Tours from Marrakech Kasbahs 4 Days - 3 Nights Kasbahs, Gorges, Merzouga Desert Tour from Marrakech

Kick off your Merzouga Desert tour from Marrakech by morning departure at 8.30 from your riad. Cross the High Atlas Mountains, including the famous Tizi-n-Tichka pass, the highest pass in North Africa at 2260 metres. From these mountains, there are wide views over the green valleys and burbling streams. The little Berber villages perched on the mountainsides, sometimes barely distinguishable from the mountains themselves, are spectacular and breathtaking.

You steadily descend from the pass reach Ouarzazate. The town is sometimes called ‘the gateway to the desert’ and is technically part of the massive Sahara. Here you stop for lunch.

Later the road continues to the Skoura Oasis, where numerous ancient kasbahs, some sadly in ruins, stand amongst the palm trees. Kasbah Amredhil has been beautifully restored and is well worth visiting. It is constructed entirely of adobe, an excellent building material.  It is both warm in winter and cool in summer, due to the thickness of the walls.

From here, the route takes us through Kela’a M’gouna, the Valley of Roses, with a stop to see cosmetic articles, well-known and much valued throughout Morocco. They are locally-made from the valley’s abundant Damascene roses. You stop in the Dades Valley for the night.

After breakfast, there is time to visit the Dades Gorges, which lay at the bottom of the sea millions of years ago. Great quantities of sediment were deposited around giant coral reefs, and over time this material became compacted into a variety of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone and limestone. Eventually, the movement of the earth’s crust caused the region to rise above the sea. This formed the Atlas Mountains and surrounding landscape for miles. You can walk by the river, before continuing to Toudgha to the very different gorges there.

Turning off the road at Tinjdad, you drive there via the Ziz Valley, famous for its succulent dates.  En route, you will notice strange piles of sand following the road.  These are the heads of the “khettarat”, the ingenious underground water channels designed to minimise evaporation in the desert heat.  It is fascinating to climb down to experience the coolness below ground and to wonder at the ancient engineering involved.

You continue to Erfoud, famous for fossil finds. Many them have been cut and polished into attractive and useful artefacts.  In the afternoon you can take a one to one & a half-hour camel ride in the Sahara. The sunset from the top of the dunes is spectacular (250m).

You have dinner and spend the night at a luxury desert camp with private bathroom, king-sized beds, beautiful Moroccan furnishings and lamps tastefully arranged to enhance your enjoyment of the silence and beauty of the dunes.

If you wake up early enough, you can watch the spectacle of the sunrise, when the colour of the dunes and the play of shadows are an awesome sight. The itinerary continues along a more southerly road following the mountains towards the Dra’a Valley passing the village of Tazzarine (featured in the film ‘Babel’), and on to N’Qob for lunch.

In the afternoon, we drive along the Dra’a Valley towards Agdez, passing more oases and traditional adobe Kasbahs beside the river. The oldest kasbah, Kasbah Tamnougalte, in the Dra’a Valley is situated near Agdez, and you will have some time to visit it. Some parts lie in ruins, particularly the Jewish area, while some parts are still fully occupied.

The last part of the day’s journey is across the Tizi-n-Tinfifite pass to Ouarzazate, where you will spend the night.

After breakfast, you will visit Kasbah Taourirt in the town, which belonged to the Glaoui family, the Pashas of Marrakech. Driving north, you leave the main road and take a side road to Ait ben Haddou, which also belonged to the Lords of the Atlas, the same Glaoui family. This is the most famous Kasbah in Morocco and one of Morocco’s nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites. It is perhaps better known as the backdrop to many Hollywood blockbusters.

From here, you drive along the beautiful and awe-inspiring Ounila Valley. The road is full of bends, surprises at the hues of the rock and soil, Berber villages and gardens, as well as smaller Kasbahs. Finally you reach Telouet, the main seat of the Glaoui family. Each addition to the building now stands in ruins exposed to the wind and the rain. The palace was abandoned and plundered after the last Pasha fled the country following the departure of the French in 1956. Wait to be pleasantly surprised by the traditional interior decoration as you reach the farthest end of the Kasbah.

Once back on the main road, we reach Marrakech at the end of the afternoon. Your 4 day Sahara Desert Tours from Marrakech comes to an end as your driver escort you to your riad.