300 meters of wall along one kilometer.
From here we will go to the Dades Gorges.
Dinner and overnight at Ksar Sultan Dades or similar.
Day 8: Dades Gorges – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
After breakfast we will go to Ouarzazate, passing through the wonderful Valley of the Roses, with a spectacular landscape of oases and old Kasbahs, many of them abandoned.
We will arrive in Ouarzazate, the city of cinema where there are film studios, which we can visit.
We will visit the Ksar, or fortified village, the oldest in all of Morocco named World Heritage, the Ksar of Ait Ben Haddou, where films such as Gladiator or The Kingdom of Heaven have been shot.
We will continue, crossing the High Atlas Mountains, through a mountain pass of 2260 meters above sea level.
In the afternoon we will arrive in Marrakech. Accommodation at Riad Maialou
Day 9: Marrakech
The famous Jemaa el Fna square will welcome us along with our local guide who will speak the same language as you and will introduce us to the wonders of “the red city” among which we highlight the Menara Gardens.
The Saadian tombs, one of the most visited places in Marrakech, were opened to the public in 1917 when they were discovered. In the same garden you can see more than 100 tombs decorated with mosaics, they are buried the bodies of servants and warriors of the Saadian dynasty.
The Palace of the Bay, the minaret of the Koutobia Mosque, one of the most representative monuments of the city, stands out for its 69-meter high minaret, the highest building in the city.
The places to visit depend on the time of year due to the permanent maintenance and restoration works. Accommodation at Riad Maialou.
Day 10: Marrakech
At the agreed time transfer from the riad to the airport.
We include:
– Private tour
– Transfers from your hotel, riad, airport or agreed place
– Transportation during the trip in an all-terrain vehicle with AC.
– Accompanying driver in your own language
– Half board accommodation, breakfast and dinner. Marrakech and Fez, breakfast only
– Luxury tent with private bathroom
– Dromedary ride in the dunes of Erg Chebbi, one per person. Or, 4×4 raid by dunes
– Official local private guide in Fez and Marrakech
– Local SIM card for your internet conecctions
– Free bottled water in every car
Not included:
– drinks at dinner
– the entrance tickets for the guided tours