4 DAY ROUTE FROM FEZ TO MERZOUGA DESERT

DAY 1: FEZ – IFRANE – CEDAR FOREST – MIDDLE ATLAS – TODRA GORGES

Pick up at the hotel or Riad where you are staying in Fez at 8am and we head south to cross the Middle Atlas Mountains until we reach Ifrane, called ‘’the little Moroccan Switzerland’’ due to its great resemblance to that country. One of the animals that once lived here was the Atlas lion, which has become the symbol of the city and to which they have dedicated a stone statue in the center of the city. We will take the opportunity to stop and take some photos. Later we will cross the famous cedar forests, the largest thousand-year-old cedar in the region and also feed the hundreds of Gibraltar monkeys that live in the area. Lunch in Midélt and in the afternoon we head towards the Todra gorges passing through the Amelago gorges. We will spend the night in a Riad next to the Todra Gorge. At night, we can take a walk through the gorge and, if we are lucky and there is a full moon, it is a spectacle.

DAY 2: TODRA GORGES – ERFOUD – RISSANI – ERG CHEBBI DESERT

After breakfast, we will continue visiting the spectacular Todra Gorges, perched at an altitude of 1,350 m and surrounded by a palm grove, with the possibility of a walk through the famous palm grove in the Todra Valley. We will continue our journey along the banks of the valley, where a road opens up, dotted with kasbahs (fortresses or castles) and ksour (fortified citadels), whose landscape is ochre, red and mauve. All around us we will find rocky plateaus where dromedaries graze. After a journey full of ksour, oasis and palm trees, we will arrive at Tineghir. We continue towards Erfoud (city of fossils) and then we will arrive at Rissani, with its interesting market, where the nomads from the surrounding area come to sell their cattle and buy the belongings they need. Finally we will arrive at Merzouga, where we will spend the night in a Riad facing the dunes.

DAY 3: MERZOUGA DESERT – NOMAD FAMILIES – NIGHT IN NOMAD HAIMAS

Today will be a day of Total Desert. After a copious and rich breakfast, we will go around the Erg Chebbi, an extension of sand desert where the Great Dune of Morocco is located, more than 250 meters high, and we will connect by track with part of the route followed by the old Paris-Dakar and with the mountains that border Algeria in the background. Stop at the oasis of Tissardmin where we can find fossils that are still found in this region and we will continue our route to a nomadic settlement where we will learn some of the secrets of their life and customs. Later stop at a panoramic point where we can contemplate the Erg Chebbi in its entirety. We will arrive at the village of Khamlia, originally from Mali, where we will relax with a tea while enjoying a small concert of spiritual Gnawa music. Return to the hotel to leave in a caravan of dromedaries to enter the heart of the dunes and contemplate an unforgettable sunset. We will arrive with the dromedaries to the camp where we will stay in Haimas ‘’ Tents made of dromedary hair ‘’ like those used by desert nomads. Dinner and night in Haimas in the heart of the desert under a spectacular blanket of stars.

DAY 4: MERZOUGA DESERT – ZIZ VALLEY – MIDDLE ATLAS – MIDELT – FEZ

‘’Rendezvous with the Dawn’’ since you are in the desert it is advisable to get up early to walk to the highest dune around the camp to enjoy the sunrise and this relaxing landscape that nature offers us. Breakfast and return to Merzouga in 4×4 or dromedaries to meet our guide. Once ready we will head north through the Tafilalet Palm Grove where we will be able to see an infinity of palm trees for 20km, making it one of the largest palm groves in the world. Crossing it we will reach the Ziz Valley, named after the river that comes down from the High Atlas and feeds the palm grove. Here we will make a mandatory stop to observe the Valley from above and see the town of Aoufous. Stop planned in Midelt, right in the heart of the Atlas, to rest for a while and have lunch. In the afternoon we will continue our journey passing through the Cedar Forest again. Arrival in Fes at around 6pm, transfer to the hotel and end of the trip.

Join a 4 day route from Fez to Merzouga Desert. Cross the Middle Atlas Mountains, ride camels through the Sahara, and stay in a desert camp under the stars.