3 Days Tour from Marrakech to Merzouga Desert Luxury Camp

You leave Marrakech early and begin the crossing of the High Atlas over the Tizi n'Tichka pass at 2,260 metres, one of Morocco's most scenic drives, switchback after switchback through Berber villages with the mountains opening up around you.

You stop at Aït Ben Haddou, Morocco's most spectacular UNESCO-listed earthen ksar and a filming location for Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Lawrence of Arabia. From there the road continues through Ouarzazate, Morocco's film capital and home to the Atlas Studios, then east via Tinghir, the Todra valley, and Erfoud to Merzouga.

You arrive in the late afternoon, meet your camels at the edge of the Erg Chebbi dunes, and ride into the golden sand for sunset. Dinner is Berber-style around the fire, with drums and a sky thick with stars overhead.

You wake before dawn and climb the highest dune crest to watch the sun rise over the endless Sahara, one of Morocco's most unforgettable sights, then ride back to camp by camel for breakfast.

The drive continues west via Erfoud and Tinghir to the Todra Gorges, where 300-metre cliffs frame a clear river. From there, the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs leads to the Dades Valley, where wind and water have carved the rock into the shapes known as the Monkey Fingers. You spend the night in a kasbah hotel overlooking the valley.

The road heads west through Kalaat Mgouna, the Valley of Roses, most fragrant in May during the rose festival, and the lush Skoura palm grove with its imposing Kasbah Amerhidil.

If you'd like, pause again at Aït Ben Haddou for photos in the morning light, then cross back over the High Atlas via Tizi n'Tichka to Marrakech. Your driver drops you at your accommodation in the late afternoon.