Day 1 (Thursday) ⇢ Arrive in Marrakech

Arrive in Marrakech and check into your accommodation. The afternoon is free to find your feet in the medina, get something to eat, and get a sense of the city before the group meets in the evening.

The group gathers for a walk through the souks and into the Jemaa el-Fna square. Thursday night on the square is worth the trip on its own: food stalls, snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, and what feels like the entire population of Marrakech in one open space. Dinner on the square from the food stalls.

Early to bed. The van leaves at 7:30am tomorrow.

Day 2 (Friday) ⇢ Marrakech ⇢ Ait Ben Haddou ⇢ Ouarzazate ⇢ Tinghir

Early departure at 7:30am. The van heads south out of Marrakech and begins climbing into the High Atlas. The Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres is a road that earns a photo stop. The descent on the other side brings you into a completely different Morocco: drier, redder, and further from everything.

First stop is Ait Ben Haddou, the UNESCO ksar that you will recognise from Gladiator, Game of Thrones, Lawrence of Arabia, and about a dozen other productions. The climb up through the earthen citadel to the granary at the top takes around thirty minutes and the view across the valley is worth every step.

Lunch in Ouarzazate, the so-called Hollywood of Africa. If time allows, a quick stop at the Atlas Film Studios, the largest film studios in the world by surface area and still regularly in use.

The drive east continues through the Route of a Thousand Kasbahs, past ancient mud-brick towers and rose-growing villages, arriving in Tinghir in the evening. Overnight in Tinghir.

Day 3 (Saturday) ⇢ Tinghir ⇢ Todra Gorge ⇢ Merzouga Desert

Morning walk through Todra Gorge, just ten minutes from Tinghir. The limestone walls close in to a canyon only a few metres wide in places, with 300 metres of rock rising on either side. It is one of the most genuinely dramatic natural sights in Morocco and it is free. Allow thirty to forty-five minutes to walk in and back.

From Tinghir, the route heads southeast across the pre-Saharan plateau to Merzouga. The landscape empties out over the course of a couple of hours: the mountains recede, the vegetation thins to almost nothing, and then the edge of the Erg Chebbi dune field appears on the horizon.

Arrive in the afternoon. Optional quad ATV or dune buggy session before the camel trek (see Add-Ons below). At sunset, the group mounts camels and rides into the dunes. The Erg Chebbi is one of the great dune fields of North Africa, reaching over 150 metres at its highest point. Dinner around the fire at the Berber desert camp. Gnawa music in the evening. Overnight in the desert camp.

Day 4 (Sunday) ⇢ Merzouga ⇢ Ouarzazate ⇢ Marrakech

Optional early alarm to catch sunrise from the dunes. No pressure. Breakfast at camp, then departure back west. The return crosses the Draa-Tafilalet region through Ouarzazate and back over the High Atlas via Tizi n'Tichka.

Arrive back in Marrakech on Sunday evening. Drop-off at the original meeting point or your accommodation. Tour ends here.

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