4-Day Tour Package from Fez to Marrakech and Merzouga Desert

Morning pickup from your Fez hotel or riad. You drive south through the Middle Atlas Mountains, stopping in Ifrane, often called the "Switzerland of Morocco" for its alpine architecture and pine-scented air, and the cedar forest of Azrou, where wild Barbary macaques sometimes appear.

After lunch in Midelt, you descend the Ziz Valley palm gorge into the pre-Saharan landscape, reaching Merzouga by late afternoon. Your camels are waiting at the edge of the dunes for the ride into Erg Chebbi at sunset.

Dinner is served around the fire with traditional drum music, under a sky filled with stars, at a luxury desert camp such as Camp Nomad Palace.

You wake before dawn for sunrise from the highest dune crest, one of the most unforgettable sights in Morocco, then return to camp for a Berber breakfast.

The day is free in Merzouga. An optional 4×4 excursion can take you to Lake Sirji and its flamingos, the Gnawa-rooted village of Khamlia, fossil sites, and nomadic encampments, or you can simply relax with mint tea overlooking the dunes.

The afternoon stays at leisure, with an optional second sunset camel ride or quad bike excursion, before dinner and an overnight stay at the desert camp or a Merzouga hotel.

After breakfast, you drive west via Erfoud and Tinghir to walk the Todra Gorges, where 300-metre limestone cliffs frame a clear river and narrow to just 10 metres wide at the canyon floor.

The drive continues along the Road of a Thousand Kasbahs, through the Valley of Roses at Kalaat Mgouna and into the Dades Valley, where the eroded rock formations known as the Monkey Fingers rise above the road, before an overnight stay in a kasbah hotel with valley views.

You drive west via the Skoura palm grove and Kasbah Amerhidil to Ouarzazate, Morocco's film capital, then on to Aït Ben Haddou, the earthen ksar featured in Gladiator, Game of Thrones, and Lawrence of Arabia. You walk through the fortified village and cross the river for photos.

The road then climbs over the High Atlas via the Tizi n'Tichka pass, 2,260 metres up, winding through Berber villages with panoramic views the whole way. You arrive in Marrakech in the late afternoon, with drop-off at your hotel, riad, or the airport.