2-Day Tour Package from Fez to Merzouga Desert

Early morning pickup from your Fez hotel or riad. You drive south through the Middle Atlas to Ifrane, the alpine town often called the "Switzerland of Morocco" for its tile-roofed chalets and cool pine-scented air, then continue to the cedar forest of Azrou for a short walk where wild Barbary macaques, the only macaque species in Africa, sometimes appear between the trees.

After lunch in Midelt, you descend the Ziz Valley, a deep gorge lined with tens of thousands of date palms, through Errachidia and Erfoud into the pre-Saharan landscape. You reach Merzouga in the late afternoon, where your camels are waiting at the edge of the dunes for the ride into Erg Chebbi as the sky turns orange, then pink, then gold over the sand sea.

Dinner is served around the fire at Camp Nomad Palace, or a similar luxury camp, with traditional drum music and a sky filled with stars overhead.

You wake before dawn to walk, or ride, to the highest dune crest and watch the sun rise over the endless Sahara, one of the most unforgettable sights in Morocco. Back at camp, breakfast is served under the morning sun.

The journey back to Fez runs through the Ziz Valley, with photo stops at the palm grove viewpoint and, if time allows, the historic Rissani souk. From there you continue through Midelt and the Middle Atlas cedar forest, retracing yesterday's landscapes in the reverse light of afternoon.

You arrive back in Fez by late afternoon, with drop-off at your hotel, riad, or Fez-Saïss airport at the agreed time.