9 DAY TRIP FROM FEZ TO MARRAKECH VIA THE DESERT

DAY 1: FEZ AIRPORT – FEZ

Pick up at Fez Airport according to arrival time with a sign with the name of our brothersideatours Agency and transfer to the riad in the medina of Fez, cultural capital of Morocco. Free time to have a first contact with the city. Dinner and night in a hotel in Fez.

DAY 2: FEZ – FEZ “GUIDED TOUR AND PANORAMIC TOUR”

Breakfast and start of the guided tour of the city. When you enter the streets of its medina (old city) you will feel that time goes backwards: the guild structure is still present at work, the narrowness of its streets does not allow any other means of transport than donkeys and a constant swarm of people moves through the labyrinthine alleys in the middle of which we will be surprised by neighborhoods such as the Andalusian neighborhood and magnificent mosques and Koranic schools. Fez has always been associated with study and religion, and remains the spiritual capital of Morocco. After visiting the medina, another option is to wander aimlessly through the streets of Fez-Jdid, where the royal palace, the mellah (Jewish quarter) and the oldest mosque in Fez are located. Dinner and night in a hotel in Fez.

DAY 3: FEZ – IFRANE AZROU – MIDELT – ERRACHIDIA – ZIZ VALLEY – ERFOUD – DESERT

After breakfast, departure towards Midelt passing through the mountains and cedar forests of the Middle Atlas. Pass through Ifrane, a charming ski resort and Azrou, an important craft centre specialising in cedar woodwork. After the Zad pass (2178m / 7146ft), we will arrive in Midelt where we will make a short stop for lunch. In the afternoon, we will descend towards Erfoud and Errachidia through the Ziz Valley, dotted with palm trees, and follow the course of the palm grove with the best dates in Morocco. In Erfoud, the city of fossils, you can see how they are extracted from the quarries and worked to give them the most varied shapes. Continue towards the sand dunes of Erg Chebbi. Free afternoon to enjoy the Berber village, its people and the dunes. Night in a hotel at the foot of the dunes.

DAY 4: MERZOUGA – KHAMLIA – DESERT NOMADS – RISSANI – ERG CHEBBI DESERT

Breakfast and start of our optional quad excursion through the dunes. Then departure to the village of Khamlia, a town originally from Mali, where we will relax with a tea while enjoying a small concert of gnawa music. Its inhabitants are descendants of former slaves from the caravans that came from southern Africa and settled in the area and made gnawa music an art and their way of life. We will go out in a 4×4 to go around the dunes of Erg Chebbi, an extension of sand desert where the Great Dune of Morocco is located, more than 250 meters high, connecting by track with part of the route followed by the old Paris-Dakar, with the mountains that border Algeria in the background. Stop at the oasis of Tissardmin and continue to a nomadic settlement where we will learn some secrets of their life and customs. Later stop at a panoramic point where we can contemplate the Erg Chebbi as a whole. Next we will go to Rissani, where we will visit its interesting African souk, the largest in the region and where nomads and inhabitants of the surrounding villages come to sell their products and buy the goods they need. Return to the hotel and in the afternoon the dromedaries await us to enter the desert as the sun sets until we reach the tent camp in the middle of the desert of high dunes, where we will spend the night. Dinner and night in a tent under the desert stars.

DAY 5: ERG CHEBBI DESERT – KHAMLIA – RISSANI – TODRA AND DADES GORGES

If you want, you can get up early to climb the dunes before sunrise, a spectacle like no other. We return by dromedary to the hotel to have breakfast and rest a little. We continue the route in the 4×4 to travel through the hammada (stone desert), where from time to time dunes and palm trees appear, small oases where life takes shape. In just over 2 hours we reach Tinghir, the most leafy oasis in the south, from where we access the Todra Gorges. Free time to walk around the oasis, contemplating its crops and irrigation systems, and to explore part of the Gorges on an unrivalled path. We continue our journey towards the Dades Valley, which is home to multiple kasbahs and original geological formations, until we reach the imposing Dades Gorges. Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Dades.

DAY 6: DADES – BOUTAGHRAR TRAIL – VALLEY OF ROSES – SKOURA – OUARZAZATE

We will head towards the beautiful Dades Gorges, following the course of the river that will take us into landscapes full of strange geological formations, abandoned kasbahs, Berber villages and lush orchards. We will continue towards Ouarzazate, crossing the Valley of Roses along the Boutaghrar trail to see the nomads who live in caves and mountain landscapes until we reach the Valley of Roses known for the cultivation of the Damascene rose from which they obtain multiple cosmetic products. We will pass through the town of Skoura with its enormous palm grove that surrounds many ancient abandoned kasbahs, where you can walk through the labyrinthine oasis and visit its Amerdil kasbah. Arrival in Ouarzazate, where we will have a panoramic view of the Taourirt kasbah. Ouarzazate is also known as the “Hollywood of Morocco”, so if you are interested in cinema, you can visit the film studios where many famous films have been shot. Dinner and night in hotel in Ouarzazate.

DAY 7: OUARZAZATE – AIT BEN HADDOU – MARRAKECH

After breakfast, if you like, you can visit the Hollywood film studios where many famous films have been shot. Then we will detour to the famous Kasbah of Ait Ben Haddou, where you will have free time to walk through its streets and climb to the top to contemplate the beautiful views of the valley. We continue on to Marrakech crossing the High Atlas, passing through the Tizi-n-Tichka mountain pass and making stops to admire the landscape and the Berber mountain villages blending into the landscape. Arrival in Marrakech Arrival in Marrakech and transfer to the riad in the medina where you will spend the night. Free afternoon in Marrakech to have a first contact with the city.

DAY 8: MARRAKECH – MARRAKECH

Breakfast and “optional guided tour”, the city famous for its Jemaa el Fna square, which will take up much of your time: an amalgam of aromas, sounds and unique sensations. The city also has countless places to wander around and enjoy: the Majorelle Gardens, the Menara, the Saadian Tombs, walks through the medina or the mellah (the old Jewish quarter), the tour of the walls and the modern city (Gueliz) with its Western ways of life. Accommodation in a riad in the medina.

DAY 9: MARRAKECH – MENARA AIRPORT

Breakfast and free day until transfer to the airport to take your return flights and end of our services.

Take a 9 Day Trip from Fez to Marrakech via the Sahara. Ride camels, explore dunes, visit Berber villages, and cross the stunning Atlas Mountains.