Join us for a stunning 6-day experience with a fantastic drive from Marrakech through the Moroccan Atlas Mountains and deep into the Sahara Desert and beyond – this tour offers an incredible range of natural beauty, a rich cultural experience, and stunning scenery.
You will begin your tour with a drive to see the beautiful Ouzoud Waterfalls. Then relax in the evening near the tranquil Bin el Ouidane lake near the local Berber village of Imilchil – where the legendary love story of Isli and Tislit is famous.
You will hike through the stunning High Atlas terrain and see the twin lakes before heading south to the remarkable Dades Gorge, famous for its rose-colored mountains and incredible rock formations.
Discover the impressive Todra Gorge, and then ride camels across the beautiful sand dunes in Erg Chebbi in Merzouga, before spending a night in a desert camp, experiencing the amazing Berber music and culture, and falling asleep underneath a blanket of stars in the desert.
The return journey takes you through Rissani, Nkob, and Agdz before returning to Marrakech via a beautiful drive through the Draa Valley and its palm groves. Visit the film town of Ouarzazate and UNESCO-listed Ait Benhaddou – a ksar with a famous film history, before passing over the Tizi n'Tichka Pass.
After your breakfast, we will meet you at your accommodation in Marrakech and depart for the Ouzoud cascades in the Middle Atlas Mountains. This 110 metres high, three-tiered waterfall is quite spectacular and one of the most beautiful in all of Morocco. The sunlight across the spray from the falls creates multi-layered rainbows, and you can take a raft ride to the base of the falls to experience its wonder and the power of nature.
There are also guided walks to explore and discover this beautiful location. You may see the indigenous Barbary monkeys that come to feed here. Lunch can also be taken in full view of the cascades, and of course, there are many photo opportunities.
After the visit to the falls, we drive across the forested terrain in the Atlas to the picturesque Bin el Ouidane lake and then across to the village of Imilchil, where we spend the night in a hotel that includes dinner and breakfast.
The story goes that the young lovers Tislit and Isli, unable to marry because of their feuding tribal families and not wishing to live without each other, decided to drown themselves in two nearby lakes. However, legend says it was their tears that filled the lakes.
But even in death, they remained apart as a mountain separated their lakes and thus prevented their souls from meeting in the afterlife.
If you are feeling adventurous, you can take a day trek and walk the 7km between these two lakes, and imagine the romantic yet tragic story. We can organise a picnic lunch and a pick up if you get too tired. In September, there is an annual festival of marriage where local tribes come together, and the women get to choose their partners.
After breakfast, we leave Imilchil and drive south to the Dades Gorge; we pass through Berber villages and stunning countryside where locals are friendly as they go about their daily tasks.
At the fork in the road at Agoudal, we take the option for the Dades Gorge. This is an impressive landscape with some amazing eroded formations and rose-coloured mountains. The river valleys are full of old adobe kasbahs and rich farmland.
We spend the night here in a local guesthouse with dinner.
After breakfast, we leave this incredible gorge and discover another one further along the valley. In Tinghir, we take the road up to the Todra Gorge, a favourite place for international rock climbers as it boasts a 300 metre vertical fault with a crystalline glacial river running through it.
This pink-tinted canyon is only 10 metres wide at its narrowest point and was formed by glacial activity. Nomads can be seen with their donkeys filling up water containers.
After a lunch break here, we continue south, passing through palm groves and Berber villages with adobe kasbahs until the landscape changes and the Sahara sands welcome us to the Erg Chebbi dunes and Merzouga.
After a welcome mint tea, we will enjoy the sunset on a camel ride across the dunes to our nomadic-style desert camp, where dinner and local Berber music are served up under a star-filled sky.
If you wake up early enough, you can enjoy the magic of a desert sunrise; a very special time and an experience you will never forget.
We return by camel to the hotel for breakfast and to freshen up. Our adventure continues as we discover the market town of Rissani, and the desert towns of Alnif and Nkob with their beautiful kasbahs.
We will stop for lunch here and in the afternoon take the off-road option to meet the mighty Draa Valley with its vast palm oasis and ancient lifestyle. In the ksar of Agdz, we will spend the night with half board.
From Agdz, in the heart of the palm groves of the mighty Draa Valley, we drive north, with the Saghro Mountains on our right and the Atlas Mountains ahead of us.
We reach the Hollywood of Africa, Ouarzazate, home to the film studios and famous film sets for movies like The Mummy and Cleopatra. We then go off the road to visit the other famous filming location, Ait Benhaddou, where Gladiator was filmed.
This adobe fortress ksar is a vital stronghold on the old caravan routes that traded salt to Timbuktu. We will have lunch here and take a short visit.
We drive over the High Atlas Mountains, crossing the 2260 metre high pass at Tizi n'Tichka before descending to the plains of Haouzand the medina of Marrakech.
Carefully selected lodgings ensure comfort and authenticity throughout the tour. Accommodations may be adjusted based on availability, and upgrades are available upon request.
What our travelers say about their experiences
"My wife and I had an amazing 7-day private tour with Ibrahim, and we couldn’t recommend him enough! Starting in Marrakech, we traveled to Dades Gorge, Merzouga, Fes, Chefchaouen, and finally ended in Casablanca. The itinerary was well-paced, and each stop felt like a new adventure. Ibrahim was fantastic—he’s a skilled driver and an excellent guide. He speaks fluent English and Spanish, which makes communicating so easy. He answered all our questions, shared great tips, and went above and beyond to ensure our comfort. If you’re planning this trip, definitely ask for Ibrahim. You’ll be in the best hands!"
"The tour was very good, we did a little bit of everything, which gave us a very good taste of Morocco and it’s culture. Our guide Idir was very knowledgeable and patient with us, we were not rushed, he let us take our time when we needed more. Thank you Ibrahim and Idir for a very nice time in Morocco. We enjoyed it very much and we will be happy to recommend this tour to friends and family that want to come and visit this beautiful country. Carlos and Michelle Leon"
"We used this company for a 3 day, 2 night tour from Marrakesh to Fez, with an overnight trip in the desert. Omar was our guide and he was fabulous. He customized the stops and managed our time to accommodate our interests. He made excellent suggestions for the 3 days we were together. Omar is an excellent representative for this company, for Morocco and for his family. The camel trek and night in the desert camp was our favorite part of the trip to Morocco. Ibrahim and his team that made it possible. I highly recommend this company."
"We did the 4 day, 3 night trek from Marrakesh, through the Atlas Mountains and into the Sahara before ending in Fes. Our guide, Idir Najimi, made the difference between a wonderful time, and a once in a lifetime trip. He was incredibly knowledgeable and lots of fun. Drumming under the stars and full moon in the sand dunes of the Sahara was another extraordinary moment as well. I can't wait to go back to Morocco!"
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