Day 1: Marrakech
Regardless of your arrival time in Marrakech, this first day of the tour will be dedicated to getting to know the city. Our staff will meet you at the airport (or at the Marrakech train station, if you arrive by this route) and will transfer you to your accommodation: a charming riad where you will check-in upon arrival. In addition to spending the night there, this hotel establishment will also serve you dinner.
Day 2: Marrakech – Ait Ben Haddou – Ouarzazate – Skoura – Valley of the Roses – Dades Valley
After breakfast at the riad in Marrakech, it’s time to hit the road to discover the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs. Our driver will pick you up at the door to head southeast. In the morning, we will cross the High Atlas Mountains, whose peaks are snow-capped from autumn to spring.
Between Berber villages and panoramic photographs we will arrive at our first stop of the day: Ait Ben Haddou. It is not an appetizer of the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, but one of the highlights of the tour, as it is a large adobe fortress that once housed a bustling village. Now it is visited by travelers from all walks of life and is used to shoot stunning scenes for film and television. The last great example, the series Game of Thrones.
After visiting this great kasbah, it will be the turn of many others of smaller size but similar charm. In some we will stop to know them closely and others we will admire them from a distance, forming a roadtrip of the most picturesque. Taourirt or Skoura are some examples. The Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, in fact, takes advantage of the friendly layout of two valleys: the Valley of the Roses and the Dades Valley, and its landscapes will delight the eye. In the latter we will have our accommodation: a riad where dinner will also be served.
Day 3: Dades Valley – Todra Gorges – Palm groves of Tinjdad and Touroug – Erfoud – Merzouga
On the third day, after breakfast at the riad, we tackle a new section of the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs. On the way we will come across the Todra Gorges, a rock formations of the most spectacular: the humble river runs boxed after having eroded this terrain for millennia, forming walls of more than 200 meters in some cases. We will enjoy the view from the car and on foot, in the most characteristic corners.
Next, we will pass Tinerhir, another of the charming villages on the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, and arrive at two palm groves of great interest: Tinjdad and Touroug, where we can learn more about the local way of life. And in the town of Erfoud, famous for its wealth of fossils dating back millions of years, we will head south to reach, shortly after, Merzouga.
It is then that we will change means of transport: we will leave the 4×4 and we will get on the camels (one per person, accompanied by the respective leaders) to enter the dunes of Erg Chebbi. In the heart of this ‘sea of golden sand’ is our tent camp. And from this suggestive place, we will enjoy the sunset and a night sky where the stars shine as if by magic. Dinner will also be served in this secluded camp, whose tents have all the comforts for a good night’s rest.
Day 4: Merzouga Desert – Rissani – Alnif – Tazarine – Draa Valley – Agdz – Ouarzazate – Marrakech
The awakening of the fourth day is special: we will enjoy an unparalleled sunrise, wrapped in a sense of peace that can only be experienced in a desert like this. We will return by camel to the town of Merzouga and in a hotel we will take a comforting shower. Ahead is another day of this Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, which will run in an east-west direction by a parallel road and more southerly than the previous days.
The first of the attractions of this section is the city of Rissani, with its beautiful traditional medina and several historical monuments that remind us of its past as the center of the Alaouite dynasty. After that, we will continue to the palm grove of Tafilalet and other picturesque villages, where there is no shortage of traditional adobe buildings: Alnif, Tazarine and Nkob.
The last kilometers of this Route of the Thousand Kasbahs will take us through the Draa Valley, the Berber village of Agdz and, again, Ouarzazate. After this city we will start the ascent through the southern face of the High Atlas, back to the city of Marrakech. We will arrive there at the end of the day, where a beautiful riad awaits us, where dinner will also be served.
Day 5: Marrakech
One of the advantages of this circuit through the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs and the desert of Merzouga is that you will also have time to enjoy the city of Marrakech. Specifically, on the fifth day. After breakfast at the riad you will have the whole day at your disposal to plan it as you wish: guided visits to monuments (consult), shopping in the traditional souks and the Jemaa el-Fna square, tasting of local cuisine, etc.. In any case, dinner and overnight will also be in the same charming riad.
Day 6: Marrakech – Airport
On the sixth day, you will still have time to do the last shopping in Marrakech or take the last walk in the morning. And at the agreed time and place, our driver will pick you up to transfer you by private vehicle to the airport. It will be our last service of this trip through the Route of the Thousand Kasbahs, the desert and Marrakech, but we will say goodbye looking forward to another trip together in the future.
TOURIST PACKAGE INCLUDED
- Pick up and drop off at the airport
- Comfortable private transportation with air conditioning
- English speaking driver / tour guide
- Sandboarding in the desert
- Camel ride
TOURIST PACKAGE EXCLUSIONS
- Plane tickets
- Drinks
- Lunches
- Tickets
