3 Day Tour from Fes to Marrakech

Your 3 day tour from Fes to Marrakech begins with an early departure from your riad. Day 1 is the longest drive of the three, so we leave as early as possible to reach the desert in time for the sunset camel trek. The road south from Fes crosses the Saiss plateau before climbing into the Middle Atlas.

Our first stop is Ifrane, the French protectorate-era town whose tiled-roof chalets and stone lion look more like Switzerland than Morocco. It is one of the cleanest cities in Africa and the altitude keeps it cool even in summer. We stop briefly before continuing into the cedar forest above Azrou, where Barbary macaques move freely through the trees and around any stopped vehicle. These are entirely wild animals, not managed or fed. A stop of 20 to 30 minutes here is always worth it.

We continue south through Midelt, the market town between the two Atlas ranges known for its apples and its honest roadside food, where we stop for lunch. After Midelt the road enters the Ziz Valley, one of the most striking viewpoints on this entire crossing. The road climbs above the valley floor and the date palm corridor stretches south as far as you can see, flanked by old ksour and red-clay cliffs. We stop for photos before the final push through Erfoud and into Merzouga.

We arrive at the camp in the late afternoon. There is just enough time to drop bags in your tent and mount the camels before the sun gets low. The camel trek heads into the Erg Chebbi dunes at the unhurried pace the animals set, an hour out with the sky turning orange and the sand still holding the warmth of the day. Dinner at the camp under open sky, Gnawa music around the fire, and overnight in a private tent with en-suite bathroom.

There is no alarm needed. The light changes outside the tent before sunrise and most guests are up on their own. Step outside and find a comfortable spot near the camp to watch the sky above the dunes go from dark to gold. The colours above Erg Chebbi in the early morning, when the sand is still cold and the shadows are long, is one of the things people remember most from this tour. Breakfast at the camp before we load the vehicle and head west.

Our first destination is Todra Gorge, about two hours from Merzouga. The canyon at its tightest section is only 10 metres wide, with walls rising 300 metres on either side and the river running along the floor year-round. We walk the narrow section before the organised tour groups arrive. The contrast with the open desert we left this morning is hard to overstate.

After Todra we continue west toward the Dades Valley. The road through the Dades Gorge rises above the valley floor and the views here are among the most distinctive on the entire route. The rock formations above the hotels, known locally as the monkey fingers, are columns of folded stone that jut out from the canyon walls in a way that does not look entirely natural. The zigzag road above the hotel cluster, a series of tight hairpin bends cut into the gorge wall, gives a view back down the valley that is one of the better photographs on this trip. We arrive in the Dades Valley in the afternoon. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

After breakfast we head west along the pre-Saharan corridor. The road passes through the Rose Valley between Kelaat M’gouna and Boumaln Dades, where Damascus roses are grown for cosmetics and rose water. In April and May the roadside is planted in pink and the distilleries are running. Outside the bloom season the valley still has its terraced gardens and old kasbah walls above the river.

We arrive in Ouarzazate around midday. A brief stop at Kasbah Taourirt, the old administrative complex of the Glaoui clan at the edge of the city, takes about 30 minutes on foot. We then continue to Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO-listed ksar whose earthen towers rise above the Ounila River. Recognised as a World Heritage Site in 1987, the fortified village has appeared in Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Babel. We give you a full 90 minutes to walk it from the river crossing at the base to the granary at the summit.

After Ait Ben Haddou we begin the climb into the High Atlas. The Tizi n’Tichka Pass at 2,260 metres is the highest paved road in Morocco and the last major feature of this crossing. The road switchbacks up through the mountain face before a long descent into the Marrakech plain. We arrive in the late afternoon and drop you at your riad or the nearest accessible point to your accommodation. Three days, two imperial cities, the Sahara, the gorges, and the mountains between them.